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SEG Home > Green Belt (Saltford)
LATEST CAMPAIGN NEWS!
SEG is keeping our News page updated on the various stages of the BaNES Local Plan process.
The draft Local Plan is expected to be discussed by a special Cabinet meeting on 2nd July (was previosly 10 June), where members will be asked to approve it to go forward for a 6-week public consultation from the 16th July. The Public Examination is expected to be held in autumn 2026 with final adoption in 2027. Once adopted, the Local Plan will guide planning decisions across Bath and North East Somerset until 2043. PLEASE NOTE these dates are subject to change.
Crest Nicholson applies to build up to 90 houses on Saltford's Green Belt - SEG's guide can help you respond (May 2026)
On 1st May, Crest Nicholson applied to BaNES Council for outline planning permission to build up to 90 houses on Saltford's precious Green Belt, on the fields/paddocks south of Manor Road opposite Saltford School's rear entrance (see picture). The previous attempt by Crest Nicholson in 2013 to obtain planning permission to build 99 houses on this parcel of land led to over 400 objections from residents submitted to BaNES.
See our NEWS PAGE FOR DETAILS including our RESPONSE GUIDE.
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'Save Our Green Belt' posters
You can download either of these 3 poster images as a pdf (A4 size) to print off yourself and display in your front window:-
SEG's postcard to the Prime Minister (April 2026)
To mark the National Day of Action for Nature, Parks and Green Spaces on Saturday 18th April organised by the Community Planning Alliance, SEG has posted the above postcard via our wonderful community Post Office to the Prime Minister so that it arrives by the 18th. Here is the text from our postcard:-
Dear Prime Minister
The Green Belt is the countryside next door for 30 million people; its protection is essential for supporting nature, our health and well-being, and the nation's future food security.
The economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment; it is not the other way round. Building homes near employment, not in the countryside and rural areas, is sustainable development in its truest sense. Homes for Everyone has proved the national housing target can be met without destroying the Green Belt.
Please will you keep your promise to take a brownfield-first approach, to protect sensible use of the Green Belt, and that only genuine brownfield sites such as disused petrol stations and abandoned car parks will be developed, and there will be no "ploughing through farmland" to build the new homes the nation needs?
Please ensure planning decisions on new housing developments are not made by developers whose interests are different from local communities that have to live with the consequences of poor planning decisions.
We look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely
Saltford Environment Group
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'Grey Belt' risk to Saltford - SEG responds to HMG consultation on planning policy changes (March 2026)
Due to SEG's serious concerns over the threat to Saltford's Green Belt from proposals to reform the planning system - the National Planning Policy Framework, on 7th March 2026 SEG also responded to the Government's consultation (16.12.2025 - 10.3.2026).
The text of SEG's reponse can be downloaded from this link >> (pdf opens in new window).
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90 houses on paddocks in Saltford's Green Belt? (February 2026
The developer Crest Nicholson has announced its intention to apply for planning permission to build 90 houses on Saltford's Green Belt, on the paddocks south of Manor Road (pictured here).
Residents will re-call the previous failed attempt by Crest Nicholson in 2013 to obtain planning permission to build a development of 99 houses on this parcel of land, the campaign led by SEG objecting to the proposed development and loss of our precious Green Belt. BaNES Council refused planning permission and after the appeal inquiry in August 2013 the appeal was dismissed by the Secretary of State and planning permission refused (in March 2014).
SEG will not pre-empt this planning application by making any public comment at this stage; we await the formal (speculative) planning application to be submitted and the associated consultation by BaNES Council. We shall keep the community informed on our website etc. and provide members of the community with response advice and guidance at the appropriate time (as in 2013).
Likewise, as stated publicly by Saltford Parish Council (SPC) on its website, prior to being consulted by the Planning Authority on an application, SPC does not comment on, provide feedback about, or share information regarding potential or pending planning applications, regardless of their size or scale. This includes speculative larger-scale planning applications - SPC will not engage with any developer about a proposed application or respond to any developer's own feedback or consultation requests.
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Progress on protecting Saltford's Green Belt landscape (2 February 2026)
A short summary of the meeting on 2nd February 2026 between SPC and BaNES Council shows that real progress on protecting Saltford's Green Belt has been made. This is the summary published by Saltford Parish Council on its Facebook page (and shared on SEG's Facebook page):-
L-R: Cllrs Gary Graveling, David Halton (SPC Vice Chair) and Phil Harding (SPC Chair of Planning) at Saltford Golf Club, 2 February 2026. Photograph courtesy of SPC.
Protecting Saltford's Green Belt:
Today [2.2.2026] SPC Cllrs met with BaNES Council's Cabinet Member for Housing and senior planning officers at Saltford Golf Club, overlooking landscape our community cares so deeply about.
BaNES Council described the papers and evidence produced by SPC for its landscape bid as "exemplary" - recognition of the careful, persistent work being done by SPC on behalf of Saltford residents to protect our Green Belt
SPC's made real progress - but there's more to do. The maps linked shows how SPC's work has already shaped changes to the proposed NE2A (e.g. additional Green Belt protection) landscape setting around our village [SEG comment: for which further progress has been made in expanding landscape protection] - while also showing why SPC continues to push for further safeguards.
View maps here: link to pdf on SPC website >>
More about the maps in SPC's article here: link to SPC website >>
Additional landscape protections within the Green Belt don't provide complete protection, but they do add an important and valuable extra layer of safeguarding.
For SPC's papers and actions since January 2023 visit here: Protecting Saltford's Green Belt - SPC >>
With sincere thanks to Saltford Golf Club and its Chairman for generously hosting the meeting today - and for the wonderful views from the clubhouse!
FURTHER INFORMATION (from SEG)
The set of extensive evidence papers, e.g. landscape setting assessments and related reports, produced by SPC for making representations to BaNES Council can be found in SEG's online Document Library (History of Saltford project) from this link >>
The draft Local Plan with development site proposals, including any proposed changes to Saltford's protective landscape setting designation, is due to be agreed by BaNES Council's Cabinet in early May, and will be published with the meeting papers in late April before the Cabinet meeting is held.
Following a limited consultation on the draft Local Plan it will probably be submitted for public examination by the Government's Planning Inspector(s) in October/November 2026. Final adoption of the (new) BaNES Local Plan after the Public Examination will be in 2027 - but these dates are subject to change.
The BaNES Local Plan timetable can be found on the BaNES Council website from this link >>
SEG Guide for responding to the Local Plan Consultation (8 October 2025)
Note: This consultation has closed
Protecting our Green Belt landscape and the rural nature of our village from development is critically important. The local countryside plays a huge role in protecting wildlife, future food security, and our health and well-being.
BaNES Council is now consulting until 14th November 2025 on options for development in the new Local Plan and the 3 proposed options for Saltford total up to 1,650 new houses. You are encouraged to make a response.
Have your say, your response to BaNES matters!
SEG has published here a guide to help you access the consultation directly and make your effective response with planning reasons for why Saltford's precious Green Belt, that benefits rural and city dwellers alike, should not be developed.
You can download the guide here in pdf or word formats (these open in a new window):-
The link to the online consultation is in the guide but for future reference (e.g. if you want to go back and amend your response before the 14th November deadline) is also here:
Saltford Parish Council is helpfully providing lots of information (including maps) about the consultation process on its website with a dedicated page that can be reached from this link >>
Background information on SPC's crucially important landscape designation requests can also be found on SPC's website from this link to SPC's Protecting Saltford's Green Belt page.
Local Plan Consultation Launched (3rd October 2025)
Higher Government targets for new houses means that BaNES Council needs to reset its Local Plan & consult again on where new developments might go. The total new housing in 3 options (previously 2 options) proposed for Saltford has increased by 350 from 1,300 (in the 2024 consultation) to 1,650 in our Green Belt. Almost doubling the size of Saltford with that level of over-development risks its future as a rural village from such a significant loss of our local countryside.
The 6-week consultation runs from 3rd October to 14th November. It is important that you have your say. Your response to BaNES matters!
The online consultation can be found from this external link >>
Saltford Parish Council is helpfully providing information (including maps) about the consultation process on its website with a dedicated page that can be reached from this link >>
Please Note: SEG will be publishing advice on our News page on how you can make an effective response, so please our website before the end of October. Thank you!
Next BaNES Local Plan: Latest dates for consultation on further options for development
On 17th September 2025 BaNES published its Cabinet papers that show 'options' for development in Saltford in the forthcoming Local Plan. These options along with other Local Plan development options elsewhere in Bath and NE Somerset will be consulted on by BaNES in a public consultation which opens on 3 October for six weeks (until 14 November 2025).
Having consulted in 2024 on their earlier ambitious target of 14,000 new homes over 20 years, BaNES Council has reset its Local Plan Options Report after the Government almost doubled the target to 27,000 over 18 years, from 2025 to 2043.
