Local planning Documents for Bristol

The Bristol Local Plan was submitted to the Secretary of State in April 2024. The new plan sets out how Bristol will develop up to 2040, helping to deliver the new homes and jobs needed, and to safeguard the environment. The Local Plan is the main consideration in the determination of planning applications.

Local neighbourhood plans, an example of which is the Hengrove and Whitchurch Park Neighbourhood Plan, supplement the Bristol Local Plan and have the same legal status as the Local Plan. Neighbourhood plans are used to further guide future developments and manage changes alongside the Local Plan. These plans help communicate a vision for a specific area, and decisions on planning applications must take both plans into consideration.

Some areas of Bristol also have Supplementary Planning Documents (SPD), examples of which are the City Centre Framework Supplementary Planning Document, and the Whitehouse Street Regeneration Framework. An SPD will typically add more detail to the Local Plan, providing additional planning guidance for future redevelopment in line with the Local Plan policies, with area character appraisals underpinning the approach.

All three types of documents will be used by the planning department when assessing applications, therefore anyone submitting a planning application must consider all relevant planning documentation.

Bristol’s Unique Planning Considerations

Located partly along the Severn Estuary and with the River Avon running through it, Bristol is vulnerable to tidal and river flooding. The Bristol and Avon Flood Strategy sets out a strategic long-term plan for managing flood risk for Bristol and its neighbouring communities. As a property owner, you may have to take into consideration flood risk in any future building development and this should be discussed with your Architect early on in your project. With a population of 480 thousand, Bristol is one of the Country’s larger cities. It is also home to two universities, The University of Bristol and the University of the West of England.

Bristol has a historic heart with areas of special conservation status, both centrally and further afield. If your property is within or close to one of these Conservation Areas, there will be additional restrictions to respect the sensitive nature of the surroundings, in how you build and what your development looks like.

Bristol has 33 Conservation Areas, with examples such as Gloucester Road Conservation Area to the north of the City Centre, and Bedminster Conservation Area to the south of the River Avon. If your property is located within a Conservation Area, there will be an obligation for you to prepare a Design and Access Statement, which will look at how your development might impact the Conservation Area aesthetically. This report can be prepared by your architect as part of their planning package. If your property is listed, or adjacent to a listed property, you will also need to demonstrate how your proposed development minimally impacts the surroundings or the listed building itself. Not just buildings are protected, Bristol also has protected green spaces, such as The Avon Gorge, and more centrally, Brandon Hill Nature Reserve. These green spaces are protected, and homeowners will find that building close to them requires a sensitive approach to design and massing.

In addition to the protected green spaces around the city, there may be additional surveys required relating to your own garden or land. For instance, if there is a possibility that your property has bats, or bats are roosting locally, there may be a requirement for ecological surveys. These may also be required where it is suspected there may be other protected flora or fauna present, such as great crested newts. These surveys can be seasonally sensitive, for instance bat emergence surveys can only be carried out in the summer months, and bat hibernation surveys only carried out in the Winter months. You may have to wait to submit your planning application until after the surveys have been carried out. Therefore, to avoid delays it is critical to assess requirements and ensure that surveys are scheduled early in the project. However, the presence of bats does not preclude building work. Presenting a sensitive design which mitigates the risk of harm is vital in these cases.

Bristol City Council were the first Local Authority in the UK to declare a Climate Emergency in 2018. The Council is committed to reducing their own emissions and monitoring their impact on the environment. The One City Climate Strategy sets out targets for public service organisations, such as being carbon neutral by 2030. You can read more about it at:

https://www.bristolonecity.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/one-city-climate-strategy.pdf

One Bristol City Council aim is that by 2030 all new buildings will be carbon neutral and climate resilient, and that the energy performance of existing buildings in the city will be improved to minimise heat demand, whilst preventing overheating. The Council aims that all key stakeholders (with a focus on building owners and operators) work together to prepare and adapt the current building stock for future climate hazards. The above aspirations align well with Passivhaus, or low-energy retrofit plans, and the Council demonstrates by these ambitious targets that they will be open to low-energy proposals that your Passivhaus Architect will put forward to them.

The Council plans to show leadership from the public sector to provide exemplar retrofits and new build projects on their own land, and these will also benefit private-sector proposals through cross-fertilisation.

Discuss your sustainable build project in Bristol today