Major development plans that could change the face of Bath and North East Somerset could be set to be decided in 2024.

Over 1,500 homes could be built across the district, and major plans could be built by local landmarks in Bath and Midsomer Norton.

Here are just ten of the plans likely to go before planners at Bath and North East Somerset Council in the new year.

Almost 1000 apartments at Bath Riverside

Plans for Bath's former gasworks could see 962 homes built in the city, as part of the Bath Riverside development.

St WIlliam are hoping to get planning permission for 611 homes across nine blocks on the site. After fears that the "excessive height" of some of the buildings could threaten Bath's UNESCO status, St William reduced the planned height of some of the buildings.

A spokesperson said: "The revised proposals include 611 high quality new homes, a children's nursery, restaurant, café, cycle hub, a new ecological riverside park, sustainable transport route, net biodiversity gain and many other public benefits."

Meanwhile, Bath and North East Somerset Council itself is planning to build 351 homes across four apartment blocks on the remainder of the site. 800 homes have already been built in the first phase of the Bath RIverside development by developers Crest Nicholson.

You can view St William's plans for 611 homes here: https://www.bathnes.gov.uk/webforms/planning/details.html?refval=22%2F03224%2FEFUL

You can view Bath and North East Somerset Council's plans for 351 homes here: https://www.bathnes.gov.uk/webforms/planning/details.html?refval=23%2F01762%2FEREG03

300 homes on Bath's southern edge

Major plans could see 290 homes built on fields that mark the rural southern edge of Bath.

171 homes have already been built in the first phase of the development of the plateau at the city's edge. The Hignett Family Trust are seeking planning permission to build more in phases two and three of the plans.

But locals — organised as the South of Bath Alliance — have slammed the plans as "utter madness."

The plans came before the council's planning committee in November but councillors voted to defer their decision, stating they needed more information from the developers about what the impact would be on traffic and whether there still were the exceptional circumstances needed to allow the development in the area of outstanding natural beauty.

You can view the plans here: https://www.bathnes.gov.uk/webforms/planning/details.html?refval=22%2F02169%2FEOUT

200 homes in Keynsham

Plans to build 213 homes on green fields on the edge of Keynsham already have outline planning permission, but Curo will be seeking the next stage of planning permission once it has refined its plan.

Developers Mctaggart and Mickel went through a four year planning battle to approval to develop the site, which stretches from Bath Road opposite Pixash Lane to the northern edge of the Manor Road Community Woodland. Planning permission was finally granted in 2022, but in July this year Curo announced they would be building the homes. 

The housing association's CEO Victor da Cunha said: "Our plans for Bath Road look to address the severe lack of homes for local people in Keynsham, offering solutions to the diverse housing needs of the area.This project is set to be a catalyst for the creation of an accessible and vibrant neighbourhood, with 67 affordable homes included in the plans."

The development will also include a new playing field for Two Rivers Primary School, a sports pitch for public use, and allotments.

The Somer Valley Enterprise Zone

One major development could see companies able to develop fields next to a Midsomer Norton local landmark without planning permission.

Bath and North East Somerset Council is planning a "local development order" for the Somer Valley Enterprise Zone site, located on the edge of the town on fields off the A362 between Old Mills Lane and the edge of the woods around the batch "volcano."

The council hopes the planned business park will help bring jobs back to the area and reduce out commuting to Bath and Bristol. The local development order means that businesses wanting to develop the site will not need planning permission, but will have to fit within a design code and masterplan set out by the council.

But the plans have faced opposition from the site's neighbours — who one councillor warned could end up "sandwiched between industrial zones." At a protest against the plans in October, protestor Sara Evan-Lainchbury said: "There are plenty of areas within Midsomer Norton which are derelict which could be rejuvenated."

You can view plans for the local development order here: https://www.bathnes.gov.uk/webforms/planning/details.html?refval=23%2F00076%2FLDO

77 studio apartments in the centre of Bath

Developer Kosy Living is hoping to meet the needs of "generation rent" with a block of 77 studio flats in the centre of the city.

The developer hopes to get planning permission to knock down a row of single storey commercial units off the bottom of Wells Road near Churchill Bridge Roundabout, and build the flats above a new co-working space and with a gym and rooftop terrace.

The studio apartments would each have a fold-down bed and kitchenette, but would also share three larger kitchen-dining rooms.

