Last Friday saw around 3000 people from Bathampton, Bathford and Batheaston gathered on Bathampton Meadows to sing carols to show their support for the campaign to stop the meadows being turned into a park & ride site.
Children from Batheaston Primary school began the evening of carols with a favourite carol against a backdrop of a candle-lit canopy and hay-bale stage.
This was followed by a carol service conducted by the vicars of both St John’s Batheaston and St Nicholas’s in Bathampton, Isobel Rathbone and Jonty Frith.
Reverend Frith commented: “Thank God for great weather and a great turnout. Christmas is a wonderful thing to be celebrating all together.
“The meadows are a special place, and I pray for wisdom for those making decisions about their future.”
Co-organiser and teacher Alison Smith said: “We couldn’t have wished for a more magical evening, and I’d like to thank everyone who worked so tirelessly to make it happen.
“The threat to the meadows has brought our communities together, and we must continue to work to show the people of Bath that building a Park & Ride on this beautiful place will not solve the city’s traffic problems.”
The evening was rounded off with a moving rendition of Silent Night.
A teddy bear carousel supplied by Graham and Stuart Feasey was used to raise money for local charity Julian House which provides shelter for the homeless in the Bath area.
The Bathampton Meadows Alliance say they are keen for the scrutiny panel, which has been set up by Bath and North East Somerset Council to look at the park and ride issue, to be “transparent and open.”
