SALTFORD Parish Council has formally objected to three proposed sites for housing in the Local Plan.
In west Saltford, two options are being considered: one to the south of the A4 (650 to 850 homes) and one to the north (300 to 350 homes). Additionally, 350 to 450 homes are identified for south Saltford.
The parish council says development at these sites on the green belt would lead to the overdevelopment of a rural village and result in the loss of valued green spaces and recreational areas.
Also, any future housing development in Saltford or Keynsham would be unsustainable due to existing severe congestion on the A4 Bath Road.
It was responding to Bath & North East Somerset Council’s options for its new Local Plan – the document that sets out the council’s planning policies and will say where new developments should go.
The Government has told B&NES Council to find space for more than 27,000 new homes in the area by 2043.
The parish council says of the two sites in west Saltford: “These areas perform important green belt functions – preventing urban sprawl, maintaining separation between Keynsham and Saltford, and safeguarding countryside from encroachment.”
It also views the site north of the A4 as an unsuitable location for re-opening Saltford’s railway station, as the distance from the A4 would require access via residential roads and result in the loss of green-belt land.
The parish council believes it would make a less sustainable location choice than the original station site on the east side of Saltford, which is directly accessible from the A4, as well as offering convenient access for Bath Spa University students and nearby villages.
The council deemed the south Saltford option as “entirely unsuitable due to its landscape value, recreational importance, and poor connectivity.”
It stressed that the area south of Saltford provides the community’s only significant open green space and contributes greatly to residents’ health and wellbeing.
The parish council has urged B&NES Council to adopt a “brownfield first” approach, prioritising development near centres of employment such as Bath and Bristol, and to explore a garden town model rather than expanding rural villages.
It objects to proposals describing Saltford as a potential “employment focus,” stating that this does not reflect its rural and residential character.
The public consultation on B&NES Local Plan options closed last month. B&NES council will run another consultation when it has picked the sites and written up its draft Local Plan in spring/summer 2026.
The plan will then need to go to the Government for examination before it can be approved by the council, with the council expected to finally be able to approve the plan and bring it into effect in the summer of 2027.
Photo of Saltford’s green belt by Phil Harding
Saltford Parish Council objects to housing sites
