The Parish Council wishes to restate its long held position regarding the future of the Church of the Good Shepherd site.
The Council has consistently expressed the view that any future development of the site should seek to retain community benefit. Historically, the church served not only its congregation but the wider village, and the Parish Council is keen that whatever comes next, whether through retention, adaptation or redevelopment, reflects that role.
In particular, as set out in the Parish Council’s response to the Local Plan Consultation1, Batheaston has a limited range of early years provision. While the village benefits from other services – a primary school, GP surgery and pharmacy – there is currently no pre-school or nursery provision. The Parish Council would therefore support, in principle, any future proposal that includes the provision of a nursery or similar early years facility on this site.
With regard to the built form, the Parish Council formally objected to planning application ref. 23/03753/FUL2 (which was approved by Bath and North East Somerset Council in July 2025), and continues to express a preference for the retention and reuse of the existing building where possible, rather than its demolition and replacement with housing.
This statement does not constitute support for any specific proposal, bid or developer. Rather, it sets out the Parish Council’s established policy position and the outcomes it would welcome in relation to the future use of the site.
Although the Parish Council has limited capacity and resources, it would be willing to engage constructively with any future proposal that aligns with the principles outlined above.
Parish Councillors: Catherine McCarthy, Arif Butt, Peter Lewis
23rd January 2026
The statement is also here