- Application Number
- 18/01267/FUL
- Application Date
- 19/04/2018
- Closing Date
- 19/04/2018
- Address
- Sports Training Village, University Of Bath Campus, Claverton Down
- Status
- Comment
Proposed new School of Management Building including new arrivals square, public realm enhancement, landscaping, cycle and motorcycling parking, disabled parking and other associated infrastructure works.
Our Response
The Trust finds this application to be successful in terms of the scale of ambition to create a 21st century faculty building and in the proposed design of the building and its associated interaction with the campus and the student population.
This site does not appear to be planned for in the current university 2009-20 masterplan (though we note that site is part of a potential development area in Policy SB19) and we feel this undermines the purpose and gravitas of the masterplan. The masterplan is confusing in that in more than one of the opportunities maps, the site (now 4ES and the associated car park) is earmarked for development but it is detailed as residential accommodation (p38) and as academic space in other map (p39). It would appear that further academic space was not earmarked for development on this site given that the masterplan plans for the 4ES development only.
We cannot support this application however because, as always, our main concern is how the university can justify the addition of further state-of-the-art academic space aimed to draw more students to the university without a published and agreed collaborative strategic plan with B&NES Council and Bath Spa University regarding student accommodation across the City. We would wish to see how the university will shoulder a greater proportion of its student numbers, and in particular any extra students being attracted to a city with an already challenged housing market and a student population of over 24,000. With new academic space intensifying the campus (and removing important green space) we would expect to see intensified accommodation development occurring on campus as a balancing exercise.
This site does not appear to be planned for in the current university 2009-20 masterplan (though we note that site is part of a potential development area in Policy SB19) and we feel this undermines the purpose and gravitas of the masterplan. The masterplan is confusing in that in more than one of the opportunities maps, the site (now 4ES and the associated car park) is earmarked for development but it is detailed as residential accommodation (p38) and as academic space in other map (p39). It would appear that further academic space was not earmarked for development on this site given that the masterplan plans for the 4ES development only.
We cannot support this application however because, as always, our main concern is how the university can justify the addition of further state-of-the-art academic space aimed to draw more students to the university without a published and agreed collaborative strategic plan with B&NES Council and Bath Spa University regarding student accommodation across the City. We would wish to see how the university will shoulder a greater proportion of its student numbers, and in particular any extra students being attracted to a city with an already challenged housing market and a student population of over 24,000. With new academic space intensifying the campus (and removing important green space) we would expect to see intensified accommodation development occurring on campus as a balancing exercise.