Bath Football Club is the home of Bath City F.C. and a recognised community asset situated to the south of Bath. Following the planning refusal, the Football Club issued an update in 2020 that they were considering possible next steps but indicated that the planning decision would not be appealed. Further updates were provided at the end of 2021 with Bath Football Club working with a series of potential partners. A new briefing document has been put together and circulated, indicating that the future of the scheme remains active. Further updates from the Club are available here.
2023 – Proposed Upgrade of Existing Football Grounds
Application 23/00707/FUL has since been submitted for the upgrade of the existing grass pitch with a “modern synthetic playing surface” to improve the ongoing community use of the existing football ground.
BPT raised potential concerns with the installation of a synthetic pitch, including microplastic pollution, as well as the on-site loss of biodiversity (though it is acknowledged that the site is of limited biodiversity value as existing).
Read our response to the 2023 planning application here.
The application was granted planning permission. The case officer concluded that the loss of habitat resulting from the scheme would be minimal, though the scheme would not be compliant with local policy on expected biodiversity net gain. It was confirmed that the proposed pitch would be fully recyclable and would deliver a significant community benefit “which is a key aspiration of the development plan.”
2019 – Pre-Application Consultation & Planning Application for Redevelopment of Football Stadium
Plans for the regeneration of the site surrounding and including the football ground in Twerton were consulted upon in early 2019.
BPT provided detailed feedback to the development team at pre-app stage. In principle, we supported the regeneration of the area, including the provision of a new and invigorated section of the high street, residential accommodation and affordable homes. We accepted the need for some student accommodation from a viability point of view, but continued to urge the team to focus on the delivery of much needed local affordable housing. We commented on aspects of the design, including the heights of some parts of the scheme, which is available to read here.
Read our response to the 2019 planning application here.
In March 2020, application 19/02276/FUL was refused at Planning Committee on grounds of poor design, harm to the conservation area, harm to residential amenity, and insufficient parking provision.