On September 21st 2023, the organiser of the Riverside Gull Group addressed a meeting of the full council. The following article is an edited version of a report by BBC Reporter John Wimperis:
A man living in a housing development plagued by gulls says he has had "to seek refuge with friends and family" for the sake of his health.
Gavin, who moved to Riverside in Bath last year, said he was often surrounded by the birds and they caused him to lose sleep and suffer anxiety: "I was simply not prepared for the serious impact that these creatures have upon me," he said. It's been impossible to escape sleep deprivation."
Gavin told councillors that noise from the birds woke him at 03:00 and stopped him from getting back to sleep. "On the roof of the building adjacent to me, at the level of my windows and within a distance of no more than 50 feet, there are often 10 or 12 adult gulls," he said. "There are often four of five on my balcony, two on the parapet above me, and three of four on a second neighbouring building. My health and wellbeing have suffered from lack of sleep, anxiety, and being unable to concentrate with windows open, even in the stifling heat of summer," he added.
The development's management company had worked with the council's gull officer Gordon Dugan to develop proofing measures, but Gavin said that the issue extended beyond the development's own buildings. Gulls are also showing "increasingly aggressive behaviour," he warned. "I had a sandwich snatched from my hand, drawing blood; I have been hit on the head by a gull while walking; and I have witnessed a gull take ducklings from the canal."
The birds and their nests are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, but Natural England can grant licences to control gulls by removing nests or eggs.
At a full Council meeting on Thursday 21st July '23, Gavin called on councillors to engage with Natural England to allow them to do more to tackle the gulls.
June Player, councillor for the Westmoreland Ward which includes the Riverside development, commented: "Natural England is protecting all birds; but who is protecting the residents?"
Item about the application by 'The Dripping Tap' to move into the ground floor at Royal View. Over 100 Riversiders objected. The application was withdrawn.
(Sep 2023)
Taking up most of the ground floor of Royal View with a pub open 10.00 - 23.00 playing live music is the ambition of the pub chain Thirsty Pine. No food will be served.
This is not appropriate at Riverside's tranquil Park
While many might welcome the arrival of a new watering hole, many will have serious concerns about the level of noise and nuisance generated by traffic and late pub leavers not to mention the music itself - never a pleasant experience when imposed upon you whether you like it or not. Those who live nearest will suffer most and as this photo shows there are many living with hearing distance . The main consequence will be the impact on our beloved Elizabeth Park. This peaceful scene by the river will be taken over and completely changed. Some residents are making moves to oppose the plan. It is not yet clear if planning permission is required for a change of use for this part of the building, but it is certain that a licence is required to cover the sale of alcohol and provision of live music.
If you wish to complain about the plans for these premises you need to act by 24th August - so get cracking! See the details below. RCV will be submitting their own thoughts.
Some views from Residents:
"The plan for a live music bar is completely inappropriate for this residential area"
"The park regulations which I assume were drawn up by Crest prohibit the playing of musical instruments and music machines (boom boxes) and the like. Yet they think it is appropriate to have live music booming out into the park!
"Is it sensible to have a music bar in an area that has seen considerable problems with drug dealing in the near vicinity."
"The applicants claim that all windows will be closed when live music is playing but the property has 4 large double doors at the front and this proposal just won't work... uncontrollable heat in the summer... .the windows and these doors will be wide open. Unless the bar installs AC which properties not protected from the noise are not allowed to install, we doubt if the windows will ever be closed."
You can view the application here: https://www.bathnes.gov.uk/webforms/licensing/#advancedSearch.
How to make your views known
You can contact the Licensing Team in the following ways:
By email: licensing@bathnes.gov.uk
Download this form
By telephone: 01225 477531
In person at any of the Council’s One Stop Shops
The Licensing application reference is 23/01428/LAPRE
The RCV Objection is here
If you would like to view more comments which might help with your own objection, click here
New Trees for Elizabeth Park
(March 2023)
In Sep '22 the newly formed RCV Garden Group discussed their ideas for trees in Elizabeth Park
with Will Stops, Director of Landscape Services (SW) who care for our green spaces.
The group's arboreal dreams came to fruition on March 23rd 2023 when 24 trees were planted.
3 London Plane Trees
to replace the dead tulip trees in the centre of Elizabeth Park.
It was decided to plant these trees behind the Tulip trees in case the latter might still show signs of life this year.
If they do, consideration will be given to moving the Plane Trees.
