Planning & Consultations

Home Projects Planning & Consultations

We comment on government consultations, B&NES consultations and major planning applications which have the potential to impact the future sustainability of Bath.

Bath and North East Somerset has among the highest local standards for new build housing in the country and is leading the country in requiring developers to build homes with low carbon emissions and running costs including the following local policies:

  • SCR6: annual domestic heating demand < 30 kWh/year/m2 and annual energy demand < 40 kWh/m2/year – about 4 times lower than the average UK home
  • SCR7: a 100% reduction in carbon emissions for new large non-residential development versus 2013 Part L national standards
  • SCR8: Embodied carbon: embodied energy in construction of buildings of < 900 kg/m2, about half the national average and important because CO2 emissions from construction of a new building can be equivalent to up to 100 years of operational use CO2 emissions
  • Homes of Multiple Occupation: EPC band C or better

We aim to

  • ensure that these standards are enforced by the B&NES planning department
  • support the council in pushing these standards even higher in future so that our new homes are fully net zero
  • participate in national consultations on the built environment to ensure they support our aims to make Bath as environmentally friendly as possible

If you are interested in becoming involved or want to discuss any consultations or planning applications please contact us.


A list of planning applications we have recently commented on appears below: