The Bath Preservation Trust has expressed great disappointment that the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has decided not to call-in the planning application on Bath’s Western Riverside, and that therefore that all the important issues raised by opponents of the scheme will not now be dealt with in a formal public enquiry.
The Preservation Trust had consistently campaigned for the application to be called in on a number of grounds, not least that it would have a detrimental effect on the World Heritage City and was therefore of national and international, not merely local, significance.
Caroline Kay, Chief Executive of the Trust, said:
“We always held that the threat to the World Heritage site necessitated continuing our request for the application to be called in, and cannot understand why this has not been recognised in the detailed decision from the Secretary of State. There remains continuing doubt over the stand that UNESCO will take over Bath’s World Heritage Status as a result of this decision and we will continue to campaign for the improvement and revision of the current plans”.
Edward Bayntun-Coward, Chairman of the Bath Preservation Trust, said:
“The preservation of Bath depends on its evolution, but that evolution must respect those qualities of Bath which have given it its World Heritage status in the first place. We will continue to engage constructively with developers but Bath’s special status needs to be understood.”
To view the letter from the Government Office for the South West to the Council which sets out their reasons for deciding not to intervene click here.