Why this ambition is important for Bath and North East Somerset
This strategy provides an opportunity to focus on
what makes Bath and North East Somerset a distinctive place. It also helps us to focus on
local priorities.
For example, in
Bath
and North East Somerset there is a strong desire to make sure the design
of future developments is of high quality, reflects our distinctive built
and natural features, and improves people’s lives now and in the future.
Our consultation on this strategy has also identified specific local needs
relating to housing, transport, learning and health services.
The strategy also allows us to reflect the different people and places
making up our communities. Around half of
Bath
and North East Somerset’s 170,000 residents live in the City of Bath. The other main centres of population are Keynsham, Midsomer
Norton and Radstock. There are also many villages and hamlets spread
across 47 rural parishes. All these places lie within varied landscapes,
some where town and city meets the country. Our area is also
fortunate in the range and quality of its public parks and open spaces.
The Botanical Gardens in
Bath’s Royal Victoria Park were chosen as ‘UK
’s best park’ in the 2003 Britain
in Bloom awards.
The distinctive nature of the area is reflected in the wide range of
partnership working that exists. For example, Keynsham has a Town
Plan process with a vision to be ‘a thriving, sustainable and safe
market town’. This has resulted in a suggested Keynsham Action Plan.
Norton Radstock has a not-for-profit ‘regeneration company’ set up to
improve the area. The company owns the vacant former railway and
neighbouring land in the centre of the town and is working with the local
community to help improve the heart of Radstock. There is now also a draft
Community Action Plan for Midsomer Norton, Radstock and surrounding
communities. This identifies 13 themes including transport, town and
village centres, the environment, and housing. This has been developed
through the Market and Coastal Towns Initiative, a scheme designed to
encourage communities to get involved in improving such areas. Work is now
underway to finalise this plan and develop working arrangements for making
things happen.
A proposal to improve life in rural communities has also been developed.
This stresses the relationship between towns and rural areas within the
West of England. The proposal focuses on learning and skills, tourism, local food and promoting local
facilities that can be used for a number of activities. In 2001-2002,
local volunteers received training to gather the view of their
communities in Queen’s Road, Keynsham and Snow Hill,
Bath
. These volunteers then consulted with local people on what was needed in
their areas. The
Chew
Valley
also has a broad range of active local community groups, including the Chew
Valley Community Action Group, which have completed a number of
successful projects. These projects reflect the pride and sense of
identity felt in our local communities.
Some areas within
Bath
and North East Somerset look to
Bristol, Wiltshire or Somerset
for transport, leisure and educational links, as well as for employment.
However, a large part of the population still looks to
Bath
for access to a wide range of facilities. The City of Bath
was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987. Bath & North
East Somerset Council has worked with English Heritage to produce a
management plan for Bath
to make sure our heritage is protected for future generations. That
plan’s vision is for
Bath
to be a centre of excellence for managing the heritage of accessible,
thriving, living cities. The Bath Communities Partnership has a role
across all Bath
communities and also manages specific schemes and initiatives. There are
also a number of other local initiatives including one in the
Oldfield
Park
area.
A high local priority is affordable housing. House prices in the area are
high, even when compared to the national average, and many first-time
buyers are effectively locked out of the housing market. This means more
commuting, often from areas with poor public transport links, and makes it
difficult for public-service providers to recruit staff and improve
services. Our community strategy focuses on improvements in areas such as
housing, transport and skills. It will be important to make sure these
priorities are linked to each other (for example, that new housing has
access to good public transport), as well as to local, regional and
national strategies.
The government is increasingly looking to Regional Assemblies to bring
together the wide range of strategies and issues in a region. The South
West Regional Assembly is developing a regional strategy to identify and
tackle the issues facing the South West. We welcome these
developments and have provided feedback based on the ambitions contained
in this community strategy. We will continue to work so that our area’s
needs are taken into account in the emerging regional strategy.
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