The Saltford options consulted on were for up to 1,300 new dwellings; the total has now been raised to up to 1,650 new dwellings, i.e. an additional 350. The maps below show where the new or revised options are and what they might contain. Whilst the need to assess the requirement for a new primary school in Saltford is referred to, its location is likely to be subject to decisions yet to be made on development options that go into the draft Local Plan.
The latest set of options, now three for Saltford (previously two options with 800 houses for 'South Saltford' and 500 for 'West Saltford'), are as illustrated by BaNES Council in these maps:-
South Saltford (350-450 dwellings, previously 800)
Saltford West (north of A4) (new option for 300-350 dwellings)
Saltford West (south of A4) (650-850 dwellings, previously 500)
Ward Councillor Duncan Hounsell is organising in Saltford Hall a public meeting to be held on the evening of Saturday 4th October (starting at 7.15pm). The meeting will be on the Local Plan Options and Saltford with a small number of guest speakers and a Q and A session. Although booked in the name of the Saltford and Keynsham Lib Dems, this will be a non-political information sharing meeting.
When the consultation is published by BaNES Council and more information known, SEG aims to publish guidance on how residents can respond effectively to reduce the hugely negative impact on the rural village of Saltford if these proposals all go forward and are adopted in the new Local Plan.
The mandatory government housing target for BaNES has increased further to 1,489 dwellings per annum (up from 1,466 p.a.). This increase is a consequence of a change in the "affordability factor" locally and the "standard method" figures that will apply from 2024. The next BaNES Local Plan is likely to run from 2025 to 2043 (previously 2022 to 2042).
The next BaNES Local Plan is likely to run from 2025 to 2043 (previously 2022 to 2042).
The draft Local Plan is expected to go to full BaNES Council in April/May 2026. Final adoption after the Public Examination will be in 2027.
Note: These dates are still liable to change.
Green Belt
What is the Green Belt?
The Green Belt covers 12.4% of the land area of England and is the area around many of our towns and cities that provides the countryside next door for 30 million people.
The fundamental aim of Green Belt policy is to prevent urban sprawl by keeping land permanently open. The concept of a Green Belt to protect a belt of countryside around large towns and cities originated in the 19th Century and became a reality in the 20th Century. In the 1930s a Green Belt was created around London by the city's local authorities. After WWII as the nation began to re-build its towns and cities, The Town and Country Planning Act 1947 allowed local authorities to include Green Belt proposals within their development plans. Subsequently local authorities around the country were encouraged to use formal and clearly defined Green Belts designations.
Today there are 14 Green Belts in England and 1 in Wales. Saltford is surrounded by the Green Belt which is part of the "Bristol and Bath Green Belt" (aka "The Avon Green Belt").
"People deserve countryside on their doorstep where agriculture is less intensive, where there is space for nature that everyone can explore and enjoy and which is accessible to all. Green Belts have a crucial role in enhancing the sustainability of our cities. Green Belt land can provide essential ecological functions and recreational benefits which are fundamental to health and wellbeing. And this can go hand in hand with sustainable agricultural production and climate change mitigation"
- Crispin Truman, CPRE Chief Executive (May 2022).
SEG's Green Belt Campaign (& related information)
Protecting our local Green Belt will be a fast moving issue for Saltford during 2025 and 2026 as we continue to campaign to protect our Green Belt from development in the next BaNES Local Plan (2022-2042). You are advised to regularly visit the news section on our home page and if you are on facebook follow Saltford Environment Group there to see how the campaign develops and for information on what residents can do to help protect our local countryside.
Next BaNES Local Plan: SPC meets with BaNES Council Leader (12th Aug)
August 2025
On 12th August, representatives from Saltford Parish Council met at The Guildhall in Bath with the Leader of BaNES Council, Cllr Kevin Guy, and the Cabinet Member for Built Environment, Housing and Sustainable Development, Cllr Matt McCabe; BaNES Planning Policy officers were also present. This was to discuss SPC's letter to the Deputy Prime Minister titled "New housing without compromising food security and nature" (the letter was reported by SEG in February 2025) and related issues concerning the forthcoming new BaNES Local Plan and its impact on Saltford. The members of SPC's 'Planning Policy Working Group' present were Cllrs Jon Godfrey (SPC Chairman), Phil Harding (Chair of SPC's Planning Committee) and Gary Graveling (Planning Committee member).
As reported in the 'Current Position' section of SPC's website page Protecting Saltford's Green Belt, key discussion points included:-
Green Belt and Landscape Protection:
Since January 2023, SPC has been working to secure enhanced landscape protections for Saltford's Green Belt. During the meeting, SPC sought assurances about maintaining Saltford's integrity as a village surrounded by Green Belt and stressed the importance of preserving the current Green Belt between Saltford and Keynsham. SPC again sought additional protections for Saltford's Green Belt, such as NE2a protections as seen on some parts of the Green Belt surrounding the village.
Saltford's Rural Identity:
During the meeting, SPC Councillors reiterated the importance of preserving Saltford's identity as a distinct rural village. This followed concerns raised by SPC in response to BaNES Council's pre-options consultation presentation at the June Keynsham Area Forum, where Saltford and Keynsham were jointly referred to as potential future "vibrant hubs". SPC made clear its view that Saltford's unique rural character and green setting must be maintained, and welcomed the acknowledgment of this by both Cllr Guy and Cllr McCabe.
Transport and Connectivity:
Transport was a key focus of the discussion, particularly in relation to the West of England Combined Authority (WECA), which oversees transport planning. Concerns were expressed about the amount of development in the BaNES Council area and also potentially in the Hicks Gate area (Bristol), and the impact of this on the A4 in Saltford. When asked for information - as none had been forthcoming from WECA despite requests by SPC - BaNES Council shared that a second A4 Bath to Bristol Corridor consultation was expected in the autumn. In response to this new piece of
information, SPC urged that Parish Councils be kept informed at the earliest opportunity of the next WECA A4 Corridor consultation so that they could look to respond as well as support timely local engagement. SPC also welcomed news that First Group is planning to fully electrify its fleet, particularly given the high volume of First Bus vehicles using the A4 through Saltford. SPC had previously sought information from WECA on this matter earlier in 2025 and is still awaiting a formal response.
Local Plan and Community Engagement:
SPC requested further information about the upcoming Local Plan Options Consultation, particularly in relation to engagement for Saltford residents. The Parish Council asked BaNES Council to hold a public drop-in event at Saltford Hall (no confirmation either way as yet) and welcomed Cllr Guy and Cllr McCabe's offer to attend a future Saltford Parish Council meeting if invited.
SEG reported last month (17th July) the latest consultation dates for the Local Plan. SEG will be providing guidance for how Saltford residents might make an effective response for any proposals to include new development options in Saltford, so do keep an eye on our website in the coming weeks and months.
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Saltford's Housing Development Boundary requires no change, says SPC
August 2025
At Saltford Parish Council's Planning Committee meeting on 6th August, the Planning Committee resolved SPC's view on BaNES Council's Planning Policy team's Housing Development Boundary informal review. This review considered any changes to Housing Development Boundaries in the BaNES Council area, and no changes had been proposed by BaNES Council to Saltford's Housing Development Boundary. This is part of the preparatory work by BaNES Council for the forthcoming new Local Plan.
SPC's formal response to BaNES Council was resolved as follows:-
"Saltford Parish Council (SPC) has made an informal review of its Housing Development Boundary. SPC is in full agreement with BaNES Council's review document that Saltford's existing HDB does not require change as the review document shows that following an initial review by BaNES Council whilst preparing its review document, there are no proposals to amend Saltford's HDB.
Saltford's HDB is well established, having consistently served its purpose for several decades in protecting the surrounding Green Belt from inappropriate development, including the areas that have NE2a landscape setting designation. Saltford's HDB's delineation is sufficiently consistent and does not require adjustment as no material benefit would result.
The small linear developments that are outside the Saltford HDB, for example Mead Lane, Avon Lane, and Manor Road (west side of Saltford), that contain just a few countryside and/or former agricultural properties that are physically and visually detached from the main settlement relate more to their isolated countryside setting than to the developed settlement within the existing HDB. Including them within a slightly expanded HDB would
(i) fail to recognise their special remote location within the local landscape and the sensitivity of their location, and
(ii) create a significantly less homogenous HDB than exists at present.
SPC requests prior engagement and consultation with BaNES Council before any decision is made to propose adjustments to Saltford's HDB in the next or future Local Plan Options Consultation, should such a proposal come forward."
Further information on the actions by SPC to protect Saltford's Green Belt can be found on the SPC website from this link: Protecting Saltford's Green Belt.
SEG fully endorses SPC's review findings on Saltford's Housing Development Boundary and SPC's response to BaNES Council.
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Next BaNES Local Plan: Latest dates for consultation on further options for development
July 2025 (updated 11.9.2025)
Further options for housing developments in the Local Plan (reset to meet higher housing targets set by Government) will be made known on 17th September in agenda papers ahead of the September BaNES Cabinet meeting on 25th September. The public consultation that will follow is scheduled to take place from 3rd October to 14th November 2025.
