Transition Bath responds to B&NES Placemaking Plan Consultation

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We have responded on your behalf to B&NES council’s Placemaking Plans which will shape plans for Bath into the foreseeable future. The detailed consultation document of 325 pages covers everything from plans for the development of individual sites and areas within Bath, to more general policies on food, transport, the built environment, energy and environmental pollution.

Our formal response is available here . In summary our comments:

  • supported new policies on rural issues, particularly agriculture, on dispersed local shops, on food growing opportunities but called for the enhancement of policies on allotments, orchards and local ‘daily needs’ shopping
  • called for a less car focussed policy on transport, with greater focus on walking and cycling, in addition we felt that policies on Car Clubs and support for vehicle electrification were absent from the proposed policy
  • we were very supportive of the council’s energy policy within the restrictions on local control unfortunately introduced and enacted in parliament by our MP Don Foster. We would encourage them to continue to insist that Allowable Solutions to be delivered locally and called for tighter regulation of planning applications on sites which are suitable for district heating
  • we reiterated our objections to fracking without carbon capture and storage
  • and finally, we objected to the continuation of the current policy on Air Quality Standards which to date has had no impact in the levels of traffic pollution in Bath over the last 17 years and which exceed EU regulations. We made some positive suggestions about how the council could follow a more pro-active approach, through differential (parking) pricing in favour of the least polluting vehicles and in the long term, the introduction of a low carbon emissions zone