New field of combat for Bath rugby club
Sean O’Neill
March 5 2019, 12:01am, The Times
Surrounded by seven Somerset hills, adorned with lovingly preserved Georgian buildings and rich in Roman history, Bath is a superlative city.
The picturesque views of terraces, squares and the countryside beyond that can be glimpsed from all over the city are a key factor in its designation as a World Heritage Site. They represent, Unesco says, a “demonstration par excellence of the integration of architecture, urban design and landscape setting, and the deliberate creation of a beautiful city”.
Those iconic views now face a threat from something that is also an integral part of Bath’s character. Bath Rugby, a 150-year-old institution much loved by local people, wants to build an imposing complex to replace its charming but dilapidated home on the Recreation Ground in the city centre.
The club is owned by the pharmaceutical millionaire Bruce CraigDAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES
There is growing unease among Bathonians about the development, which includes much taller stands, a retail mall and a 700-space car park in the middle of a clean air zone.
Residents are also concerned that although the club is owned by the pharmaceutical millionaire and lifelong fan Bruce Craig, the company running the stadium development is controlled by a Bermudan bank and a French banker who lives in the Bahamas.
It is the inevitable impact on the views that is generating most anxiety. Stadium capacity will rise from 13,500 to 18,000 and the entire complex will be significantly raised to lift it out of the River Avon flood plain. The car park will be underneath the playing surface.
The Federation of Bath Residents’ Associations is worried about the “serious potential harm” of the taller stands, and Historic England is urging the rugby club to minimise harm to Bath’s “extraordinary and sensitive urban environment”. Simon Hickman, an inspector of historic buildings with the charity, said: “Part of the city’s beauty, and one of the reasons it is a World Heritage Site, is the relationship between townscape and landscape. We are concerned that key views could be obscured.”
Before any building work begins, the stadium proposal will be tested in the High Court because a 1922 covenant states that no building should be erected “which may grow to be a nuisance, annoyance or disturbance or otherwise prejudicially affect the adjoining premises or the neighbourhood”.
Lawyers for the club have written to local residents claiming that the covenants are not enforceable.
Tarquin McDonald, chief executive of Bath Rugby, said the club was working to “compress” the height of the new development and that the plans include opening up the riverside area for public use. He said that without a new stadium the club would be forced to leave the city, “but it’s not something we want to do . . . we think we are part of the city’s DNA”.
Topic: OT New field of combat for Bath rugby club (Read 1599 times)
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