Ward Councillor Duncan Hounsell is organising in Saltford Hall a public meeting to be held on the evening of Saturday 4th October. The meeting will be on the Local Plan Options and Saltford with a small number of guest speakers and a Q and A session. Although booked in the name of the Saltford and Keynsham Lib Dems, this will be a non-political meeting. The objective will be information sharing, not a rally for or against any outcomes.
These dates are liable to change and SEG may organise its AGM to fit with the options consultation timetable.
The mandatory government housing target for BaNES has increased further to 1,489 dwellings per annum (up from 1,466 p.a.). This increase is a consequence of a change in the "affordability factor" locally and the "standard method" figures that will apply from 2024. The next BaNES Local Plan is likely to run from 2025 to 2043 (previously 2022 to 2042).
The next BaNES Local Plan is likely to run from 2025 to 2043 (previously 2022 to 2042).
The draft Local Plan is expected to go to full BaNES Council in April/May 2026.
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Next BaNES Local Plan housing target and timetable changes
May 2025
SEG is aware from information made available by Ward Cllr Duncan Hounsell at the SPC meeting on 7th May, that the mandatory government housing target for BaNES has increased further to 1,489 dwellings per annum (up from 1,466 p.a.). This increase is a consequence of a change in the "affordability factor" locally and the "standard method" figures that will apply from 2024.
The next BaNES Local Plan is likely to run from 2025 to 2043 (previously 2022 to 2042). There will be a small change in the new Local Plan development timetable so the new consultation on options for development (to meet the higher housing targets) is likely to be in the autumn, rather than the summer, 2025.
The Options document will be in the agenda papers for the BaNES Cabinet meeting taking place on 11th September with public consultation on the Options document taking place from mid-September until the end of October. The draft Local Plan will go to full BaNES Council in April/May 2026.
On a related matter, SPC discussed the response it had received from Baroness Taylor of Stevenage, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing and Local Government, to its letter "New housing without compromising food security and nature" sent by SPC on 10th February 2025 to Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner MP (via the office of our MP, Dan Norris).
SPC resolved on 6th May to publish the official response on SPC's website and accompany the response with the following statement:-
"Saltford Parish Council acknowledges and is grateful for the response from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. However, it remains deeply concerned that there has been no acceptance of the need to take a long-term stewardship approach to land use planning to simultaneously help the recovery of nature and to improve the resilience of the nation's indigenous food supply by providing better safeguards for the Green Belt and farmland.
The Parish Council will be looking to Bath and North East Somerset and the newly elected West of England Mayor to set a national example by ensuring that no Green Belt or farmland in the area they control or influence is lost to development in the planning process and to therefore use other, more sustainable, means to meet genuine housing need and in the right places."
SPC also resolved to publish supplementary landscape evidence it has agreed to submit to BaNES Planners for its landscape designation request for Saltford south of the Bath Road (its publication and submission was delayed by the WECA Mayor pre-election period that prevents Parish Councils taking an active public role on policy issues that may be relevant to the political campaigns of candidates).
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New housing without compromising food security and nature - SPC public letter to DPM
February 2025
At its meeting on 4th February 2025, Saltford Parish Council resolved to write an open (public) letter to the Government raising its concerns that the Government's planning policy for building 1.5 million new homes has potential to cause considerable long-term harm to the nation's food security, economy and natural capital. In particular, the harm to food security is likely to have disastrous consequences causing future hardship and food poverty for those on lower incomes.
The letter was sent on 10th February and asked the Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner that the Government makes an unequivocal policy statement, that overrules any interpretation of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF, December 2024) and related planning policies, that "no undeveloped land in the Green Belt and/or farmland during the current Parliament shall be permitted planning permission, including on appeal to the Secretary of State, for building new homes to meet national or local housing targets set by HM Government or Local Planning Authorities" and that existing planning permissions for new housing developments that remain unbuilt (one million...), should be completed or well advanced by 2029, with steps taken by Government, as necessary, to make that happen.
Attached to SPC's letter was an evidence-based annex that set out SPC's cause for its concern and "why there is no need or justification for building any new homes, including affordable homes, that the nation needs on the Green Belt and/or farmland; indeed, to destroy that priceless national resource would be unwise and represent irresponsible stewardship of the nation's land and natural capital."
You can download a copy of SPC's letter as a pdf from this link:-
SEG fully endorses and supports SPC's letter and will use the letter as important evidence when making representations to Government, Local Government and others for defending the Green Belt and farmland.
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There's no Grey Belt in Saltford, says SPC
January 2025
None of Saltford's Green Belt land meets the Government's new National Planning Policy Framework (December 2024) definition of "Grey Belt" according to Saltford Parish Council at its first meeting of 2025 on 7th January. That resolution was based on an assessment of Saltford's Green Belt by SPC's Planning Policy Working Group. SEG welcomes and agrees with that assessment.
NOTE: Grey Belt is described in the NPPF as land in the Green Belt that could be suitable for new housing developments and is defined as comprising previously developed land and/or any other land that, in either case, does not strongly contribute to any of 3 specific Green Belt purposes, namely (a), (b), or (d) - i.e. (a) to check the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas, (b) to prevent neighbouring towns merging into one another, and (d) to preserve the setting and special character of historic towns.
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Revised timetable for BaNES Local Plan
January 2025
UPDATE 7.5.2025 THIS HAS CHANGED AGAIN & A NEW TIMETABLE IS EXPECTED BY THE AUTUMN OF 2025
Following the launch of the new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) by the Government in December 2024, BaNES Council has issued as part of its update to the Local Plan Preparation Schedule a revised timetable to enable consideration of further options for housing developments to meet the higher housing targets set by Government (that are highly questionable and should require no loss of Green Belt or farmland - see SEG's evidence statement 20.12.2024 (pdf)).
The new dates are as follows (subject to change):-
- Public consultation on OPTIONS for strategic housing allocations Aug/Sept 2025.
- Public consultation on draft new Local Plan Mar/Apr 2026.
- Draft Local Plan public examination Jul/Aug 2026.
- Final adoption of new Local Plan Jun/Jul 2027.
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No need, requirement or justification for building any new homes that the country needs on Green Belt and farmland, says SEG
December 2024
On behalf of Saltford Environment Group's 560+ members, SEG's Chairman has written an open letter to the 6 candidates standing for election to fill the Saltford Ward Councillor vacancy in the 16th January 2025 local election.
The letter stated that the two most important issues for Saltford's new Ward Councillor during and after 2025 will be the threat of development on Saltford's Green Belt in the next (draft) Local Plan, and traffic congestion in Saltford and Keynsham that would become considerably worse at peak times if WECA implements its proposals for a bus lane on the Keynsham bypass.
SEG's letter made the point that the evidence overwhelmingly shows that there is no need, requirement or justification for building any of the new affordable (and other) homes that the country needs on Green Belt and farmland in England to help meet the Government's target to build 1.5 million new homes by 2029. SEG provided a "Supporting Evidence Statement" that explains why. You can download the statement (pdf) here:-
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New NPPF launched 12 December 2024 with official new 'Grey belt' definition
November 2024
The Government launched a revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) on 12 December 2024. This introduced a new definintion of land within the Green Belt, "Grey belt" that can be developed. There is a link to the NPPF and a description of Grey belt in the section on this page Policies and Government statements that affect the Green Belt.
SPC keeping up the pressure on defending the Green Belt
November 2024
Saltford Parish Council has remained active defending Saltford's Green Belt during November. As reported on its "Protecting Saltford's Green Belt" webpage that is linked from SPC's News page, members of SPC's Planning Policy Working Group met with BaNES Council Planning Officers on 7th November and our local MP, Dan Norris, on 8th November.
In summary SPC welcomed the news from BaNES Council's Senior Planning Officers on 7th November that further to SPC's request for landscape designation at 'Saltford South of the A4', a report had been commissioned from a landscape architect consultancy to address matters raised in SPC's bid and also to assess BaNES Council's landscape designation methodology. Later the same day, SPC also attended a briefing for Parish and Town Councils from BaNES Planning Policy officers about BaNES Council's work on re-setting of its Local Plan process (due to the revised timetable for the Local Plan, as resolved by BaNES Council's cabinet at its 12 September meeting).
SPC is due to meet with BaNES Council's Planning Policy officers again in early 2025 to discuss its bid to enhance protection for Green Belt at Saltford South, and welcomed that the report from the landscape architect consultancy would be published alongside the next Local Plan consultation due late summer 2025.
SPC also met with Dan Norris MP at Saltford Hall on 8th November to request support for its response to the NPPF consultation. SPC received guidance that a regional approach would be required and as such SPC should approach the next West of England Combined Authority Mayor in May 2025.
There is a helpful timeline on SPC's "Protecting Saltford's Green Belt" webpage that sets out the numerous actions taken by SPC in making representations to BaNES Council and also a list of key documents produced by SPC that can be downloaded. These are easy to find on SPC's Protecting Saltford's Green Belt webpage.
