Bath's new Local Plan must find 27,000 homes by 2043, nearly double the old target. The draft goes out for consultation on 14 September; what it proposes.
Almost nothing in Bath can change without a planning decision; a city that is a World Heritage Site twice over settles its future in the planning register months before anyone sees scaffolding. Right now the register’s biggest story is the district’s next Local Plan, the document that will decide where homes are built across Bath and North East Somerset until 2043, and it reaches its decisive public stage in a few weeks.
The headline: a near-doubled housing target
B&NES started work on a new Local Plan in 2022 on the basis of around 14,000 new homes over twenty years. Then, in December 2024, the government changed national planning policy and the standard method for calculating housing need, and the council’s number jumped to roughly 27,000 homes over eighteen years, from 717 to about 1,466 homes a year (B&NES Council, Cabinet report). That forced a full reset of the plan, including a review of Green Belt boundaries that had been considered largely untouchable.
The pressure behind the numbers is affordability. The council’s own consultation material puts the average house price in the district at around twelve times average workplace earnings, and nineteen times in the city of Bath; our house prices page has the current sold-price figures behind that.
Where the homes might go
The Local Plan Options consultation, which ran from 3 October to 14 November 2025, set out the council’s realistic choices (B&NES Council):
- Keynsham and Saltford: new homes and facilities on the Bristol side of the district.
- The Somer Valley: growth around Midsomer Norton and Radstock, tied to major transport improvements.
- Central Bath: mixed-use development and the reuse of brownfield and underused sites, the least controversial lever and the smallest one.
- Villages: flexible growth where it supports shops, schools and services.
- Land west of Bath: the most sensitive option, which the council says would demand exceptional design quality and clear public benefit, and which means testing Green Belt release.
The dates that matter
The council’s published timetable (emerging Local Plan timeline) puts the draft plan (Regulation 19) consultation at 14 September to 26 October 2026. That stage matters more than the sound of it: it is the last public consultation before the plan is submitted for examination in winter 2026, and only people who make representations at Regulation 19 have a right to appear at the inspector’s hearings. Adoption is programmed for 2027.
Two schemes to watch
Bath Western Riverside is the city’s biggest housing site, the former industrial land along the Avon west of the centre, split between the council and Berkeley Homes. On 2 July 2026 the council’s Cabinet considered proposals to progress the funding and land agreements for the next phase, which is planned to deliver more than 300 affordable homes among roughly 1,000 in total, on top of remediation and enabling works already underway with £18.2 million of Homes England grant funding (B&NES Council, The Business Desk).
Milsom Quarter is the council’s 20-year plan to remake the top of town around Milsom Street, and it is moving: in January 2026 the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority granted £1.745 million to develop the plan to give the Fashion Museum a new home in the quarter, with a final business case due later in 2026 and delivery targeted for 2030 (B&NES Council). Until then the museum’s collection stays in storage, as our things to do page notes for anyone hunting for it at the closed Assembly Rooms.
How to track applications yourself
B&NES does not use the Idox portal most councils share. Applications, comments and decisions live in the council’s own system at app.bathnes.gov.uk/webforms/planning, and the planning policy library, including every Local Plan document and the consultation responses, is on bathnes.gov.uk/local-plan. To be notified of the Regulation 19 consultation when it opens, the council runs a planning policy mailing list from the same page.
Frequently asked questions
How many homes does Bath have to build?
The new Local Plan is being prepared for roughly 27,000 homes over eighteen years to 2043, about 1,466 a year. That is nearly double the previous plan’s basis of around 717 a year, a jump caused by the government’s December 2024 change to how housing need is calculated.
When can I comment on the Bath Local Plan?
The draft plan goes out for its Regulation 19 consultation from 14 September to 26 October 2026. If you want a say at the examination hearings in front of the inspector, you must make a representation at this stage; that is how the process works.
Will Bath’s Green Belt be built on?
That is the live question. The reset plan includes a Green Belt review, and “land west of Bath” is one of the growth options consulted on, with the council saying any release would demand exceptional design quality and clear public benefit. Nothing is decided until the plan is adopted, expected in 2027.
What is happening at Bath Western Riverside?
The next phase of the riverside regeneration is being lined up: Cabinet considered the funding and land agreements on 2 July 2026, toward more than 300 affordable homes out of around 1,000 planned, with £18.2 million of Homes England money already supporting site preparation.
Where do I find planning applications for Bath?
On the council’s own portal at app.bathnes.gov.uk/webforms/planning. B&NES is not on the Idox Public Access system used by many other councils.
Sources
- The Local Plan (B&NES Council) and the emerging Local Plan development timeline for the reset, stages and dates.
- Council proposes Local Plan Options consultation (B&NES newsroom, September 2025) for the 27,000-home figure, growth options and affordability ratios.
- Cabinet to consider increased housing figure targets (B&NES newsroom) for the 717 to 1,466 homes-a-year uplift.
- Bath Western Riverside development set for next step (B&NES newsroom) and The Business Desk, 28 June 2026 for the Western Riverside figures.
- £1.7m funding for Fashion Museum Bath and Milsom Quarter (B&NES newsroom, January 2026) for the Milsom Quarter grant and 2030 target.
Planning timetables slip; check the council’s Local Plan pages for the current dates before relying on them. Last updated August 2026.
Have your say
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