3.1 Drawing from the issues and challenges facing Bath and North East Somerset, the spatial priorities of the Local Plan, and a range of evidence, the key requirements or needs that the Local Plan must respond to are set out below:
- Jobs and employment: Forecast job growth in key economic sectors and the associated need for employment space in order to help foster a prosperous, greener and fairer economy
- Housing: The need for housing to address existing and projected changes in the population and to respond to the needs of different groups
- Need arising from neighbouring authorities and our duty to co-operate on strategic planning
- Climate change: Measures to help tackle the climate emergency that can be facilitated through the Local Plan
- Nature recovery: The urgent need for and to facilitate nature recovery and enhancement across the district
- The needs of health and well-being and the role places can have influencing health outcomes
- Transport requirements that are pivotal in making the district more sustainable and delivering other societal benefits by enabling movement and connectivity for all by public transport and active travel
This list of key needs is not exhaustive. It is also important to note that whilst the Local Plan will seek to respond to all of these needs, there may be occasions where there is conflict between them. In these circumstances, a key role of the Local Plan is to establish a framework for balancing these needs and to prioritise addressing them.
At the end of this chapter there is an opportunity to comment on the key needs we have identified