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BaNES to re-set its new Local Plan
November 2024
Due to the serious implications for BaNES Council's next Local Plan for the period 2022-2042, in particular new mandatory housing targets, which would see a significant uplift in the housing numbers that BaNES needs to plan for, BaNES Council has had to re-set the process for producing its new Local Plan.
As SEG reported in October, new mandatory housing targets are expected to increase the target for BaNES from the current 717 houses per annum to 1,466 per annum. The purpose of this increase is said by Government to be to address historic shortfalls in housing delivery and meeting housing needs.
To enable BaNES Council to consult on further options for development to enable it to meet the higher targets, it will re-set the timetable for delivering the new Local Plan, delaying its completion by about 12 months. Another round of consultations on further options for new housing developments are anticipated around late summer/early autumn 2025 with a draft Local Plan to be launched in early 2026 and the Public Examination late 2026/early 2027.
Existing options consulted on in 2024 will be carried forward by BaNES for consideration in drafting the new Local Plan and will not, therefore, be consulted upon again.
The higher housing numbers for the BaNES area is likely to increase the pressure on Saltford's Green Belt. That is despite the lack of employment opportunities in a village like Saltford.
Common sense suggests that the actual need for affordable housing should be delivered close to centres of employment like Bristol and Bath, thus reducing the need for commuter travel (that congests roads, raises carbon emissions and increases local air pollution).
Likewise, building new affordable homes closer to employment in our cities on brownfield sites or through the re-purposing of former retail sites, helps avoid a further devastating loss of the region's valuable Green Belt that is so important not just for wildlife and food production, but for the health and well-being of city and rural dwellers alike.
SEG will be discussing this issue at its November AGM (members have been sent an AGM invitation email).
FURTHER INFORMATION
See also our October news story "New Government housing target for BaNES 'unrealistic', says BaNES" (below this story) which provides further comment from SEG on this important issue.
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New Government housing target for BaNES 'unrealistic', says BaNES
October 2024
According to a press release (1.10.2024) from BaNES Council, six key issues to enable housing reform in Bath and North East Somerset have been set out in a letter sent to the Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Angela Rayner.
BaNES Council leader, Councillor Kevin Guy, has written to the Deputy Prime Minister welcoming the Government's commitment to tackling the housing crisis but warned the housing target set for BaNES is 'unrealistic'.
In July the Government set out new mandatory housing targets which would see a significant uplift in the housing numbers that BaNES needs to plan for, increasing from the current 717 houses per annum to 1,466 per annum. The purpose of this increase is to address historic shortfalls in housing delivery and meeting housing needs*.
Councillor Guy's six issues that need to be addressed were:-
- We need to agree how our unique situation will be taken into account in advance of rewriting our Local Plan. We are asking that government facilitates timely conversations between the local authority, appropriate government departments/agencies and UNESCO to discuss the relationship between World Heritage Site status and planning for sustainable growth in the city.
- We also need to consider a more flexible regional cross boundary approach with our neighbouring authorities.
- We are also calling for more funding for affordable homes - more than 70 per cent of BaNES' assessed housing need in the city of Bath is for those who cannot afford market housing.
- We must invest in the necessary infrastructure such as transport, utilities, flood defences, health and educational facilities.
- We are also concerned about wider planning reforms, here in BaNES we currently have nearly 2,100 homes with planning permission that are stalled. Unlocking delivery of them would require radical reforms.
- Finally, we need to build capacity. Relatively modest investment in local and regional skills and capacity up front is a vital precondition to increasing housing supply.
The letter concluded with Councillor Guy making the following point "Over the last 13 years sound local planning policies have helped deliver nearly 10,000 new homes in BaNES and we want to ensure over the next ten years the right homes in the right places are built. We want to work with the government on becoming a trailblazer for new ideas and policy changes that will deliver high-quality, sustainable and affordable housing in our area."
*NOTE (October 2024): Recent quote from CPRE, the Countryside Charity, on facebook:- "In 1971 there was almost one dwelling for every 3 people in the country. Today, there is about one dwelling for every 2.25 people, meaning we actually have more homes per capita right now than we did 50 years ago (ONS Data). The housing crisis is a crisis of affordability. Labour's pledge for 1.5m new homes must prioritise affordable housing built in the
right locations - not rushed developments lacking social infrastructure. Let's commit to building on brownfield sites first which can deliver over 1.2 million homes where they're needed most, while protecting our green space for future generations."
SEG COMMENT
Whilst BaNES is right to challenge the new Government's unrealistic housing targets, it is disconcerting that BaNES Council has made no mention of the natural environment and not made the most important and very relevant point to the BaNES area, and across England. This is that planning targets for new housing developments should take account of food security and supporting ecological recovery.
In other words, areas like BaNES that have a high concentration of land that is used, or can provide ecosystem support, for food production should not be imposed with housing targets that would lead to the loss of such land.
Allied to that is the essential need to support the health and well-being of city and rural dwellers alike by protecting the Green Belt.
As Saltford Parish Council said in its response to the national planning reforms consultation last month:-
"Land-use planning should be part of a long-term process so that it delivers sustainable development on a more permanent basis and that takes account of environmental priorities which, as is widely acknowledged, underpin all other sustainable development goals, i.e. economic and social outcomes".
Until both our national and local governments grasp that fundamental point and develop long-term land-use strategies at the national and local level, the planning mistakes of recent decades will continue to be replicated. The implications for the nation's natural environment, food security, social well-being and the economy will be highly damaging and permanent.
Local Plan 2022-2042 timetable
SEG understands that the timetable for the new BaNES Local Plan will now be revised so that BaNES can consider new and further site options for development before producing a draft Local Plan. Further consultations are therefore likely to arise.
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SEG asks BaNES to comply with Government policy on the Green Belt! (Local Plan consultation response)
March 2024
You can read the full text of SEG's response by clicking on this link (pdf opens in new window) :-
The consultation period ends at 5pm on 16th April (deadline was 8th April but then extended after technical issues with online responses were resolved). See next item forSEG's guide on how to make an effective response concerning the south and west Saltford options.
Objection reasons for 1,300 new houses in Saltford's Green Belt!
February/March 2024
Don't lose our Green Belt!
SEG's guide on how residents can make an effective response to the two Saltford options in the BaNES Local Plan Options Consultation is now available here on our website.
If the two Saltford options are put into the new Local Plan for 2022-2042, they would add 1,300 houses and a new school on our Green Belt.
The options under consideration are Saltford West (500 houses) adjacent to Grange Road and South Saltford (800 houses) adjacent to Montague Road, Manor Road. A new primary school would accompany either or both options.
You can download the 2-page SEG guide here:-
PLEASE NOTE : When submitting your online response you may need to 'click' on the submit button TWICE for each section response before the system accepts your response and issues a unique reference no. for your response. After clicking the first time you are advised to wait and see what happens (the page should 'refresh' itself and show your unique reference no. at the end of the page). Furthermore, if you don't receive a confirmation email from BaNES, that may mean it has not logged your response and you will need to submit it again(!).
Printed copies of the SEG guide are also available from the Saltford Community Library & Post Office. The guide has been endorsed by our BaNES Saltford Ward Councillors, Cllr Duncan Hounsell and Cllr Alison Streatfeild-James.
This is your opportunity to help defend the Green Belt from inappropriate development. Remember, responses need to be based on planning reasons for them to have an effect. SEG's guide is to help you do that.
PERMANENT LANDSCAPE DESIGNATION FOR (i) SALTFORD SOUTH & (ii) SALTFORD'S GREEN BELT
SEG's current priority is to support the request to B&NES Council on behalf of the local community made by Saltford Parish Council on 4th January 2023 for a landscape designation for Saltford South, that is the Green Belt area of Saltford that lies south of the Bath Road A4.
This would be for either an AGLV (Area of Great Landscape Value), NE2a "Landscape Setting of Settlements" (i.e. a BaNES Placemaking Plan 2017 designation) or LGS (Local Green Space) designation (or a mix of two of those designations) and is officially requested from the Local Planning Authority, B&NES Council, via the B&NES Local Plan (2022-2042) consultation process. That process is likely to be completed in 2025.
Saltford Parish Council agreed at its 6th February 2024 meeting to submit a response to B&NES Council that it had, in effect, dismissed the request without a formal criteria and decision-making process within BaNES Council for reaching that decision. There was no formal process for Parish Councils to apply for a landscape designation in the Local Plan process where a community places great value on the natural, historic and environmental attributes of a local landscape, despite the requirements of the NPPF (version December 2023, paragraph 180) that planning policies and decisions should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment including protecting and enhancing valued landscapes.
SPC also said that in the absence of that formal application process, SPC would have appreciated greater consideration of its detailed application, submitted in January 2023 and reaffirmed in January 2024, and the opportunity to discuss it properly.
In view of BaNES Council's disappointing attitude towards protecting important landscapes, SPC said it would consider whether to expand the original request whilst considering other means of achieving protection in the absence of support from our Local Planning Authority. SPC said it obviously reserved the right to appeal to the Secretary of State.
