Bath & North East Somerset Council has extended the consultation period on plans for a new east of Bath Park & Ride site to give people more chance to have their say.
The public consultation was originally due to run until early October, however the deadline has now been extended to Sunday 18 October.
Members of the public are encouraged to share their views by visiting the online consultation page where you can see plans for the different sites and compare their benefits and challenges: http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/eastpandr.
Over 500 people have already responded to the online consultation and at the public drop-in event held at Bathampton Village Hall on Saturday 19 September.
Cllr Tim Warren (Conservative, Mendip), Leader of Bath & North East Somerset Council, said: “We’re really pleased that so many people have already shared their views with us, but we want to ensure that as many people as possible have the chance to have their say. That’s why we’re extending the consultation period to 18 October and holding a further two public drop-in events.
“We’d like to see even more local residents come along to these events or take part in the online consultation. These plans form a key part of the Council’s wider strategy to improve transport, tackle congestion and reduce air pollution levels in and around Bath. We want people to take a look at the potential sites and give us their views to help us to choose the preferred location.”
The next public consultation drop-in event looking at possible sites for the new park and ride to the East of Bath takes place on Tuesday 22 September from 4pm to 8pm at The Guildhall in Bath, this will be followed up with a third event at Rhymes Pavilion, Batheaston on Tuesday 29 September, from 3pm to 7pm.
Cllr Anthony Clarke (Conservative, Lansdown), Cabinet Member for Transport, said: “The three sites we’re consulting on have been assessed and identified by the Council’s transport officers as the most viable of the seven originally considered. We do not have a preference for which of these three sites should be taken forward – we want to hear which site residents believe would be the most appropriate location and deliver the most benefit in terms of improving transport.”
The consultation will run until 18 October. At the end of the consultation, officers will analyse the results, which will be put before councillors in November for a decision. Once a preferred site has been chosen it will be included in the Placemaking Plan later this year.
Objectives for the Park and Ride Scheme:
· To reduce congestion within the city
· To improve the city’s environment
· To reduce car use into the city centre and improve the proportion of journeys made by public transport
· To support the city’s economic development and Enterprise Area
· To improve connectivity to support business and growth of the wider region.
The three sites for consultation are:
Land east of A4/A46 junction
· Benefits: near to the city; would accommodate a large number of cars; visual impact could be reduced by landscaping and planting.
· Challenges: poor existing access to London Road; high risk of flooding; part of the River Avon Site of Nature Conservation Interest; inside City of Bath World Heritage Site and Bath Conservation Area; would create a need to replace the existing playing fields elsewhere.
Land west of Mill Lane
· Benefits: not considered at risk of flooding; outside City of Bath World Heritage Site; visual impact could be reduced by landscaping and planting; could service a new railway station.
· Challenges: requires new access from A4; might require access from adjoining site with a tunnel under Mill Lane.
Land east of Mill Lane
· Benefits: low risk of flooding; outside City of Bath World Heritage Site; visual impact could be reduced by landscaping and planting.
· Challenges: requires new access from A4; would be visible to a number of homes.
i’m afraid this council does not appear to understand what Unesco means by the setting of the World Heritage Site. It doesn’t matter that these sites are outside the WHS. They form part of the setting and B&NES has a legal obligation to protect it. Nor has it taken any notice of recent research on Park and Rides. It is now known that they generate traffic and most research shows they do little if anything at all to reduce it. I speak as someone who was involved with the campaign to get Park and Rides introduced.No one came much more enthusiastic about them than I was. But I now have serious reservations about them. If I can admit I might have made a mistake, can’t the council admit they need to take a less biased look?