Petition launched in Keynsham over plans for large-scale housing growth

Local TV

Residents in Keynsham are urging Bath and North East Somerset Council to rethink its proposals to allocate extensive land for new homes, arguing the plans could alter the town’s character for good.

Transcript

00:00For people in Keynesham, the question of where future housing should go has suddenly become

00:05very real. Across almost every side of the town, large areas have been highlighted as

00:10potential sites for new homes in Bath and North East Somerset Council's latest local

00:14plan consultation.

00:17It's a long-term strategy that will guide planning decisions right through to 2043.

00:21The council must show it can meet its target of 27,000 new homes across the district during

00:25that period, but residents here say the scale of what's being suggested risks changing

00:29Keynesham beyond recognition, a petition set up by local resident John James that attracted

00:34more than 200 signatures since it was launched on 22 October.

00:40Supporters say they understand the need for housing, particularly for smaller and more

00:43affordable homes, but believe Keynesham has already taken more than its fair share of development

00:48in recent years. The petition accepts the principle of new homes at North Keynesham and Hicksgate

00:54to areas already under consideration by the council, but it urges planners to rule out

00:58further large sites around the town. Bath and North East Somerset Council says those two

01:02sites form part of four main options being considered alongside land to the west of Bath

01:08and north of Midsummer Norton. The Cabinet Member for Built Environment, Housing and Sustainable

01:13Development, Councillor Matt McCabe, has acknowledged that each site poses challenges, but says focusing

01:18growth along the A4 corridor and in the Soma Valley allows infrastructure investment to support

01:24new housing for local residents. Allocating land in the local plan does not guarantee construction.

01:31Developers must still apply for permission, but it signals where growth is most likely to

01:35happen. The council's consultation remains open until mid-November, with staff touring communities

01:40in a converted ice cream van to discuss the proposals face to face.

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