Bath Beekeepers submit plans for permanent home at Larkhall

Bath Beekeepers have submitted a planning application for a permanent home at Larkhall.

A branch of Avon Beekeepers Association, Bath Beekeepers have been going since 1930, with a focus on educating and supporting both beekeepers and the public.

Meetings were held at members’ apiaries until 2010, when the group began renting a site in Newton St Loe.

Bath Beekeepers have been fundraising to find a permanent home for a teaching apiary and last year bought land from Larkhall Athletic Football Club.

The site is at Woolley Lane, just north of the junction with Charlcombe Lane and next to the football club. It is within the Green Belt and Cotswolds National Landscape.

It currently has structures on site that were historically associated with Larkhall Athletic FC – a single-storey pre-fabricated concrete panelled garage and a separate storage structure made from timber sleepers with a corrugated metal roof, surrounded by gravel hardstanding.

The association says the site is a more accessible location than its rented premises at Newton St Loe and having a permanent home will give it security to continue for perpetuity.

The proposal seeks:

• A purpose-built clubhouse and educational facility.
• A managed apiary area for beekeeping activities.
• Vehicle and cycle parking.
• Landscape enhancements and biodiversity improvements.
• Retention and integration of existing site features wherever practicable.

The clubhouse will be of “traditional agricultural architecture”.

The site is said to be in an accessible location, enabling access by public transport, walking and cycling.

The scheme includes 20 native trees of varying species to be planted across the site.

The planning reference is 26/03136/FUL. Any comments on the proposals should be sent to Bath & North East Somerset Council by 17th September.