In a statement submitted with the application, Kosy Living said: "This co-living/co-working scheme would be the first of its kind in Bath, providing a much needed and positive addition to the type and availability of rented residential accommodation within the city.

You can view and comment on the application here: https://www.bathnes.gov.uk/webforms/planning/details.html?refval=23%2F02012%2FFUL

A Stadium for Bath

Long awaited and much debated plans to build a stadium for Bath Rugby on the Recreation Ground could finally be decided in 2024.

The 18,000 seater "Stadium for Bath" will be a major new landmark in the centre of the city. The plans to build a permanent stadium on the Recreation Ground have been controversial, but Bath Rugby CEO Tarquin McDonald said it would secure the club's future.

Mr McDonald said: "If everything went well we would love it to be building through the 25/26 seasons […] and welcoming 18,000 people in from the start of 26/27 season."

An alternative design, which proposed a Roman colosseum-style stadium, was drawn up by a Bath-based group of architects in the summer. Mark Wilson Jones of Apollodorus Architecture said: "This is an idealistic vision put forward really just to shake things up and get people to think in those kinds of ways."

Although the plans captured the public imagination in the city, Mr McDonald said they were "unaffordable" and a "non-starter" and opted to stick with Bath Rugby's plan.

You can view the planning application here: https://www.bathnes.gov.uk/webforms/planning/details.html?refval=23%2F03558%2FEFUL

30 homes in Clutton

The village of Clutton could see 30 new homes built on a field on its northern edge.

Fremantle Developments are hoping to get planning permission for the homes and are also proposing creating a new school field for Clutton Primary School as part of the development — which one villager said was an attempt at "buying planning permission."

Developers are also proposing a community orchard and public open space.

You can view the application here: https://www.bathnes.gov.uk/webforms/planning/details.html?refval=23%2F03273%2FOUT

30 flats in Keynsham

A long running planning battle over turning a former care home in Keynsham into flats could be decided in 2024.

There have been repeated attempts to get permission to redevelop Treetops Care Home since it closed in 2018. An application submitted by Treetops in September proposes demolishing the building and erecting two three-storey buildings, containing a tidal of 36 flats.

A design and access statement submitted with the application said: "The development will contribute to the housing need and provide a mix of residential types. The scheme aims to fully exploit the views to the south and east, creating residences that are lovely places to live."

You can view the application here: https://www.bathnes.gov.uk/webforms/planning/details.html?refval=23%2F03390%2FOUT

16 homes on Bath's "tufa field"

Plans to build 16 homes on a field in Bath that features a rare natural phenomenon are set to advance in 2024.

Site surveys have been going on through the winter months on the "tufa field" off Englishcombe Lane as Bath and North East Somerset Council prepares to submit a planning application to build 16 homes as supported housing.

Councillor Deborah Collins, the council's cabinet project lead for leader, built environment and sustainable development, said: "The Englishcombe Supported Housing Scheme will provide high quality accommodation for vulnerable residents who will be able to live as independently as possible within the district close to family and friends – and will work sympathetically with the existing site ecology."

Plans to build 37 homes on the field were significantly scaled back after opposition from the local community. The field features a rare natural phenomenon of tufa flushes — where water from limestone springs creates a lime deposit called tufa.

Now 16 homes are planned to cover part of the site.

A Lidl in Bath

Plans to build a Lidl on a "wildlife haven" on the eastern edge of Bath saw almost a thousand people lodge objections on the council's planning portal.

Lidl stated it had "searched exhaustively" for suitable sites, and that the site off London Road next to Bath Rugby's Lambridge training ground was the most suitable, accessible, and convenient.

The discount supermarket company say the new shop will give people access to affordable food and bring 40 jobs to the area. They say their plans will increase biodiversity on the site by 40% through new tree, hedge, and wildflower planting, a seasonal wetland, green roof, bird baths, bat boxes, and bee towers. The woodland by the river would also be retained.

295 people lodged comments in support of the plans — but 945 people voiced their opposition. Joanna Wright, the councillor for the area on Bath and North East Somerset Council, was at a protest against the plans when Lidl held a consultation event on them.

She said: "Joanna Wright, who said: "This is a green entrance to the city that the Georgians put in place hundreds of years ago […] We should not be building on it. We should be protecting it."

You can view the plans here: https://www.bathnes.gov.uk/webforms/planning/details.html?refval=23%2F02212%2FFUL