Councillors refused 272 co-living studios at Bath's Old Gas Works against officer advice, 5-4. Keynsham's 200 homes passed 5-4 and Bath Press won 9-0.
Bath’s Planning Committee has refused 272 co-living studios on the Old Gas Works site in Lower Weston, overturning its own officers’ advice to approve. The vote was 5 to 4. Because of new national rules, the refusal now has to go to the Secretary of State before it can be issued.
The same meeting, on Wednesday 2 September, approved up to 200 homes on Green Belt farmland at Charlton Road in Keynsham, also by 5 votes to 4. It approved 220 homes on the former Bath Press site in Westmoreland unanimously.
The council has now published the draft minutes, which record every vote (draft minutes, B&NES Planning Committee, 2 September 2026). The committee decided eight applications in all.
The Old Gas Works: refused on height and scale
The application, 25/04961/FUL, was for up to 272 co-living studios with shared facilities, after demolishing the commercial buildings on the site. The applicant is BC Bath Ltd, care of Blue Coast Capital (main agenda, item 4).
Co-living means small private studios with shared kitchens, lounges and other space. The report lists an event space, a gym, a wellness studio, residents’ storage and a concierge. The building would be four storeys, about 14 metres, along Upper Bristol Road. It would rise to five storeys, about 17 metres, along Windsor Bridge Road and the river.
What the scheme offered, according to the officers’ report:
- no affordable homes on site, and a £250,000 payment towards affordable housing elsewhere instead
- £270,036 towards walking, cycling and public transport for Bath Western Riverside, possibly including the towpath
- up to £100,000 for the council to review parking restrictions in nearby streets
- a car-free scheme, with a car club and free membership for residents
- a restriction so it could not be marketed as student accommodation
The council counts co-living at a ratio of 1.8 studios to one home. On that basis the 272 studios would count as 151 homes towards the district’s housing supply. The report received 37 letters of objection.
Both Kingsmead ward councillors spoke against it. Cllr Paul Roper called it “too big and too high”. Cllr George Tomlin objected to the height, the scale and the lack of affordable housing. He said it was disappointing that one of the last brownfield sites near the centre of Bath had no family housing.
Cllr Shaun Hughes moved refusal, citing height, scale and massing, small rooms and no affordable housing. Cllr Fiona Gourley seconded. Cllr Toby Simon and Cllr Ian Halsall argued for approval. Cllr Simon said the site was heavily contaminated, would need to be capped and was not suitable for families.
The planning manager then advised the committee against using parking, room sizes or affordable housing as reasons. The refusal therefore rests on one reason: the height, scale and massing of the buildings.
The minutes say that under the new guidance the decision had to be framed as “delegate to refuse”. It will be referred to the Secretary of State, who can decide whether to call the application in and decide it centrally.
Keynsham: 200 homes on Green Belt farmland
Application 25/04952/EOUT, from Persimmon Homes Severn Valley with the landowners, is for up to 200 homes on three fields west of Charlton Road. We covered the officers’ report before the meeting. It drew 99 objections and 8 letters of support.
The committee voted 5 to 4 to let officers grant permission once a Section 106 legal agreement is signed. That means permission has not yet been issued.
The agreement will secure, among other things:
- 45 per cent affordable housing, up to 90 homes
- a small shop or office unit, public open space and its long-term management
- highway works on and around Charlton Road
- £184,950 towards new primary school places
- £18,000 for fire hydrants
- nursery and special educational needs contributions, calculated later once the mix of homes is known
The ward councillor, Cllr Alan Hale, asked the committee to refuse. He raised drainage, traffic on the school route along Charlton Road, pressure on GP surgeries and the loss of well-used fields. He said Keynsham South had already taken a lot of new housing.
Cllr Simon said the new national framework gave a strong steer to approve schemes like this, and there were no good grounds to refuse. Cllr Duncan Hounsell and Cllr Tim Warren voted against. Cllr Hounsell cited the harm to the landscape towards Queen Charlton and the Redlynch Lane junction.
