Parcel 0014, Charlton Road, Keynsham

Decision

approved, 2 September 2026

Decided by

Council planning committee: B&NES Planning Committee (vote 5-4; delegated to permit subject to S106)

Authority

Bath and North East Somerset (South West)

Application reference

25/04952/EOUT

Procedure

committee

Development

Outline (EIA), up to 200 dwellings, Class E unit, open space, landscaping; access from Charlton Road

Homes

200

Site context

green belt, settlement edge, conservation area

Green Belt

Yes (grey belt accepted)

Housing land supply

2.5 years

Framework applied

August 2026 NPPF

Determinative policies

GB7(1)(g), GB8, S5(5), TR3, DM4

Development plan policies

B&NES Core Strategy CP8, CP9, Placemaking Plan DW1, KE1, RE5, NE2, emerging Local Plan Reg 18 West Keynsham option

Main issues

grey belt; sustainable location; Golden Rules; S5(5) balance; prematurity

Summary

Outline permission for up to 200 homes (45% affordable) on a greenfield Green Belt parcel on the edge of Keynsham, in an authority with a 2.5-year supply. Officers treated the site as grey belt even though the strategic WECA assessment rated the wider parcel "significant" on purposes (a) and (b). They assessed the site on its own: contained, not an incongruous finger, and a small part of the Keynsham–Bristol gap. They passed every GB7(1)(g) limb, with the Golden Rules uplift taking affordable housing from 30% to 45%. They then ran the S5(5) "substantially outweighed" balance and recommended approval. Members agreed 5-4.

Issues and findings

• Grey belt: PASS. On purpose (a): "the proposed development site essentially adjoins the existing settlement and does not extend further west than the Lays Farm Trading Estate … This weakens the contribution of this land parcel to moderate" (Report, Principle, "Contribution to Purpose (a)"). On purpose (b): "The WECA Assessment concludes that Parcel 82 has a significant contribution to this purpose, but … this relates to a much wider parcel of which the development site is a small part … this area of land must be assessed on its own merits" ("Contribution to Purpose (b)"). Officers confirmed to members that Keynsham counts as a "large built-up area" (Minutes item 2, answer 1).
• Unmet need: PASS. 2.5-year supply.
• Sustainable location (iii) / TR3: PASS. The Highway Authority said: "The sustainability of the site is critical, given that this is one of the components that allows it to be considered to be acceptable within the Green Belt" (Report, Highways, "Active Travel and Strategic Connectivity"). It accepted "approximately 1 kilometre of upgraded walking and cycling infrastructure" and crossing works. In the balance: "The site is rated B (well connected)" on the DfT connectivity rating, and "Substantial weight is afforded to the location of the site" (Planning balance, benefit 3). Members were told it was "an approximate 25-minute walk to the town centre and served by buses" (Minutes item 2, answer 8).
• Golden Rules: PASS. "The scheme is therefore required to deliver 45% affordable housing, 15 percentage points above the 30% requirement within Keynsham." Green space and infrastructure are also met.
• Prematurity DM4: rejected. The plan is at Regulation 18 and so "not at an advanced stage".

Planning balance

S5(5). Harms: location outside the housing development boundary (limited weight, "given the lack of a five-year housing land supply"), landscape (moderate), heritage harm to Queen Charlton CA (limited). Benefits: housing (substantial), affordable housing (very substantial), sustainable location (substantial), off-site highway works (significant, "substantial-moderate"), economic (moderate), green infrastructure (moderate), emerging plan option (limited). "it is not considered that the identified adverse impacts … would substantially outweigh the benefits" (Report, Conclusion).

What made the difference

Officers assessed the grey belt question at site scale rather than strategic-parcel scale, and a site-specific pass on (a) and (b) carried the scheme into S5(5). There the 2.5-year supply and 45% affordable housing were decisive. Sustainable location did real work: the Highway Authority explicitly tied its acceptance to the grey belt test and extracted about 1 km of walking and cycling upgrades. The 5-4 vote shows members were uneasy about sprawl and the 25-minute walk. The new Consultation Direction referral risk was put to members before they voted.

Transferable points

• Officers held that a strategic Green Belt study rating a wide parcel "significant" does not decide grey belt status for a small site within it. The site "must be assessed on its own merits" (Report, Purpose (b)).
• A Highway Authority can treat GB7(1)(g)(iii) as a reason to require off-site active travel works. Sustainability was "critical" to the Green Belt exception (Report, Highways).
• A 25-minute walk to a town centre with buses and a DfT connectivity "B" rating was accepted as a sustainable location on a settlement edge.
• Golden Rules uplift arithmetic: the authority-wide 30% requirement plus 15 points gives 45%.
• Members were told that under the Town and Country Planning (Consultation) (England) Direction 2026 a refusal against a "delegate to permit" recommendation must be referred to the Secretary of State for 21 days (Report, "Secretary of State").

Policy findings

Policy codes are those of the National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026) unless a development plan is named.

Key facts

• Supply 2.5 years
• Greenfield Green Belt parcel on south-west edge of Keynsham, within WECA parcel judged 'significant' for (a) and (b)
• 45% affordable (up to 90 homes) via Golden Rules uplift; 765 households on register with Keynsham first choice
• About 25 min walk to Keynsham town centre; bus services; approx 1 km of upgraded walking/cycling works on Charlton Road
• Committee told that a refusal against officer advice must be referred to the Secretary of State under the 2026 Consultation Direction
• Approved 5-4 after member dissent on sprawl, distance to High Street, landscape and junction safety

Related decisions

• bathnes-25-04961-FUL
• bathnes-26-00259-FUL
• bathnes-25-03592-FUL

Sources

• democracy.bathnes.gov.uk
• democracy.bathnes.gov.uk
• democracy.bathnes.gov.uk

This note is one of the decisions behind the NPPF 2026 Navigator, which shows how each Framework test has been applied across all the decisions in the database. Also available as Markdown.