The Planning Committee of Bath and North East Somerset Council is scheduled to meet on Wednesday 24 September 2025 in the Brunswick Room of the Guildhall, Bath. The committee will be considering planning applications for developments in Burnett, Twerton and Southdown. They will also note a report on new planning appeals, decisions received and dates of forthcoming hearings and inquiries.

Middle Piece Lane Solar Farm

The committee will be considering an application for the installation of a renewable energy generating station at Parcel 1643, Middle Piece Lane, Burnett, submitted by Conrad Energy (Developments) II Limited. Councillor Duncan Hounsell requested that this application be determined by the committee.

The proposed development includes ground-mounted photovoltaic solar arrays, transformer stations, site accesses, internal access tracks, security measures, access gates, other ancillary infrastructure, landscaping and biodiversity enhancements. According to the report pack, the development is expected to generate approximately 22.6GWh per year, which is equivalent to supplying 5,763 homes with electricity.

The application has been submitted with an Environmental Statement and is considered an EIA development under the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017.

The report pack notes that Compton Dando Parish Council has commented on the application, raising concerns about the cumulative impact of solar farms on the local landscape and the safety of increased traffic through Burnett. They have also raised concerns about the visual impact on the Green Belt and the setting of heritage assets, including Stantonbury Hill, the Wansdyke, and St Michael's Church.

The report pack states that the council's conservation officer has objected to the application, citing Less than substantial harm caused to heritage assets within Burnett . The council's landscape officer has also objected, stating that there will be Significant harm caused to the landscape setting and that Mitigation insufficient to protect landscape .

The report pack says that the proposed development conflicts with several policies in the Bath and North East Somerset Core Strategy (July 2014), the Bath and North East Somerset Placemaking Plan (July 2017) and the Bath and North East Somerset Local Plan Partial Update (2023), including policies relating to the Green Belt, landscape protection, and renewable energy.

The report pack recommends that the application be refused.

The Smallholdings, Claude Avenue

The committee will be considering an application for a change of use of land and erection of a storage building at The Smallholdings, Claude Avenue, Twerton, submitted by B.A.T.H Scaffolding Ltd. The application is part retrospective. Councillor David Biddleston requested that this application be determined by the committee.

The report pack says that the application site is located within an area known as The Smallholdings, which comprises a small collection of industrial and commercial units. The site is adjacent to Linear Park SNCI and in close proximity to Moorfields Sandpits playpark. The site is within the World Heritage Site.

The report pack notes that eight letters of objection have been received, raising concerns about vehicle access, harm to wildlife, and the site's former use as allotments.

The report pack says that the proposed development is compatible with policies relating to non-strategic industrial premises, and that the design and scale of the building responds positively to the surrounding context.

The report pack recommends that the application be permitted.

Shaws Way, Twerton

The committee will be considering an application for a change of use from a 3-bedroom dwelling house to a 6-bedroom House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) at 30 Shaws Way, Twerton, submitted by Rivers Birtwell. The application also includes a single-storey rear extension and alterations to the existing side extension, as well as bicycle and bin storage. Councillor Sarah Moore requested that this application be determined by the committee.

The report pack notes that the property is located within an area subject to an Article 4 Direction¹ restricting permitted development rights for the conversion of residential properties into HMOs. The report pack says that 36 letters of objection have been received, raising concerns about the number of student houses in the area, parking problems, anti-social behaviour, and overdevelopment of the site.

The report pack states that the change of use of the property to an HMO does not represent more than 10% of households within a 100-metre radius of the site being HMOs, and that the proposal complies with the council's SPD criteria in terms of density, floor areas and EPC rating increase.

The report pack recommends that the application be permitted.

New Planning Appeals

The committee is asked to note the report on new planning appeals lodged, decisions received and dates of forthcoming hearings and inquiries.

The report pack notes that an appeal has been lodged against the refusal of a certificate of lawfulness for an existing use at Lake View, Stoke Hill, Chew Stoke.

The report pack also notes that an appeal against an enforcement notice at Cheshire Home, Greenhill House, South Road, Timsbury has been dismissed. The enforcement notice related to the material change of use of a former residential care home site to a residential use without care provisions.

The report pack says that a hearing will be held on 14 October 2025 at Aix-en-Provence, Guildhall, Bath, in relation to an appeal against an enforcement notice at Parcel 3263, Deanhill Lane, Upper Weston. The enforcement notice relates to the material change of use of agricultural land to a mixed use comprising agriculture, a residential caravan site, and the importation and storage of waste, as well as the erection of an agricultural building.