Objectors to the proposed East of Bath park and ride in Bathampton have said they are angered to learn that the consultation is now being extended beyond the boundaries of B&NES.
It has emerged that the B&NES’ Conservative administration has urged residents as far away as Gloucester and Calne to respond.
Local Conservative supporters have also been pressed to fill in the consultation form.
They were told in correspondence that: “If not enough residents respond positively there is a possibility that the project might not happen which would be a disaster both environmentally and politically.”
Liberal Democrat Councillor, Alison Millar (Bathavon North), who is campaigning to save the Meadows, said: “Local people are clearly not giving the answers that this administration wants and this is why they are, at this late stage, looking further afield.”
“This should not have been made into a political issue. It is not a political matter – it is a question of what is right for all the people of Bath and North East Somerset to address their transport problems.
“The Council themselves have said that the proposed park and ride will not help with congestion or pollution to the East of Bath, so why tarmac over these Meadows?”
In response, Bath and North East Somerset Council issued the following statement:
“The new park and ride service is needed for people travelling in from the east of Bath, to tackle congestion, improve air quality and support economic growth in our city.
“The consultation is primarily aimed at B&NES residents, however in order to gain a wide variety of views, the Council is keen to ensure that people who may commute into the city from surrounding towns have the opportunity to contribute to the consultation.
“Consultation responses will be broken down by location using postcodes provided.
“The Council expects at least 2,500 people to use the new park and ride each day, taking an estimated 4,000 trips a day off the road. As well as easing congestion, taking 4000 trips a day off the road would lead to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of 1,162 tonnes per year.
“There would also be reduction in nitrogen oxides (NOx) of around 2,602 kg per annum; and 330 kg per annum of particulate matter, which is harmful to people’s health.
“The park and ride is part of a package of improvement work in and around the city, identified in the Getting around Bath transport strategy, which was widely consulted upon and which received cross-party support.
“Other ongoing work includes improvements to rail services and the development of the A36/A46 link road which would help divert through traffic, which the Council continues to work towards with Wiltshire Council and Highways England.”
1 Comment
Westyfield2
Wednesday 14th October, 2015 at 11:02Isn’t that a good thing? People who live in Bath have no need for a P&R – driving to a P&R site is further than driving to a city centre car park like the Podium or Southgate for me. And if I’m not planning on buying much, I’ll just walk.
It’s people who don’t live in Bath that use a P&R, and the whole point is that it gets created on their existing main route in and they don’t need to take a detour to reach it. Hence why we need an East side P&R and not just “why don’t they drive to another site”.
And as for the “BANES or not BANES thing”, it’s perfectly logical. Have a look at the map of BANES. Bath is right on the east side of BANES. Batheaston and Freshford are the last villages in BANES if you head east of the city. But going westwards, BANES continues all the way to Blagdon lake. Somewhere like Compton Martin or Nempnett Thrubwell is just as far away from Bath as Calne is – yet those on the west are in BANES and those on the East aren’t. So for a project like a P&R that places Bath at the centre, the surveys need to represent opinion from equal distances in all directions – regardless of which council region they are in. And as the project is all about an East side P&R, then maybe it should actually extend further to the east than other directions.