It was also resolved at SPC's 6th February 2024 meeting to urgently seek the support of Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg MP regarding the Parish Council's request for landscape designation at 'Saltford South'. SPC has since requested a meeting with Sir Jacob and members of its Local Plan Working Group. The Working Group's members are Cllr Phil Harding (Planning Chair), Cllr Jon Godfrey (SPC Chair), Cllr David Halton (Vice Chair), and Cllr Gary Graveling.
Saltford's Green Belt is an Area of Great Landscape Value, says SPC
At Saltford Parish Council's meeting on 5th March 2024, SPC resolved to adopt as a planning policy document its new paper "The Saltford Area of Great Landscape Value - Planning Policy and Character Appraisal by Saltford Parish Council".
SPC agreed that this new Saltford Area of Great Landscape Value paper would serve as a reference document for SPC planning policy purposes, specifically in relation to future proposals that may affect or seek to develop Saltford's Green Belt landscape area. Saltford Parish Council, in describing Saltford's landscape setting as an Area of Great Landscape Value, seeks to provide information and data that offers planners and developers a greater insight of this landscape's high quality and value to the community.
SPC makes the point in its paper that the support and recognition of Saltford's Local Planning Authority, BaNES Council, for a landscape designation, through either an AGLV or NE2a (Landscape Setting of Settlements) designation, would provide reassurance to the community of Saltford and neighbouring parishes that the Local Planning Authority values this landscape as much as the community it seeks to represent and will protect it from development.
As resolved at its 5th March 2024 meeting, SPC also sent the paper to BaNES Council as supporting evidence for its response to the BaNES Local Plan Options Consultation.
ENDORSEMENTS
The community's great value that it puts on the local landscape both for the health and wellbeing of the community and for the important habitat it provides for wildlife, is demonstrated by the endorsement of the paper by Saltford Community Association, St Mary's Parochial Church Council and Saltford Environment Group. Furthermore, the Avon & Bristol Branch of the CPRE (Campaign for the Preservation of Rural England) has endorsed the paper too.
In confirming the CPRE's endorsement the Area Director said that "this is a comprehensive and rigorous report. In the context of the ecological and climate emergency declared by BaNES, a community led approach to character appraisal such as this should be applauded. ...CPRE local area branch endorses the aims and objectives of the document and the importance of protecting from development Saltford's Green Belt landscape surrounding the village."
PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORD
As a stand alone document but also to complement the "The Saltford Area of Great Landscape Value" paper, at its 5th March meeting SPC also resolved to adopt as a SPC document "Saltford's Area of Great Landscape Value - A Photographic Record". The collection of photographs it contains provides a snapshot and will become a historical record of the rural countryside setting that the Green Belt surrounding Saltford's housing boundary provides at the present time.
SEE THE DOCUMENTS
You can download the March 2024 documents, "The Saltford Area of Great Landscape Value" and its accompanying 'Photographic Record', from the Saltford Parish Council (SPC) website and read further information on this key issue for Saltford via this link >>.
As these documents are of significant importance to the community whilst forming a historical record, SEG has archived and made available copies of both papers in SEG's History of Saltford Project - Document Library.
SPC's January 2024 reaffirmation to B&NES Council of its original January 2023 request for a 'Saltford South' designated landscape protection can be found on the SPC website via this link >>.
The original landscape designation request documents for Saltford South made in January 2023 can also be found on the Saltford Parish Council (SPC) website via this link >>.
NOTE.
Our Home Page (News section) will carry the latest news on our campaign to keep Saltford's Green Belt out of the Local Plan and to support SPC's landscape designation request.
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SEG'S KEY OBJECTIVE
Protecting Saltford's Green Belt from development is a key objective of SEG. SEG therefore maintains pre-prepared documentation setting out the planning case for why the Green Belt and other relevant policies of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), prove why, in national and local planning policy terms, Saltford's Green Belt is not appropriate for new housing or mixed-use developments.
SEG does not deny that new homes are required and especially affordable homes for an unmanaged growing population, but they must be built in appropriate locations and represent genuine sustainable development. The annual reports from the CPRE on the state of brown field land in England reveal that this previously developed land could accommodate well over 1 million new homes and a significant number on the West of England's brownfield sites.
Key news of activities associated with SEG's continuous campaign to protect Saltford's Green Belt from development can be found on this page. Campaign news will feature regularly on our home page.
As a reference source we have published at the end of this page in our Campaign Archive some of SEG's written evidence, articles and other lobbying material etc. from our campaign. See also our special Green Belt Inquiry (2013) Archive Page.
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Saltford's Green Belt
The housing development area of Saltford is surrounded by Green Belt and the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) on the eastern bank (Bath side) of the River Avon towards Kelston and the Round Hill. Saltford is also surrounded by the Community Forest of Avon area (N, W and S sides of the village).
The Parish Plan (2010) describes the local purpose and views about our Green Belt as follows:
"Saltford lies within the Bristol/Bath Green Belt which is how it has managed to keep its countryside setting, and there is a clear view amongst residents that this Green Belt surrounding the village should continue to be protected from erosion through housing development."
93% of respondents to the Parish Plan questionnaire circulated in September 2009 thought it was important to preserve the Green Belt around Saltford. This demonstrates that a key reason why people choose to live in Saltford is for the quality of the local natural environment and countryside. The habitat it provides
for local wildlife is also important and highly valued by residents.
If we wish Saltford to retain the character and size of a rural village (Saltford is classified as a Rural Area RA1 village in the B&NES Placemaking Plan 2017, i.e. development will be acceptable within and adjoining the housing development boundary on land outside the Green Belt), then the protection of the Green Belt surrounding the village from development is essential.
Against the background of a rising population, climate change and an ecological emergency it is also increasingly important that, for the ability of the local area to produce food for current and future generations, we protect viable agricultural land and natural/semi-natural land within the Green Belt. Farmland requires the ecosystem support (e.g. habitat for pollinating insects) of surrounding Green Belt and natural/semi-natural land to function.
The Green Belt has a valuable role in providing food and habitat for our wildlife and thus protecting the biodiversity that is so important for a healthy environment that in turn is essential for our quality of life whether we live in Saltford itself or in neighbouring towns and cities where recreational access to the countryside is equally important.
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Photography & Advice for Drone Operators
Saltford's attractive Green Belt landscape with its Cotswold AONB backdrop including Kelston Roundhill and the River Avon, itself an SNCI (Site of Nature Conservation Interest), unsurprisingly attracts photographers during all seasons of the year.
If you want to see some of the work of photographers based in and around Saltford, see the Saltford Photographers group on facebook: #saltfordphotographers.
Drone operators wishing to take aerial video or photographs of or near Saltford need to be aware that Saltford Airfield has 3km and 5km flight restriction zones that cover much of Saltford. A drone should never fly in an airport or airfield's restriction zone without prior permission and drone operators are responsible for ensuring they comply with the latest safety regulations issued by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
The operator of Saltford Airfield has produced a helpful 3-page pdf guide for drone operators that also includes CAA advice and this can be downloaded from SEG's website from this link:-
Enquiries about flying drones should be made to Saltford Airfield (contact details are in the above guide).
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Local Plan
The Local Plan (or Development Plan) for Bath & North East Somerset primarily comprises the Core Strategy (adopted in 2014) and the Placemaking Plan (adopted in 2017), both of which cover a plan period up to 2029. BaNES Council is required to review the Local Plan every five years in order to determine whether it remains fit for purpose or whether all or part of it needs to be updated.
At present BaNES Council is preparing a new Local Plan for the 18-year period period 2025 to 2043 (previously for the period 2022 to 2042).
Following the launch of the new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) by the Government in December 2024, BaNES Council has issued as part of its update to the Local Plan Preparation Schedule a revised timetable to enable consideration of further options for housing developments to meet the higher housing targets set by Government (that are highly questionable and should require no loss of Green Belt or farmland - see SEG's evidence statement 20.12.2024 (pdf)).
The new dates are as follows (subject to change, last updated Feb 2026):-
- Public consultation on OPTIONS for strategic housing allocations: Oct/Nov 2025 (completed).
- Public consultation on draft new Local Plan: Summer 2026.
- Draft Local Plan public examination by a Government Inspector: from autumn 2026.
- Final adoption of new Local Plan: 2027.
To read SEG's campaign to protect Saltford's Green Belt from development in the new Local Plan see our Green Belt Campaign section higher up this page.
You are advised to regularly visit the news section on our home page and if you are on facebook follow Saltford Environment Group there to see how the campaign develops and for information on what residents can do to help protect pur local countryside.
SEG endorses Saltford Parish Council's formal request for a protective landscape designation for Saltford's Green Belt in the next Local Plan (that will cover development plans up to 2043). You can read more about this in our SEG's Green Belt Campaign section higher up this page.
The main BaNES Council web page about the BaNES Local Plan can be reached from this link >>
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Placemaking Plan(s)
Saltford's High Street in autumn. Photograph copyright SEG.
1. Saltford Placemaking Plan (2013)
Saltford's Placemaking Plan was produced by a Working Group appointed by Saltford Parish Council and published on the SPC website in December (2013). The community was consulted on its contents between 23 November and 6 December 2013.
