Parish Council - Planning

Priston Village Design Statement - click image to download

The Priston Village Design Statement (VDS) has been formally adopted by B&NES as a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD).
This gives the VDS significant weight in planning decisions relating to Priston.
The VDS will be regarded as a material consideration by B&NES in determining planning applications submitted for properties within Priston.
It will also be used by Priston Parish Council to inform the comments on planning applications which the Council submits to B&NES.
If you are preparing a planning application for a development within Priston it is important that you read and understand the VDS, and take it into account in your development proposals.

The Parish Council Role in Planning

Priston Parish Council is responsible for responding to consultation requests from Bath & North East Somerset (B&NES) for planning applications relating to properties in the parish of Priston.

Planning Policy & Guidelines

In commenting on planning applications, the Parish Council considers how proposals comply with planning policy and guidelines at a national and local level. Key elements include:

National Planning Policy Framework & Guidance;
B&NES Development Plan, including Core Strategy, Placemaking Plan and Local Plan Partial Update;
B&NES Supplementary Planning Documents - including the Priston Village Design Statement (see below).
the Housing Development Boundary for Priston, which defines the area within which residential development will normally be permissible subject to development policies.

The Parish Council uses a Planning Appication Procedure and Checklist (Word version) for assessing planning applications.

Priston Village Design Statement (VDS)

A Village Design Statement (VDS) is a document that describes the distinctive characteristics of the locaility and provides design guidance to influence future developmenent and improve the physical qualities of an area.

The Priston VDS was developed by a Working Group of villagers during 2015/16. It was subject to extensive consultation with villagers and was formally approved by B&NES as a Supplementary Planning document with effect from 6 October 2018. This gives the VDS significant weight in determining plannning applications submitted for properties within Priston.

Click on the links below to download:

Character Assessments

Development of the VDS drew upon earlier work conducted in 2013 to produce Character Assessments. These were used as input to B&NES Place-making Plan but have now been superseded by the VDS. However they contain useful information about Priston. You can download them from the links below: