Bath & North East Somerset Council
RECAP: Local Plan involving student accommodation and housing on Bath council panel's agenda
Follow the blog below for everything that happens
Sam Petherick-bathNews editor
Updated 16:47, 7 NOV 2017
The affordability of student accommodation, such as that above Bath's former Labour Exchange in James Street West, is 'becoming a big issue' according to the Local Plan (Image: Artur Lesniak/Trinity Mirror)
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A Bath council committee meets today to discuss a housing plan for the next 20 years.
The Planning, Housing & Economic Development Policy Development Scrutiny Panel of Bath and North East Somerset Council meets at 2pm (Tuesday, November 7).
The sole item on the agenda is the B&NES Local Plan 2016-2036.
It will work alongside the Joint Spatial Plan, which is being delivered by the West of England Combined Authority (Weca), and when it's fully adopted it will replace B&NES Council's Core Strategy and Placemaking Plan.
The panel is chaired by Councillor Will Sandry (Lib Dems, Oldfield Park) and Councillors Barry Macrae, Rob Appleyard, Colin Blackburn, Lisa O'Brien, David Veale and Liz Richardson also sit on it.
Follow the blog below for updates from the meeting.
Bath Quays North to be city's 'biggest ever office development' as masterplan is complete
http://www.bathchronicle.co.uk/news/bath-news/bath-quays-north-citys-biggest-722113
ICYMI...
A masterplan for Bath's biggest-ever office development creating up to 1,900 jobs has been developed.
The council has now asked city residents for their input into the Bath Quays North scheme.
Bath Quays is the council's flagship regeneration project to create a 'new and vibrant commercial quarter for flourishing businesses in the heart of the city'.
Somer Valley Enterprise Zone and out
The meeting moved onto a presentation about the Somer Valley Enterprise Zone so I've made my exit.
Thanks for following this blog, if anything piqued your interest and you think we should follow it up, get in touch.
Cllr Sandry
"If there was an increase in need of 4,500 students we also need to bear in mind the universities would also need to increase their staff levels.
"We mustn't just look at the student numbers in isolation and think that's it. Cleaning, security, all those factors come into play, and the effect on our transport system."
Cllr Blackburn
"We're taking on board what the universities want to do. Do the universities take on board what the community want to do? I think we bend over backwards to work with them," he said.
"I like the idea of balance. It would be nice to see."
"We've identified an increase of 4,500 students between now and 2021," he said.
"What do we think will happen over the course of the whole plan (up to 2036)?"
Council officer: "It's a quite difficult issue. Whether the universities themselves don't produce projections of more than a five-year period.
They look at what they can supply. They look at teaching facilities and their finances and try to be realistic. Asking them to give us figures for beyond the five-year plan is quite difficult.
"The University of Bath in the last three years is taking the same numbers. If they stabilise their intakes it might be that we're reaching their highest levels so we don't really want to plan with speculative numbers. That's why we're using just a five-year plan. But we should consider beyond that period and we'll discuss with the universities."
To read the draft Local Plan, use the link below and click on 'Agenda reports pack'.
https://democracy.bathnes.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=553&MId=4599
Cllr O'Brien to the council officers
Because this is so critical, you ought to take out adds in the local press, because I think we get very low turnouts at consultations and this is so important to get a high proportion, Cllr O'Brien says.
Council officers say the Local Plan consultation is going to be mentioned in the next council magazine. "We will certainly look at using other local press," they add.
Number of new homes
Some 14,500 new homes will be needed by 2036, according to the plan.
"The overall amount of housing to be provided will address a range of specific needs," the report reads.
"There is significant growth of population expected in the older and younger age groups within B&NES.
"As such housing needs relate not only to new family housing, but also focus on those of older persons and younger persons, including students."
Universities' growth and student accommodation
"The affordability of student accommodation is becoming a big issue," a draft document of the plan says.
"Recently Purpose Built Student Accommodation has been coming forward as studio units, rather than cluster flats.
"Significantly higher prices are charged for studio units putting it out of reach for many domestic under graduates."
Presentation on the Local Plan
Two council officers are introducing the Local Plan to the panel.
A consultation on it begins on November 22 and there will be four exhibition events for the public to attend.
Birmingham announced today that they think it's cost them 1,000 affordable homes over the last three years.
That's fairly drastic.
Cllr Appleyard
The one thing that concerns me is the number of applications that get granted with affordable housing in them only for the number of affordable homes to decrease as the development is built, Mr Appleyard said.
Over the last three years, how many of these developments with the social housing in them, what shortfall has been created?
We could be in a much better position had the developers not wriggled out of [the original amount of affordable homes they were asked to build].
I fail to understand how planning permission is given at one point ... It would be interesting to know how many houses that's cost us in the last three years.
Update on development and neighbourhoods
Cllr Bob Goodman (cabinet member for development and neighbourhoods) is giving an update.
"The Joint Spatial Plan is coming to full council on Thursday. I know that all of us have had briefings from officers. It's in my opinion one of the most important things to come to full council for some time.
"The pre-application [planning] fees have gone up marginally.
"I want to thank Liz [Richardson] for asking me to look at HMOs 18 months ago. I think it's important that the HMO issue is put to bed in the interim."
New rules on the concentration of HMOs will be discussed by the council's cabinet tomorrow.
Cllr O'Brien: I think it's a really good achievement to exceed the target of affordable homes.
That's the best news, so let's keep exceeding it.
Cllr Myers adds that it's a forecast but he's confident of its accuracy.
Update on economic issues
Cllr Paul Myers (cabinet member for Economic and Community Regeneration) is giving an update on his brief.
The Bath Digital Festival was attended by 2,000 across 80 events and feedback has been very positive.
We will see the completion of 540 new affordable homes by the end of the financial year - above our target of 465.
Mulberry Park home delivery is on target.
Cllr Clarke joins the panel
Former cabinet member for transport Councillor Anthony Clarke has been substituted onto the panel - it looks like in place of Cllr David Veale.
Cllr Liz Richardson has permanently swapped with Cllr Fiona Darey, who has left the committee.
Councillor Anthony Clarke
Meeting to get underway
Councillor Sandry is about to begin the meeting.
Heading over
About to brave the rain and make my way over to the Guildhall for the meeting.
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