Bath green belt identified for new homes

Plans to build extra homes on the green belt in Bath and the surrounding area are to be discussed by councillors who say their current target is too small.

The original plan did not include green belt sites but a government planning inspection said the council needed to find more space.

Council proposals now include building hundreds of houses on green belt land in Bath, Whitchurch and Keynsham.

Bath and North East Somerset Council will discuss the issue on 4 March.

'Nowhere else'

The council's housing proposals for the next 15 years had avoided building on the green belt - although some greenfield sites had been identified.

Lib Dem leader of the council, Paul Crossley, said: "The inspector's key concern was the need to ensure that Bath & North East Somerset Council was properly addressing housing needs in the district.

"Additional locations for new housing have been identified on the edge of Bath, at Keynsham and Whitchurch. "

The council's original plan proposed building 11,500 houses across brownfield and some greenfield sites.

The council has now increased the number of new houses needed to 12,700.