The purpose of this plan is to complement the strategic planning framework provided in Bath & North East Somerset Council's Core Strategy. It provides an updated and refreshed planning policy framework for managing development in the Parish of Saltford. The plan breaks Saltford down into 7 distinct character zones: Green Belt, Conservation Area, housing settlements (north and south of the A4), river Avon frontage, A4 corridor and the two large satellite sites within the Green Belt.
The following extract from the Green Belt character assessment (Chapter 6) and is as relevant today as it was in 2013:-
The Cotswold AONB ridge and the distinctive local landmark of Kelston Round Hill (also known as Kelston Tump) together with Saltford's Green Belt and the river Avon provides a rural setting for the village. Despite Saltford's proximity to the cities of Bath and Bristol and the neighbouring town of Keynsham, this landscape gives Saltford its own distinctive character complementing and preserving both the setting of Saltford's
Conservation Area with its historical buildings and the newer housing developments within the village.
The openness of Saltford's Green Belt also provides a sense of permanence to the countryside surrounding the village, provides separation whilst keeping in check urban sprawl from Keynsham, Bristol and Bath, and helps to safeguard the adjacent countryside including the Cotswold AONB from encroachment.
It is also a very important green infrastructure asset for Saltford and the wider community of Bath & North East Somerset. It provides ecosystems that support agriculture and wildlife together with an element of flood protection for the village from the river Avon and from surface water flooding arising from extreme rainfall events.
In addition to sports facilities offered by Saltford Golf Club and the sports ground by Saltford Hall, the Bristol and Bath Railway Path together with Saltford's extensive network of public footpaths provide the community and many visitors from neighbouring urban areas with a healthy environment much of which is considered locally to be of outstanding scenic value. This also enables leisure activities such as walking and cycling that are important for healthy lifestyles and a general sense of well-being.
93% of households that responded to the Saltford Parish Plan questionnaire in 2009 specifically said that they wanted Saltford's Green Belt to be protected. This clearly expressed view is reflected in the 2010 Saltford Parish Plan's objective to "prevent development that will encroach upon the Green Belt around Saltford".
2. BaNES Placemaking Plan (2017)
The BaNES Placemaking Plan is an important document as combined with the Core Strategy (adopted in 2014) these form the BaNES Local Plan (until it is replaced with a new Local Plan in c.2025).
You can view the archived BaNES Placemaking Plan that was adopted in July 2017 on the BaNES Council website from this link: BaNES Placemaking Plan - archive.
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A road bypass for Saltford?
The loss of Green Belt land from construction and the infill development that would inevitably follow, is just one of several reasons why a discussion paper produced for Saltford Environment Group's Committee says that at the present time the case has not been made for a bypass as a suitable solution for peak time traffic congestion in Saltford. The discussion paper looks at the potential
adverse effects our village might face if a bypass was to be built, creating more environmental, social and economic problems than it would solve.
The threat to our Green Belt and agricultural land from a bypass would be considerable as shown by the rejected proposals by BaNES Planners in January 2013 for a southern route bypass containing an infill of 5,000+ houses in the context of the draft Core Strategy. Furthermore the West of England Transport Study Final Report by Atkins (October 2017) concluded that a southern route bypass "would cross difficult terrain, with steep slopes south east of the village. It would be necessary to create a significant cut in the hillside, with a relatively steep gradient and potential requirement for a climbing lane in the westbound direction. These issues would collectively result in landscape impacts, major earthworks and relatively high scheme costs."
The policy discussion paper on a road bypass for Saltford (first published 9.1.13) is a 'living document' that we shall review and update periodically. It can be downloaded here:
Standing room only at the Saltford bypass public meeting (1.12.2016)
Bypass meeting 1.12.2016.
On the evening of 1st December 2016 c.200 residents attended a public meeting at Saltford Golf Club. This was arranged at short notice by Saltford Parish Council to give residents an opportunity to hear about the proposed bypass as illustrated in the West of England Joint Transport Study "Transport Vision" document which has a very short consultation period from 7th November to 19th December.
On the panel stating their position on a bypass and taking questions from residents were Cllr Tim Warren, Leader of BaNES Council; Cllr Tony Clarke, BaNES Cabinet Member for Transport; Cllr Francine Haeberling, Ward Councillor for Saltford (Cons); Cllr Chris Warren, Chairman of Saltford Parish Council; and Duncan Hounsell, representing BaNES and Saltford Liberal Democrats. The meeting was chaired by independent chairman and Saltford resident, Dick Bateman.
Cllrs Tim Warren and Tony Clarke were emphatic that the line on the map showing a bypass route south of Saltford was illustrative only and there were no plans for a bypass on any particular route around Saltford. It was being considered in only general terms at this stage as part of the mix of transport solutions to help alleviate the traffic congestion on the Bath-Bristol transport corridor as part of the Joint Transport Study which was intended to cover a 20 year period from 2016 to 2036.
The majority of questions from the floor expressed concerns at the potential impacts on Saltford and the potential for infill housing on the Green Belt from a bypass. The need for evidence based information on the different options or solutions before the community was asked to express a firm opinion was also emphasised by several residents.
A number of residents in the audience and the panel members from Saltford asked for the next published draft of the transport vision to not include any indicative line for a Saltford bypass. It was strongly felt that any indicative line showing a possible bypass would put an unnecessary long term housing and planning blight on a large part of Saltford.
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Food Security and the Green Belt
An estimated 75% of food crops rely on pollinators to some degree and 95% of food comes directly or indirectly from the soil...
Prof Simon Potts, Reading University, & others (2023)
The extreme fluctuations in our weather we experience increasingly are a symptom of human-induced climate change and can have drastic affects on food supplies and food prices.
Clearly, extreme weather, fluctuating between prolonged periods of wet weather, heat waves and drought, arising from climate change makes a direct impact on the carrying capacity of the UK and can and will have a drastic effect on food supplies and food prices, i.e. food security.
Rather than waiting for a food supply crisis to occur in the UK before taking action when it may be too late, the UK should plan ahead urgently by protecting our agricultural land and making sure we provide sufficient headroom to take account of (unmanaged) population growth raising the demand for food whilst climate change induced extreme weather reduces our agricultural land's capacity to produce food. It is reasonable to accept that the UK will always have to import some food but imports are likely to become less reliable or affordable.
Who feeds Saltford & BaNES?
Saltford including the housing development area is approximately 5.5 km2, just over 2 square miles, or 1,400 acres. Taking account of the existing developed land within the housing development boundary (approx. 1.1 km2, or 270 acres), we have around 1,100 acres left.
If we assume approximately 1 acre of agricultural land is required to feed one person (this is affected by diet and food production methods) then Saltford's population of 4,073 (2011 census) requires 4,073 acres, i.e. a footprint some 3 times larger than Saltford and its green belt.
"Keeping land permanently open" is a purpose of Green Belt. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF - 2023) states (para. 120) that planning policies and decisions "should recognise that undeveloped land can be used for carbon storage or food production".
In 2020, 71% of the UK's land, or 17.3 million hectares, was used for agricultural production, of which 72% was grassland and 26% cropland, with the remainder being set-aside or fallow land (source gov.uk re. Defra (AUK) 2020).
BaNES's role in helping to feed the UK
56.7% of the UK is farmland. 81% of BaNES is farmland yet only 5% of BaNES is natural or semi-natural land (heathland, natural grassland etc.) compared to a national average of 35%*.
Farmland requires the ecosystem support (e.g. habitat for pollinating insects) of surrounding Green Belt and natural/semi-natural land to function. It would be irresponsible not to
protect BaNES' natural/semi-natural land that underpins the economy of the BaNES and wider West of England area and our future food security in a changing climate made increasingly more critical by unmanaged population growth (see below).
*Data source: Dr Alasdair Rae, University of Sheffield, using Co-ordination of Information on the Environment (Corine) land use codes, 2017.
The UK's Food Supply: Who feeds the UK?
If we consider the importance of green belt agricultural land for feeding the UK as a whole, we might question the wisdom and resilience of a proportional increase in our reliance on imported food in recent years to feed us. Is this sustainable in the face of increasing incidences of extreme weather events, due to climate change, and a rising world population?
The UK's overall self-sufficiency in food during World War II increased from a historic low of about one-third at the beginning to around two-thirds by the end. The UK's highest period of self-sufficiency during the 20th century was in the 1980s (60 - 70%). The UK's self-sufficiency in food has declined since the mid 1980s. The official figure from Defra reveals the UK to have a "self-sufficiency" ratio - includes food exported that could otherwise be consumed, feed, seeds and livestock - of 60% in 2020 (source Defra Agriculture in the United Kingdom (AUK) 2020).
Based on the farm-gate value of unprocessed food in 2017, the UK supplied just under half (50%) of the food consumed in the UK. The leading foreign supplier of food consumed in the UK were countries from the EU (30%). Africa, Asia, North and South America each provided a 4% share of the food consumed in the UK.
