“The Local Plan consultation is a massive opportunity to shape planning decisions that will affect both the climate resilience and climate impacts of Bristol. Not just for the next 20 years that the plan covers, but for many, many years to come.” Jo House, University of Bristol (BACCC Co-chair)
Bristol’s new local plan will update all existing policies for deciding planning applications and guide development across the city over the next twenty years. Following previous rounds of consultation, this winter Bristol City Council sought views on the drafts of additional and revised policies and proposals that they propose to include in the new local plan. The topics covered by this stage of the consultation included ecology, homes, jobs, sustainability, design policy, sites for development, and applications for advertising.
In response to this, the members of Bristol Advisory Committee on Climate Change (BACCC) reviewed these draft policies and have submitted a report to Bristol City Council to share their conclusions.
The report reflects BACCC’s broad support for the intent of the draft policies and commends the fact that these indicate the plan’s potential to become one of the more ambitious and progressive local plans in its residential targets. However, it also raises some key points in relation to the draft policies in order to constructively support the development of more robust Local Plan policies.
These point include:
- Highlighting opportunities for a more strategic approach
- Recommendations relating to how the Local Plan should stay ahead of the curve, how policies could be implemented / enforced, and how the plan can support a Just Transition
- Commenting on policies relating to net zero and climate mitigation, adapting to a changing climate, and biodiversity.
Download the full report here.
The Bristol Advisory Committee on Climate Change welcomed the opportunity to have engaged with the Local Plan consultation and Co-Chairs Jo House, University of Bristol, and James Longhurst, University of the West of England, have expressed their thanks to all who have contributed – including BACCC members, the BACCC Register of Experts, Bristol Green Capital Partnership, and to Bristol City Council for engaging with the process.
All responses to the consultation will feed into the next stage of the draft plan which will be published for representations in Summer 2023 and open to further public comment. Following this stage, the plan will be submitted for examination by the planning inspector with the aim for it to be adopted in Autumn 2024.
Bristol Advisory Committee on Climate Change 