Bath Rugby drop bid to keep East Stand up this summer after planning row with council
The club has been accused of trying to use the fear of the pandemic to get out of planning obligations
Last updated 11th May 2021
Bath Rugby have dropped a bid to keep their temporary stand up at the Rec this summer after being accused of trying to use the fear of the pandemic to get out of planning obligations.
The club's east stand normally has to come down during rugby's off season but they wanted to keep it up in case they had to play extra matches.
To argue their point they claimed taking it down would make the area a building site and put the pavilion vaccine centre out of action for six weeks.
They also argued the work could jeopardise key events at the Rec like the Bath Carnival and Bath Festival finale.
Councillor Dr Kumar said: “The stand is a huge hindrance for the residents of Bath for enjoying a wonderful, solemn view of the city from the city centre and rugby is played on less than 20 days in a year while the stadium is an eyesore for the wonderful views for 365 days a year.”
He said the Rec was donated to the citizens of Bath, “not only to some corporate conglomerates to make money out of sports”, adding: “This temporary application is becoming permanent in all true sense.”
His Bathwick colleague Cllr Manda Rigby said the temporary nature of the stand was agreed to protect the World Heritage status of the city and was integral, not a “planning nicety”.
The land at the Rec is owned by the charity Bath Recreation Ltd.
Chief executive John Finn said in a letter submitted with the application to keep the stand up, that the matter was "proving to be a critical factor" in the plans of both the rugby club and several events like the Bath Carnival.
“It goes without saying we want to bring some much-needed community activity back as soon as safe and practical to do so and the Rec is central to a number of keystone events – Bath Festival Finale, Bath Half, Bike Bath and Bath Carnival, to name just a few," he wrote.
“All of these events and two others in the pipeline are now directly impacted by the removal of the east stand in the period currently required by the planning conditions.”
The Bath Half has since been cancelled for this year and won't now take place until March 2022.
Mr Flinn added that the process of removing the stand turns the Rec into a building site and would put the Covid-19 vaccination centre at the Pavilion out of action for a “critical six-week period”.
That was challenged by Cllr Rigby, who said the dismantling of the stand had never required the Pavilion to shut and the few parking spaces used by vaccination centre volunteers and visitors could be moved elsewhere.
Bath Rugby said: “The club’s concerns regarding the wider implications of the dismantling and re-erecting of the east stand on the community events planned by Bath Recreation Ltd, as well as to local residents and the impact of the loss of parking provision at the Covid vaccination centre at the Pavilion, still remain.
“The east stand has remained in place as the city has been dealing with the effects of the global pandemic.
“Covid-19 has not gone away, and following the government’s roadmap out of lockdown, the city is slowly emerging and taking steps to economic recovery. The club remains committed to playing its vital part in this.”
The final game currently planned at the Rec this summer is on June 12 but if the club makes the semi-finals it would be held the following week.