Plans for a major redevelopment of Bath City Football Club's stadium and part of Twerton High Street have been submitted.

Bath City FC and Greenacre Capital have applied to redevelop the Twerton Park stadium and create more than 400 living spaces as part of the ambitious project.

The application contains dozens of documents detailing the proposal and was published on he Bath and North East Somerset Council website this week.

The development includes replacing a spectator stand, putting in a new east terrace, a 3G playing surface, a community hub, a gym and upgrading Twerton High Street.

It also includes 12 affordable housing units, 33 co-living apartments, 356 beds of student accommodation, and an extra six flats would be built between 105-116 in Twerton High Street.

The plans state that the replacement grandstand at the stadium would "provide capacity for 4,000 spectators (with potential to achieve a capacity of 5,000 in the future) of which 1,000 seats are covered (with potential to increase to 2,000 seats in the future)".

Student accommodation would comprise 356 cluster bedrooms in buildings ranging from three to seven storeys.

EE are hoping to upgrade the phone mast at Bath City FC
Plans have been submitted to redevelop Bath City FC's stadium

It also says 34 studios, six new flats and 12 affordable apartments will be classed as "affordable housing".

A 137-page planning statement submitted as part of the application, says the proposal "falls short of the target provision of affordable housing by four dwellings" according to Policy CP9 of Bath and North East Somerset's Core Strategy.

The policy which states that 30 per cent of new homes, flats and apartments in the area should be affordable.

The government's definition when it comes to renting is that affordable homes should cost no more than 80 per cent of the average local market rent.

A computer image of what Twerton Park could look like in the future

Bath City Football Club issues a 'statement of intent':

On Monday, the football club, which was founded in 1889 and has called Twerton Park its home since 1932, submitted a lengthy statement saying why Bath City FC was for this application.

In a document titled: "Community benefits: Statement of intent", the club said that it faced "many financial challenges".

Despite the club becoming community owned with more than 600 shareholders, getting an injection of "working capital'" and the creation of a new board of directors - the club said more financial support was needed.

In the autumn of 2017, the club set out to try and redevelop part of its home ground.

The statement reads: "The new development will provide much-needed modern sports facilities, as well as a mechanism for clearing the club’s £1million debt and creating new sustainable revenue streams for the club, which is currently operating at an annual loss of approximately £100,000."

The club then lists some things it has done in the past 12 months.

Among others, that includes: letting 13 local charities use the club for free, providing discounted facilities to a local children's charity, raised thousands for charity, visited 15 schools to talk about the benefits of sport and inviting thousands of children to games for free.


The club added that the project is needed because:

  • Twerton, Whiteway and Southdown have the lowest levels of physical activity and highest levels of obesity in the city, and life expectancy in parts of Twerton is nine years shorter than in other areas of Bath.
  • 21 per cent of Twerton residents have long-term health conditions compared with 10% in Widcombe.
  • Nearly a third of over-16s in Twerton have no qualifications, and unemployment is at 6%, which means that Twerton is the only Bath ward above the national average.
  • 38 per cent of children in Twerton are living in poverty.

Bath City FC says the club employs a number of people in a range of full and part-time roles equivalent to 19 full-time employees.

The club says the new grandstand facilities will protect and support at least 21 full-time equivalent jobs there.

It added that the presence of Bath City in Twerton also indirectly supports jobs in local retail, food and beverage outlets.

In summary, the club said: "This is a development that delivers a broad range of economic, social and environmental benefits in an area of deprivation that needs support and investment.

"It secures the Club’s long-term future at the heart of its community providing a crucial social nexus; creates a base for youth and charitable football under the Bath City banner; creates a new 3G pitch for use by the whole community from schools to charities to leisure; secures the future of existing jobs and creates more as well as supporting employment in the wider area; provides new affordable housing; employs high levels of environmental provision including reducing carbon emissions, planting of new trees and removing negative buildings and more.

"It is a generational opportunity to dramatically enhance Twerton."

The perceived upsides of the development:

In one of many design and access statements compiled by planning agent, Stride Treglown Ltd, the architecture and design practice has outlined 'the benefits' the project would bring.

  • Provide a long term, sustainable future for Bath City FC at its historic home at Twerton Park.
  • Provide an enhanced High Street, with short stay parking and public realm improvements alongside updating the retail offering for local residents.
  • Provide better quality community facilities for Twerton.
  • Improve the facilities and match-day experience for supporters.
  • Enable BCFC to work with BCFC Community Sports Foundation, Bath City Youth and other organisations to develop a programme of sporting and health and wellbeing activities.
  • Provide the opportunity for Universities’, clubs and other organisations and teams to use the 3G football pitch.
  • Provide much needed affordable housing, prioritising residents from the local Twerton area.
  • Provide a range of residential uses, including co-living apartments that would benefit from managed, shared accommodation, suitable for a range of people, including key workers, graduates and young professionals.
  • Refurbish the existing residential accommodation situated above the commercial premises located on the High Street.
  • Provide high quality on-site public spaces and landscaping (including at Innox Park) that can be used and enjoyed by BCFC, all residents, visitors and members of the local community.
  • Enhance the setting of the Grade II Rose Cottage, with the potential to provide heritage-based information boards or plaques to record the history of Twerton and the football club, together with designated and non-designated heritage assets close to the application site.
  • Boost the local (and wider) economy both during the construction phase and throughout the lifetime of the development.
  • Provide the facilities and opportunities which could enable Bath City FC and Twerton High Street to become a destination not only on match days.
     

The planning reference number is 19/02276/FUL.

The last day you can submit a comment on this application is July 4.

A target decision date from BANES is on August 28.

Got a view on this or another local news story? Email richard.mills@reachplc.com.

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