11 Mountain Ash and Birch
to fill the gap between the orange Destructor Bridge finial and the stone bench on the river walk.
This area also to have dead grasses and ferns replaced with dogwood of various colours.
A group of 5 Liquid Amber trees
at the western end of the park.
These trees will be designated as part of the Queen’s Canopy and a memorial to her.
They will eventually provide shade in Summer and beautiful Autumnal colour.
The hornbeam hedge on the south side of the Park at the western end has already been extended to cover the bare space there. Any unpaved earth that remained exposed has been planted with suitable shrubs.
There are plans in mind for other green spaces in the development except the enclosed secure gardens which will be the responsibility of their managing boards. The group feels however that planting trees should be the priority for this year.
The Garden Group is Hilary Lee (Organiser), Sarah Braithwaite, Trish Fosbury, Pat Lees, Jo Thomas, and Vivienne Tucker.
Questions? Contact Hilary
March 2023
Home Base Site got Green Light from Planning Inspector
But Developer has walked away
As of Mar 2023 no further plans have been lodged for this site.
Jubilee Party on 15th June 2022
The party committee of Flo Penfold, Hilary Lee, and Ali Penfold led by Andrew Vickers had worked hard for months on the organisation of the party in the park to celebrate HM The Queen’s platinum anniversary and our hopeful final emergence from Covid.
The band – Magpie and the Shiny Things – were great; Bath’s own minor royal Lady Margaret arrived to perform a sparkling opening ceremony in her chauffeur-driven Bentley; there was a quiz, a raffle and a cake sale with prizes and cakes generously donated by residents and all who attended had a wonderful afternoon. £500 was raised for Bath Welcomes Refugees.
Bath’s new Mayor attended with the Mayoress and said a few well-chosen words and Bath’s MP Wera Hobhouse - who is of course a local resident- enjoyed the afternoon along with many others.
The great uncontrollable variable was of course the weather. A cool breeze and impending rain on the day probably deterred many who otherwise could have enjoyed this splendid and memorable afternoon. Many thanks are due to all those who organised and contributed to the day.
Gasworks Site (seen here from the west) Development
Planning Application
View it here
https://www.bathnes.gov.uk/webforms/planning/details.html?refval=22%2F03224%2FEFUL#details_Section
RCVs Comments on the application
Sustainability
The Bath Western Riverside developer (Crest Nicholson Regeneration) made no effort to future-proof the development in terms of green energy supply despite the numerous roofs available for solar panels. Furthermore in building a massive underground car park the developer omitted some simple future-proofing by taking the relatively cheap but effective measure of installing the infrastructure to carry electric power in the future to all or even some of the parking spaces.
It is to be hoped that such lack of thought will not be evident in the Gasworks development. All suitable roofing should be fitted with solar panels in keeping with Bath’s World Heritage City status, and all car spaces should have at least electrical tails fitted to facilitate car charging in the future.
We already know that the homes of the future will be powered by renewable (or carbon zero) electricity and there will be no role for fossil fuels in home heating. We therefore hope that the development will be built with a grid capacity and infrastructure sufficient for all current and future electricity use, including the charging of all vehicles parked on the development.
We also hope and expect that all the homes will be built to the highest energy efficiency specifications.
Lack of (indoor) Community Space
Upon moving to Bath Riverside, many prospective residents were promised that when development continued west of Midland Rd there would be some sort of ‘village hall’ or community space. So far nothing substantial has been planned for this area. To make a comparison, Mulberry Park in Bath. a relatively new development (admittedly off city centre) has 700 dwellings and a superb and much-valued community centre and a school.
Traffic Hotspots which could possibly be avoided
The traffic volume, both inbound and outbound, will all be biased to two hotspots on Midland Rd, putting an unfair burden not only on Midland Rd, but on adjacent dwellings at the entry near Sovereign Point and the exit in Midland Rd. We would like to query why an exit/entry point from Windsor Bridge Rd is not under consideration.
Possible shortfall in Infant and Primary School provision
We are not convinced that there is adequate infant and primary school provision existing within walking/cycling distance of the proposed development. Adequate provision is essential to attract families for a balanced, thriving community. Provision of a school was included in the original plans for development west of Midland Rd. This requirement now seems to have been forgotten. Even if local schools could cope as of now, we should be looking to the future and trying to attract families to enrich the mix in this new development.
