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BATH A PLACE TO LIVE, WORK AND PLAY Major A. Crombie, Vice-Chairman, The Bath Society, on 5 October 2001 The speaker opened by saying that he intended to discuss the projects that were at present in existence for the future development of Bath and would expect the audience, during the discussion, to propose projects for the longer-term future. It was the object of the meeting to obtain the views of the inhabitants, not to hear those of The Bath Society or one person, but a review of the immediate future may be useful to those not familiar with the projects. The Local Authority, now responsible for a wide area and not just the City, has a duty to balance the preservation of a historic city with the needs of modern life. They joined the English Historic Towns Forum, to gain knowledge of what other towns are doing in this regard. In the 1960s there was considerable demolition of Georgian buildings and the replacement of them by the modern architecture of that time. A recent series of pictures in The Bath Chronicle has illustrated both the buildings that were destroyed and the comparison between particular examples and their replacements. The result was subsequently considered disastrous when opinions about the preservation of heritage changed. The speaker quoted a poem by Betjeman on the subject. He then considered in turn the Southgate re-development, the Spa revival, and the Western Riverside proposals. Southgate could provide as many shops as exist in central Bath at present; he wondered what effect it would have on the trade in Milsom Street and existing shopping areas, and also hoped it would provide shops which sold goods wanted by residents, rather than those aimed at tourists. The Spa has been a long time in coming to fruition. It was to be hoped that the forecasts made for its effect on the prosperity of the city would be realised. Western Riverside is the last area available for major development near the City and should be able to provide for many of the facilities that are considered essential for a modern City that depends on visitors to provide its income. An overall plan is now difficult to achieve because one of the four owners has already started the design of buildings on their plot, which is in the centre of the area. He then listed a number of facilities which had been mentioned as desirable by various people and organisations: • A casino to supplement the Spa • A Concert Hall • A Conference Centre • A new Leisure Centre • A Ten-Pin Bowling Alley • A large Assembly Hall for Balls, etc. • A Sports Ground for the Rugby Club, and perhaps the Football Club It is important that these buildings should be used for at least 18 hours a day to obtain full value from them. Bath is a small city of only 85,000 inhabitants and for it to cater to millions of visitors as well as servicing the needs of its residents will require most imaginative planning of the developments taking place over the next 25 years. Donald Lovell This presentation was followed by two short comments by organisations.
The club has been playing on The Rec for over 100 years; it was formed in 1865. Its international recognition brings a lot of money to the City, but it needs a bigger and better stadium now. It made a mistake in publicising an artist's impression of a bad design for one on The Rec and would be willing to move to Western Riverside if the club could afford to do so. The professional club has not yet broken even and has lost £4.8m. so far. The judgement on the covenants on The Rec has been postponed for about 9 months.
The Union is no longer politically militant as those of the 60s were. It has three concerns transport, housing and recreation for students. Changes in technology, such as distance learning, may result in the long term in the University shrinking, but in the short term it is planned to grow. The demand for transport is constantly changing; at present, the number of buses being used is increasing. Students want housing that is of high quality and affordable; they are no longer willing to accept grotty `digs'. They form 10% of the population of Bath and wish to be part of the community. Students live for 4 or 5 years in Bath and appreciate the character of the City and its social spaces, but feel it needs up-to-date entertainment facilities, such as a better leisure centre, a multiplex cinema and a bowling alley. The campus produces a lot of cultural activities but needs multi-purpose performance spaces including a large venue for Balls, etc. The attractiveness of Bath to students is falling because of the lack of these facilities. Donald Lovell Fifteen people contributed to the general discussion, but many of them ignored the speaker's request and raised points about current developments rather than the long-term future. • Bath should introduce high quality modern architecture • Social housing and housing for key workers is badly needed • More priority should be given to the areas outside the centre of the city • There are legal constraints on the Council with regard to planning: they cannot cross-subsidise rents to assist small businesses, and have difficulty in opposing some applications because there is a presumption to accept them. B&NES could promote a private Act to remove these constraints in this city, and to introduce site value rating • When John Wood was building, he had to persuade a multitude of builders to accept his idea of an impressive façade for a row of houses, and the same persuasion needs exerting today e.g for Western Riverside • Coaches and tour buses congest the roads. Small, clean vehicles should take travellers from the coach park into and around the city. • Solar cells should be permitted on roofs to reduce the pollution of gas-fired heating. Chimneys, which are unused and deteriorating, could then be removed. • `New Bath', at Corston, is proposed to have no car access to a 3000 house estate. A warning about the problems this produces was given. • Tourists bring £200m. to the economy, but it was queried how much of this benefited Bath • Comparable continental cities have pedestrianised their centres completely with success. The whole meeting was recorded. A pair of CDs or two tape cassettes can be borrowed by applying to the BRLSI Office
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