Scaled back housing plans fail to win over locals

Plans to build hundreds of homes that previously sparked a huge public backlash have failed to win over locals despite being has been scaled back.

The Hignett Family Trust's latest plan is for 200 homes on fields in Combe Down, south of Bath, known as the South Stoke plateau, after its previous application for 290 homes was refused in 2024.

The height of the proposed development has been reduced, but many locals remain concerned about the adverse impact on the Cotswolds National Landscape, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

More than 170 residents have objected online, while three have expressed their support.

Councillors voted 7-1 to refuse planning permission for the original plans at a packed meeting of the council's planning committee in 2024.

The Hignett Family Trust appealed to the planning inspectorate but it sided with the council, judging there would be an adverse effect on the Cotswolds National Landscape.

In the scaled back plans, developers said there would be 40% affordable housing, a community hall, village green, playground, and allotments. Their vision is to "create a beautiful new addition to the City of Bath".

Lodging an objection, William Taylor said: "There is little evidence that the current proposal has addressed those concerns in any meaningful way, and simply reducing the number of dwellings does not resolve the fundamental issue of site suitability."

Kate Himsworth-Razeghi wrote: "What has been submitted is not a meaningfully revised proposal; it is a modestly scaled back version of a development that was already found to cause unacceptable harm."

Timothy Simmons said: "This proposal remains inappropriate for the area. It is too big and ruins the vista of an AONB [area of outstanding natural beauty] which will be lost forever to future generations."

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