Plans for a new seven-storey student accommodation block are ‘excessive’ and could scupper a bid to secure the future of Bath City Football Club, according to council planning advice.
How the proposed Twerton Park development could look | Photo © Greenacre Capital / Bath City FC
A major redevelopment of the club’s stadium in Twerton had been seen as a chance to regenerate a neglected part of Bath.
But despite more than 800 people backing construction proposals, the advice to Bath and North East Somerset Council members is to reject plans as they stand later this month.
Plans were submitted last May to replace the grandstand and install a 3G pitch, alongside proposals to create 400 living spaces and upgrade Twerton High Street.
Councillors have been advised to refuse planning permission when they consider the application next week because of the poor design, the harm to the conservation area and the lack of parking.
Assessing the plans, council planning officers said: “The proposed development represents a significant private investment into the area with the aim of delivering significant regeneration benefits.
“Without significant investment in the High Street and the proposed football club facilities, the opportunities for regeneration are much more challenging.”
But the officers said the importance of a good design for regeneration efforts should not be underestimated.
The club owes more than £1 million and the redevelopment could help it get on a stable financial footing, the officers said.
But they added: “There is some legitimate concern that, should the football club’s financial position not improve, they may be forced to sell the site and move to an alternative location outside of Twerton.
“The club has been based at Twerton Park since 1932 and is socially significant for the “community.
“Its relocation would therefore be a significant loss for Twerton.”
The development – a joint venture with Greenacre Capital – would provide 356 student bedrooms, 12 affordable apartments, six open-market flats and 33 co-living studio apartments that would have shared communal facilities.
Council officers said the football stadium has a “clear public function” so the scale of the grandstand is acceptable, despite its prominence.
However, they said the student flats are not backed by the same justification and the scale of the seven-storey block was “excessive, visually intrusive and over-dominant”.
The officers said this and the plans to use the 3G pitch all year round and during the week with floodlighting would harm the conservation area.
They said demand for parking spaces will increase but the number is being cut, which will cause issues on surrounding streets.
Objectors raised concerns about the health and environmental impacts of 3G pitches. In response, the officers said the “perceived harms” had to be weighed against the “clear benefits” of a 3G artificial pitch that will increase usage and access to sport and health facilities.
They concluded: “The proposal provides an opportunity for investment in and regeneration of the Twerton High Street and the surrounding area.
“It has the potential to secure the future of the football club in Twerton whilst providing multiple benefits to the community.
“However, there are multiple and serious conflicts with the development plan.
“The benefits of the scheme, individually or cumulatively, do not outweigh the conflicts with the development plan.”
Some 822 letters have been written in support of the plans, with claims the existing facilities are dilapidated, run-down, not fit for purpose and in need of investment.
They said the proposals would allow Twerton Park to become a hub of sporting activity and the new facilities, including the gym and all-weather 3G pitch, would increase levels of access to sport and improve health.
Others said that Twerton was in desperate need of investment and the proposals would help to regenerate the area. Some said it was a “once in a lifetime” opportunity.
But in its objection, the Federation of Bath Residents’ Associations (FoBRA) said: “Given the existence of much student accommodation and increased development in the vicinity, there is a danger of the permanent community being overwhelmed and the character of the area being lost.
“On the other hand, FoBRA would be reluctant to scupper the only potential means of saving the club and regenerating the local village centre.”
Bath Preservation Trust said the development had “huge potential” to regenerate the area, but argued that there was too much student accommodation and too little affordable housing.
It said building up to seven storeys high would dominate the area.
Twerton councillor Sarah Moore voiced similar concerns that the site would be overdeveloped, and said the installation of a 3G pitch conflicted with the need to cut plastics.
She added: “What contingency is being put in place should this redevelopment not produce the regeneration of the football club to a financially sustainable club that is required?”
The council’s planning committee will consider the application when it meets on Wednesday 11th March.
Stephen Sumner, Local Democracy Reporter
