Bath, renowned globally for its Roman baths and Georgian architecture, and the only entire city in the UK designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, may temporarily relinquish this status to facilitate new housing developments. The Liberal Democrat-led Bath and North East Somerset Council is exploring the option to amend the site’s designation wording, which currently includes the description of the city being set within a “hollow in the hills.” This particular phrasing restricts the city’s ability to develop new suburbs, a necessity according to the council to meet the Labour government’s recently increased housing targets.
Under the proposed approach, Bath would need to be delisted as a World Heritage Site and subsequently reapply if UNESCO permits the requested changes. Council cabinet member Matt McCabe (Bathavon South, Liberal Democrat) expressed optimism, stating, “I don’t think there is, in my view, any reason why UNESCO wouldn’t allow us to rejoin.”
This suggestion comes amid controversy surrounding the council’s local plan, a significant document outlining where future housing should be constructed. Following the Labour government’s revision of housing target calculations in 2024, Bath and North East Somerset’s target nearly doubled, increasing from approximately 14,000 to around 27,340 homes, reflecting the growing demand in Bath.
READ MORE: Yeovil Town urged to sharpen finishing after Worthing stalemate
READ MORE: Somerset Council Unveils £50m Flood Resilience Plan to be Delivered by 2028
Constraints imposed by the World Heritage Site status mean most new housing would be located outside the city, in the broader North East Somerset area. The current plan proposes that Bath itself would receive only about a quarter of the new homes-approximately 5,900-slightly above the 5,700 planned for Keynsham, which is five times smaller.
Housing within Bath is expected to be concentrated on small brownfield sites mainly along the River Avon. Mr McCabe noted, “Bath is going to squeeze in as much as it can on every single bit of space but that doesn’t quite get it to 6,000 houses.”
Originally, the council suggested a suburban expansion of 2,000 homes on land between Twerton’s edge and the Globe Roundabout. However, the government’s planning inspectorate warned that the local plan would face rejection if this area was included without UNESCO’s support.
“Politically, everybody thinks that’s the best place for the city to expand. We have to change the wording of the UNESCO World Heritage inscription,” Mr McCabe explained. The government would need to spearhead this amendment process by submitting changes to the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), which would make recommendations to UNESCO. This process involves delisting Bath and could take several years.
Mr McCabe added that although there was no appetite for this process last year, the backing from the Mayor of the West of England Combined Authority has encouraged renewed efforts to initiate discussions early next year.
Even with the fastest possible completion, this process would not be finalised in time to include the proposed suburbs in the current local plan scheduled for a vote in December. The local plan is intended to remain effective for 18 years; however, evolving national and regional policies could necessitate revisions within five years.
Bath first received World Heritage Site status in 1987 and subsequently became part of the Great Spa Towns of Europe World Heritage Site in 2021.
Opposition Labour councillors, representing areas outside the city, have advocated for relinquishing the World Heritage Site status to facilitate a greater share of housing development within Bath. Labour group leader Robin Moss recently commented, “UNESCO is proud of other World Heritage Site cities where the locals aren’t priced out.”
While placing the city’s prestigious World Heritage status at risk is politically sensitive, the growing dissatisfaction among councillors from North East Somerset over unequal housing distribution poses a significant political challenge.
Andy Wait (Keynsham East, Liberal Democrat), chair of the scrutiny committee, described the proposed local plan as “blatantly unfair.” He criticised Mr McCabe, stating, “You have actually created a plan that is pretty unpopular everywhere in Bath and North East Somerset. The statement ‘the right houses in the right places’ is a joke because frankly we are building the wrong houses in the wrong places.”
Further criticism came from committee member Duncan Hounsell (Saltford, Liberal Democrat), who said, “We have had 13 years where this was an inevitable situation and in that time the world heritage site management plan has been updated at least twice. Has the planning policy team actually been asleep at the wheel in terms of this issue for 13 years?”
Mr McCabe responded by defending the council, noting that the housing target increase was unexpected. “I don’t think anyone has been asleep at the wheel but, last year, I went up to government and said: ‘You have doubled our target. You have to do something about Bath. We can’t expand the city and we can’t build up because of the UNESCO listing.’ And there was no interest last year.”
A six-week public consultation on the local plan is underway until 30 October, representing the final opportunity for public feedback before the plan is submitted for government approval. Once approved, the local plan will govern planning decisions until 2043 unless superseded by a new plan.