The three largest value imported commodity groups (at 2017 prices) were fruit & vegetables, meat and beverages
Total UK cereal production has fluctuated, with significant dips in 2001, 2007, 2012 and 2013, linked to adverse weather conditions in those years. There was an 5% rise in 2017 compared to 2016 reflecting the above average yields recorded in 2015.
Successive spikes in the price of agricultural commodities since 2007 have led to higher retail food prices. They have not returned to the low price levels of pre-2007.
Low income households are affected disproportionately when food prices rise as they spend a greater proportion of their income on food.
Note. Source of UK food supply data is published as National Statistics from www.gov.uk: Food Statistics Pocketbook (annual publication, Defra)
RELEVANT FACTS THAT AFFECT OUR FOOD SECURITY
Unmanaged Population Growth
"Overconsumption and overpopulation underlie every environmental problem we face today"
Jacques Cousteau, conservationist.
Sir David Attenborough summarised the serious yet neglected issue of population growth in 2018 with this statement:-
"I started making television programmes in the 1950s. There are now three times as many people living in the world as there were then. Three times as many! They all need places to live and roads for their cars and hospitals and schools and places to grow food. Where is that going to come from? In the most part, it is going to come from the natural world, so the natural world is steadily being impoverished. The situation is becoming more and more dreadful and still our population continues to increase. It's about time that the human population of the world came to its senses and saw what we are doing - and did something about it".
For information on the population issue and food security see links lower down this page.
UK population since 1901 (Source: Census, ONS, etc. rounded):
1901 = 38M;
1931 = 46M;
1941 = 48M;
1951 = 50M;
1971 = 56M;
1981 = 56M;
1991 = 58M;
2001 = 59M*
*+55% during 20thC when world population quadrupled from 1.5B to 6B;
2011 = 63M;
2021 = 67M;
2025 = 69.5M (UN mid-year estimate).
UK population density (approx):
724 per square mile. Land area of UK is 241,000 km2, 93,000 sq miles, or 60M acres* (approx).
*1 hectare = 2.47 acres. I acre = approx. 1 small football pitch.
The following article from SEG's NEWS page highlights the worldwide issue we are facing:-
Dried Up Futures - new report from Population Matters
June 2024
Drought and desertification are the worst environmental crises facing the world today. A new report "Dried Up Futures" published on 17th June by Population Matters examines how these interconnected disasters are driven by population growth, and the urgent need to act now to save our future.
"Dried Up Futures" examines how drought, land degradation, and desertification are driven by population growth and the urgent need to tackle these crises with a holistic Population Health Environment (PHE) approach that puts women and girls at the forefront of solutions.
Land is one of the most valuable resources upon which we depend for our food and our shelter. However, due to humanity's rapid expansion and cultivation of land, the resource upon which we depend is increasingly degraded.
The report states that "We live in a world where no other set of hazards claims more lives and causes more economic losses, than drought, land degradation, and desertification. All three of these environmental crises exist within a complex cycle, that shapes the lives of billions of people worldwide. Since 1970, the global human population has increased from 3.7 billion to now over 8 billion in 2024. Unsustainable demand, due to population growth and rising per capita consumption, has strained the earth's water and land systems, and accelerated drought and land degradation."
"Current UN projections are for a population of 10.4 billion in 2100, with a 95% certainty range of 8.9 - 12.4 billion. All these extra billions of people will require more land, more food, and more water, all natural resources at risk of scarcity in some areas due to drought and desertification."
You can read the blog summarising the report's findings on the Population Matters website at this link.
The world's population is growing by c.0.9% per annum which is c.200,000 net additions every day (2021 est.).
Population Matters (2021)
It took until the early 1800s for the world population to reach one billion. Now we add a billion every 12-15 years.
United Nations (2017)
Agricultural land lost to land degradation (worldwide):
Estimated at 12M hectares* p.a. (23 hectares/minute!); enough to produce up to 20M tonnes of grain.
United Nations (2012)
*1 hectare = 2.47 acres. I acre = approx. 1 small football pitch.
Climate change will depress agricultural yields by 15-50% in most countries by 2050.
United Nations (2012)
Links to sources of UK population and food security data/information:
- Population Matters (membership charity that addresses population size and environmental sustainability): www.populationmatters.org
- Global Food Security (Global Food Security programme from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Swindon, UK): www.foodsecurity.ac.uk
Resources from SEG
You can download SEG's Food Security Information Sheet (2013) here:-
SEG's Gardenshare Document (tenancy agreement):
Want to grow local food in Saltford? Need help growing vegetables in your garden? Our tenancy agreement template is a useful document to help garden owners share their gardens with gardeners for mutual benefit and has been adapted for anyone in Saltford to use:
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Policies and Government statements that affect the Green Belt
BaNES
Two planning policy documents together represent the BaNES Local Plan covering 2011-2029 at present (a new Local Plan is under preparation for the period 2025-2043):-
- BaNES Core Strategy (adopted 10.7.2014) and
- BaNES Placemaking Plan (adopted 13.7.2017)
Both documents are archived on the BaNES website and can be found from this link:- Archive planning policy: Core Strategy and Placemaking Plan.
Work on producing a new BaNES Local Plan for the 18-year development planning period 2025 to 2043 that reflects the Government's higher targets for new housing is underway. The target for final adoption is 2027 (subject to change!). News from SEG on the progress towards the new BaNES Local Plan can be found at or near the top of this page.
National Government Planning Policy (NPPF)
The Labour Government, elected on 4th July 2024, released a revised NPPF on 12th December 2024 together with higher mandatory housing targets for Local Planning Authorities (like BaNES Council). The NPPF represents the government's planning policies for England and how they are expected to be applied.
- The National Planning Policy Framework (latest revision December 2024 as amended 2 February 2025) can be downloaded from the gov.uk website: Policy paper: NPPF.
- The online searchable version of the NPPF is also available from this link.
- Important policy guidance from the Government "Green Belt - Advice on the role of the Green Belt in the planning system" dated 27 February 2025 can be viewed from this link to the gov.uk website.
In the NPPF (version Dec. 2024 and in previous iterations) the Green Belt serves 5 purposes (Chapter 13 "Protecting Green Belt land", para. 143) :-
(a) to check the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas;
(b) to prevent neighbouring towns merging into one another;
(c) to assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment;
(d) to preserve the setting and special character of historic towns; and
(e) to assist in urban regeneration, by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban land.
The NPPF (December 2024) allows Green Belt development on Grey Belt land.
Grey Belt is defined as land in the Green Belt comprising previously developed land and/or any other land that, in either case, does not strongly contribute to any of 3 specific Green Belt purposes, namely (a), (b), or (d) - i.e. (a) to check the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas, (b) to prevent neighbouring towns merging into one another, and (d) to preserve the setting and special character of historic towns.
The NPPF (from paragraph 187) provides the planning policy necessary for conserving and enhancing the natural environment and 'protecting and enhancing valued landscapes' including 'recognising the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside'.
RECENT GOVERNMENT STATEMENTS WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR (PROTECTING) THE GREEN BELT (most recent 1st):-
We have reproduced here recent policy statements from Government Ministers (since the 4 July 2024 General Election), as well as other statements/policies that remain in force until they are superseded, concerning protection of the Green Belt (and related matters).
7th January 2026: "We will not plough through farmland" says PM
During Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday 7th January, in response to the question from Wendy Morton, MP for Aldridge-Brownhills (Cons),
"Does he accept that his housing target can be met without destroying our farmland and countryside by reusing empty homes and brownfield land, or is that yet another promise that he never meant to keep?",
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer replied
"We will not plough through farmland; we will make sensible proposals to build houses."
Information source (link): Hansard PMQs 7th Jan 2026.
12 December 2024: Golden rules with 'brownfield first' approach for building on the Green Belt as Government launches revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)
On 12 December 2024 the Government announced new mandatory higher housing targets for councils across the country and planning reform (the launch of the revised National Planning Policy Framework NPPF) and "lower quality 'grey belt' land defined in national planning policy for the first time, with tough new 'golden rules' on development to guarantee affordable housing, local services and green spaces".
Under new planning rules, updated via the NPPF (December 2024):
- Areas with the highest unaffordability for housing and greatest potential for growth will see housebuilding targets increase, while stronger action will ensure councils adopt up-to-date local plans or develop new plans that work for their communities.
- A new common-sense approach will be introduced to the greenbelt. While remaining committed to a brownfield first approach, the updated NPPF will require councils to review their greenbelt boundaries to meet targets, identifying and prioritising lower quality 'grey belt' land.
- Any development on greenbelt must meet strict requirements, via the new 'golden rules', which require developers to provide the necessary infrastructure for local communities, such as nurseries, GP surgeries and transport, as well as a premium level of social and affordable housing.
Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Angela Rayner said:
Reflecting our commitment to the plan-led system, meaning where and how new development is built through local plans, ministers will provide local authorities with three months in which to progress local plans that are currently in development, subject to conditions that catch those which significantly undershoot the new targets.