A late update report dealt with the gas pipeline that runs through the site (update report). The Health and Safety Executive had first advised against the scheme. The original layout put about 20 homes in the pipeline’s inner zone, where it advises against more than two. A revised layout moved every home out of that zone, and the HSE withdrew its advice against.
The same update cut the weight given to the site being outside Keynsham’s housing boundary to “very limited”. That followed the revised National Planning Policy Framework. Officers said the council has only 2.5 years of housing land supply, against the five years it should have.
Bath Press: 220 homes, approved 9-0
The former Bath Press on Lower Bristol Road already had permission from 2016. Application 25/03592/FUL replaces the western half of that scheme. It raises the homes there from 103 to 220: 215 flats and five houses, plus three small commercial units. Together with the eastern half, already being built, the whole site would have 366 homes.
The blocks would rise to six storeys. Across the whole site, 34 homes would be affordable: 21 for social rent and 13 for shared ownership. That is the same number as the 2016 permission, and below the council’s 30 per cent policy. Officers said an independently reviewed viability report justified the lower figure.
Westmoreland ward councillor June Player asked for a deferral. She raised the height next to homes backing onto the site, and said any money for green space should be spent in the ward. The report records 19 objections and 1 letter of support. The committee approved it 9 to 0.
The Section 106 agreement includes £290,191.20 for improving open space nearby, and £104,872.68 to the council’s carbon offset fund. It also reinstates the westbound bus stop on Lower Bristol Road with a new shelter.
The other decisions
| Application | What | Vote | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bath city centre, 26/02250/REG03 | Christmas Market footprint and dates | 7-1, 1 abstention | Approved |
| Bathampton Junction, Station Road | Five padel courts with canopies, a pavilion and 25 parking spaces | 5-4 | Approved |
| Panahar, 8 Moorland Road, Oldfield Park | Replacement rear covered passage, retrospective | 7-2 | Approved |
| Hook Lane, Hinton Blewett | Seasonal rearing of game birds, track and yard, retrospective | 6-2, 1 abstention | Approved |
| Avonwood House, Corston | Horse riding arena and storage building | 8-0 | Approved |
We reported the Christmas Market decision the week of the meeting.
The padel courts are on a former commercial site next to Bathampton Junction, on Bath’s eastern edge. The school is 115 metres away. The applicant agreed there will be no sessions at school drop-off and pick-up times. Cllr Warren asked for a noise check after 12 months, but the mover and seconder did not accept it.
At Hinton Blewett, about 11 miles south west of Bath, the committee first voted on refusing on highway safety grounds. That failed 3 to 6. The permission limits the game birds to 1 April to 31 August each year.
Why the rules changed the outcome
A revised National Planning Policy Framework took effect on 17 August. The council’s development management team leader briefed the committee on it at the start of the meeting.
The key change, as recorded in the minutes, is that adverse impacts must now “substantially and demonstrably outweigh the benefits” before permission is refused. There is also a stronger emphasis on housing delivery. The committee heard the new framework is not retrospective. But any appeal against a decision taken before 17 August will be judged under it.
That context sat behind two of the three big votes. Officers recommended approval for all three.
What it means for you
- Old Gas Works, Lower Weston: the refusal is not final until the Secretary of State has decided whether to call it in. The developer could also appeal once a refusal is issued.
- Charlton Road, Keynsham: the next stage is the Section 106 agreement, then a reserved matters application setting out the layout, the design and the drainage details. You can comment on that when it is submitted.
- Bath Press: once the legal agreement is signed, permission is issued and the western half can proceed.
- To follow any of these, search the reference on the council’s planning applications site. Our Bath planning news page tracks the big schemes.
Sources
- Draft minutes of the Planning Committee, 2 September 2026 (PDF) for every vote, the speakers’ points, the NPPF briefing and the Secretary of State referral.
- Main agenda (PDF) for the officers’ reports: applicants, heights, homes, affordable housing, the 1.8 ratio and objection counts.
- Update report (PDF) for the HSE pipeline advice, the amended weighting at Keynsham and the game bird condition.
- Decision list (PDF) and the meeting page.
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