Local Plan: Have your say while you can

KEYNSHAM residents are being urged to have their say before a blueprint for new housing in Keynsham is finalised.

The government has told Bath & North East Somerset Council that it needs to find space for 27,340 new homes over the next 18 years.

The council’s draft Local Plan allocates 5,900 to the city of Bath, while Keynsham is expected to take 5,700, despite it having a much smaller population.

A final consultation on the draft plan runs until October 30, and those who attended a public meeting in Keynsham were urged by a panel of the town’s district councillors to make their views known if they believe parts of the plan are “unsound”.

One example given was B&NES Council’s suggestion that flats could be built on half of Ashton Way car park and both Labbott car parks, an idea described by one councillor as “insane”.

The meeting was told this could be viewed as unsound because it raised the question of where residents, shoppers from out of town, and employees, such as B&NES Council staff who work in Keynsham Civic Centre, would park instead.

Saying that part of the plan was unsound would then give the person commenting the right to address a public enquiry into the Local Plan early next year.

Some residents expressed scepticism that commenting on the plan could change the outcome.

Councillor Andy Wait (Lib Dem, Keynsham East), who chaired the meeting, said: “It might make a difference. It might not. But what’s the alternative?

“We have to stick together as a community and recognise what needs to be done to keep the place safe.”

Cllr Wait said that those present should encourage as many family, friends and neighbours to take part as possible, because “numbers count.”

He cited the example of Burnett, where a potential location for new homes was removed from the Local Plan after hundreds of people objected.

At the meeting in The Space on September 21, residents aired their frustration at more homes being proposed while the town’s infrastructure is creaking, with burst water mains, power cuts, traffic-clogged roads and the difficulty of getting a doctor or dentist appointment.

They were also angry at developers being granted permission to build on one site despite their unfulfilled infrastructure promises on another, with new estates remaining unadopted up to 15 years after they were built.

Councillors said past failures could not lawfully justify refusing new applications, and B&NES Council lacked the resources to pursue legal action against large developers.

But the meeting was told that not having a Local Plan in place would allow developers even more freedom to build what they want, regardless of community needs, such as parks, play areas and wellbeing facilities.

Councillors on the panel said the draft plan did suggest some potentially suitable locations for new housing, such as Hicks Gate and North Keynsham, both adjacent to the A4, as well as east of Avonmill Lane.

Cllr Wait said: “We also recognise the positive aspects of people moving into the town. They bring in revenue, they bring in tax, and so on. But there are lots of other negatives.”

Residents also had the chance to hear more about the plan from B&NES Council officers at the Keynsham Area Forum meeting on September 24.

Forum chairman Alan Hale (Independent, Keynsham South) described the meeting as “useful” and added: “There is a need for people to engage and have their say.”

Keynsham Town Council and Saltford Parish Council have yet to formally respond to the draft plan, which proposes about 1,300 new homes in Saltford.

Councillor Duncan Hounsell (Lib Dem, Saltford) said: “The Labour government’s housing tsunami has hit the Saltford shores. The numbers proposed are very high and I do not support the draft Local Plan for Saltford as it stands.”

The public consultation on the draft Local Plan began on September 18 and runs until 5pm on October 30.

To explore the plan and submit your comments online, you can visit https://haveyoursay.bathnes.gov.uk/localplan/

Hard copies of the main consultation documents will also be available for inspection at council offices and libraries.