But the government is introducing a new requirement that where plans based on old targets are still in place from July 2026, councils will need to provide for an extra year's supply of homes in their pipeline - six years instead of five.
Where they do not, the strengthened presumption in favour of sustainable development would apply alongside the existing safeguards in national policy around provision of affordable housing, design quality, and sustainability of location.
Brownfield land must continue to be the first port of call for any new development and the default answer when asked to build on brownfield should always be 'yes'. The government is also exploring further action to support and expedite the development of brownfield land in urban areas through 'brownfield passports' with more details to be set out next year.
On the NPPF consultation, Deputy PM Angela Rayner said:
The new annual housing targets continue to total an ambitious 370,000 across England, with higher mandatory targets in those places facing the most acute affordability.
The Golden rules for this statement from the Government were summarised as:
- Brownfield first.
- Grey belt second.
- Affordable homes.
- Boost public services and infrastructure.
- Improve genuine green spaces.
NOTE: Grey Belt is defined in the NPPF as land in the Green Belt comprising previously developed land and/or any other land that, in either case, does not strongly contribute to any of 3 specific Green Belt purposes, namely (a), (b), or (d) - i.e. (a) to check the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas, (b) to prevent neighbouring towns merging into one another, and (d) to preserve the setting and special character of historic towns.
Relevant link (to gov.uk): Planning overhaul to reach 1.5m new homes.
15 October 2024: Brownfield first approach - Thousands of new homes to be built as government unlocks brownfield sites
PM Sir Keir Starmer: 'Our brownfield-first approach will not only ramp up housebuilding but also create more jobs, deliver much-needed infrastructure, and boost economic growth across the country.'
Housing and Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook said: 'The government is committed to a brownfield-first approach to housebuilding, and we have already taken steps to prioritise and fast-track building on previously used urban land through our proposals for a 'brownfield passport'.
Press release 15.10.2024 updated 29.10.2024.
Relevant Link (to gov.uk): 'Thousands of new homes to be built as government unlocks brownfield sites'.
19 September 2024: Disused petrol stations; abandoned car parks; low value scrubland
PM Sir Keir Starmer speaking on the Government's brown-field first approach for new developments: "Sensible use of the Green Belt... Disused petrol stations; abandoned car parks; low value scrubland" - BBC, 19 September 2024.
31 July 2024: Letter from the Deputy Prime Minister
Extract from letter from the Deputy PM to Local Authorities: 'Playing your part in building the homes we need':-
Green Belt and Grey Belt
If targets tell us what needs to be built, the next step is to make sure we are building in the right places. The first port of call is rightly brownfield land, and we have proposed some changes today to support such development.
But brownfield land can only be part of the answer, which is why we are consulting on changes that would see councils required to review boundaries and release Green Belt land where necessary to meet unmet housing or commercial need.
I want to be clear that this Government is committed to protecting nature. That is why land safeguarded for environmental reasons will maintain its existing protections. But we know that large parts of the Green Belt have little ecological value and are inaccessible to the public, and that the development that happens under the existing framework can be haphazard - too often lacking the affordable homes and wider infrastructure that communities need. Meanwhile, low quality parts of the Green Belt, which we have termed 'grey belt' and which make little contribution to Green Belt purposes, like disused car parks and industrial estates, remain undeveloped.
We will therefore ask authorities to prioritise sustainable development on previously developed land and other low quality 'grey belt' sites, before looking to other sustainable locations for meeting this need. We want decisions on where to release land to remain locally led, as we believe that local authorities are in the best position to judge what land within current Green Belt boundaries will be most suitable for development. But we also want to ensure enough land is identified in the planning system to meet housing and commercial need, and so we have proposed a clear route to bringing forward schemes on 'grey belt' land outside the plan process where delivery falls short of need.
To make sure development on the Green Belt truly benefits your communities, we are also establishing firm golden rules, with a target of at least 50% of the homes onsite being affordable, and a requirement that all developments are supported by the infrastructure needed - including GP surgeries, schools and transport links - as well as greater provision of accessible green space.
Relevant Link (to gov.uk): Deputy PM letter to Local Authorities.
1.11.2023 New Environmental Principles Policy Statement (previous Conservative administration)
Ministers and government departments have a new legal duty to "have due regard" to the Environmental Principles Policy Statement (EPPS) and therefore an obligation to consider the impact their policies will have on the environment that came into effect on 1st November 2023. The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) will now scrutinise and monitor the implementation of this obligation across Government.
The OEP will scrutinise and monitor the implementation of the EPPS across Government and intends to report to Parliament after the summer of 2024.
The EPPS covers five environmental principles set out in law that are:-
- the integration principle (that environmental protection be integrated into the making of policies);
- the prevention principle;
- the precautionary principle;
- the rectification of environmental damage at source principle; and
- the polluter pays principle.
For the purpose of this policy statement, the EPPS (and as defined in the Environment Act 2021 section 45), "environmental protection" means:-
- (a) protection of the natural environment from the effects of human activity
- (b) protection of people from the effects of human activity on the natural environment
- (c) maintenance, restoration or enhancement of the natural environment
- (d) monitoring, assessing, considering or reporting on anything in paragraphs (a) to (c).
SEG COMMENT
Although this policy is aimed at central Government it is intended to guide policy decisions and policy making, and specifically "national policy statements, strategies and frameworks" (as described in the "Policy making" section of the EPPS).
The Green Belt is protected by the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the implementation of planning policy requirements including policy frameworks such as the Government's NPPF, by default, is now subject to the Environmental Principles Policy Statement (EPPS) that is a "statutory document" under the Environment Act 2021. Section 17 of the Environment Act 2021 states that "The Secretary of State must be satisfied that the statement will, when it comes into effect, contribute to (a) the improvement of environmental protection, and (b) sustainable development."
The EPPS is intended to influence national policies including national planning policies, and thus the interpretation of sustainable development and environmental objectives of the NPPF, and not each individual planning decision. However, planning decisions have to be made in accordance with planning policies and in particular the adopted Local Plan that in turn is a requirement of the NPPF which now has to be compliant* with the EPPS.
* i.e. its interpretation with regard to the improvement of environmental protection and sustainable development.
RELEVANT LINKS
The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) press release on the EPPS can be found from this link.
The EPPS web page on gov.uk can be found from this link.
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CAMPAIGN ARCHIVE
SEG has been actively campaigning to protect the local Green Belt since SEG's inception in 2011. Here we publish (or link to) some of the written evidence, our news articles and other lobbying material etc. from our campaign as a reference source.
MARCH 2024
SEG asks BaNES to comply with Government policy on the Green Belt! (Local Plan consultation response).
You can read the full text of SEG's response in March 2024 to the BaNES Local Plan Options Consultation by clicking on this link (pdf opens in new window) :-
MARCH 2022
Defending the Green Belt when planning policy falls short (SEG 2022 News Archive)
Green fields and wildlife habitats are not luxuries, but essential (SEG 2022 News Archive)
NOVEMBER 2021
England's brown field land can take 1.3 million new homes latest report shows (SEG 2021 News Archive)
MARCH 2021
Planners asked for space for wildlife & nature (SEG 2021 News Archive)
NB. SEG makes a key point:
"The construction of many more homes in the West of England without increasing green recreational space (i.e. large public parks) for the inhabitants of new housing means existing green spaces are inundated with visitors more often and wildlife increasingly "removed" from our environment. Where are all the new and existing residents in the West of England supposed to relax and take outdoor exercise when they need a break from their homes? And, as Sir David Attenborough crucially once asked, 'Can a growing human population leave space for wildlife?'"
JUNE 2019
On 14 June 2019 SEG submitted its statement to the West of England Joint Spatial Plan Public Examination of the North Keynsham Strategic Development Location (SDL). You can read the submission here:
DECEMBER 2018
You can read the text of the article "Why the Green Belt in B&NES is so important" by our Chairman Phil Harding in the 5th December 2018 edition of The Week In here:
FEBRUARY 2016
To see comments submitted to DCLG by SEG on HMG's consultation on national planning policy, click here:
JANUARY 2016
On 27 January 2016 SEG submitted a policy paper 'Very special circumstances and the Green Belt' to the West of England Partnership as its response to the consultation for 'Issues and Options' in the West of England Joint Spatial Plan (JSP). You can download SEG's paper here:
AUGUST 2013
Saltford Green Belt Inquiry: The successful 2 year defence from 2012 to 2014 by the community of Saltford against an attempt by the developer Crest Nicholson to build on Saltford's Green Belt south of Manor Road including the August 2013 4-day Inquiry is recorded here:
JANUARY 2013
In response to local press reports that residents in Bath and NE Somerset were concerned over possible housing developments on the Green Belt in the forthcoming draft Core Strategy, SEG wrote to "The Week In" and this appeared in the 24.1.2013 edition; the text can be downloaded here:
SEG wrote to B&NES Council on 30th January 2013 highlighting the need to protect our Green Belt agricultural land against unsuitable development. The letter described why we cannot accept further development on our Green Belt.
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