Destruction of Trees and Wildlife Habitat by the River
We would be very sorry to see the removal of trees on the riverbank to the west of the Destructor Bridge, and the ensuing destruction of wildlife habitats – particularly the Cormorant colony which regularly inhabits one of the major trees.
The Gasworks Site
Consultation and Exhibitions were held in February and May 2022
The RCV Committee attended the exhibitions. What follows below is an amalgam of their observations
February's Exhibition Comments
It was felt by some that questions about access to the site were not satisfactorily answered. Some of those manning the exhibition are reported as saying that car access would be available from Windsor Bridge Rd or from the Dick Lovatt site in the Lower Bristol Rd, but consultation board 6 (see exhibition below) shows access only by the Destructor Bridge, and exit into Midland Rd which will involve all traffic leaving the site to turn left up Midland Rd and back across the Destructor Bridge. All residents living on Midland Rd and particularly those by the Destructor Bridge will suffer from the constant flow of traffic into and out of the site if there is no further access/egress. This problem should be addressed.
The new St William site covers 3.25 Hectares and will comprise up to 675 homes. It is encouraging that 3 bed apartments are to form 20% of the homes, thus attracting families to live in the new development. The density, however, will be greater than at the CN site as the CN site is markedly bigger. This will not encourage positive opinions about the wellness of future tenants. The exhibition indicated only that the development could “potentially include an early years facility” - hardly a positive commitment to build a community.
There seems to be space for a co-working centre, but nothing about any sort of community meeting place or hub – a ‘Village Hall’, which riversiders might remember was promised to be built when development took place west of Midland Rd. (To make a comparison, Mulberry Park in Bath. a relatively new development (admittedly off city centre) has 700 dwellings and a superb and much-valued community centre and a school.) Provision of a school was included in the original plans for development west of Midland Rd. This requirement seems to have been forgotten. Even if local schools could cope as of now, we should be looking to the future and trying to attract families to enrich the mix in this new development.
Finally, some may baulk at 'storey creep'. Sovereign Point is the highest existing building in Bath Western Riverside extending upwards to 9 storeys. The Gasworks site tops out at 10 storeys, A major question must be if this will put the City's World Heritage Status in jeopardy (but see below).
May's Exhibition Notes
- The maximum building height has been reduced to 8 floors from 10 previously.
.- Car parking allocation will be for 250 cars
.- 3 bedroom apartments will be allocated 2 parking spaces. One bedroom apartments will be allocated none (as in Bath Riverside) This is in line with Council Policy to reduce car use.
.- There will be a number of car club/rental points
.- There will be a number of electric charging points
.- All of the traffic from the new site will enter from Midland Road at the elbow by Sovereign Point from Upper and lower Bristol Roads and exit by the communal heating station turning north along Midland Road
.- Eventually a walkway/ cycleway/ scooter alley extending from Windsor bridge, through Stothert Avenue and the old Homebase carpark will link up with other paths leading into Bath.
Further Notes
Following an enquiry to the developer from an RCV member it is clear that there is a likelihood of losing the trees by the river to the North of the site as the probability is that they will have to be felled to allow remediation works to be carried out on the land directly to the south of the river. Not only might we lose the trees but the cormorants who roost there every Winter will no doubt disappear, and this will be a great loss to anyone with the slightest interest in wildlife and the ecology.
(Trees can be seen below, complete with cormorants)
You can email info@bathgasworks.com to make your views known.
The first exhibition can be seen here:
https://www.bathgasworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Bath_Gasworks_Public_Consultation_Boards.pdf
Footnote:
A little too late for this proposed development, The RCV Committee decided in August 2020 that all new developments in their area of interest should have:
- Full provision for electric vehicle (EV) charging (infrastructure in place at each parking space)
- Provision of on-road lockable bicycle garages for residents to rent - https://bathnewseum.com/2021/01/02/mini-cycle-parks-for-bath/
RCV Survives!
The
RCV AGM 2021 took place on Sunday 5th December.
Minutes are here
This meeting was an important milestone in the life of RCV as it follows surveys (see below) on the organisation's future undertaken by the committee.
As a result of the meeting, the Committee was re-elected to serve until the end of January 2022 to consider how best to recruit new committee members or possibly wind up the organisation. This lead to the Extraordinary General Meeting (below).
At an Extraordinary General Meeting on Jan 9th 2022,
a new Committee was elected to replace the previous committee who were to resign at the end of January. Two of the previous Committee stood for re-election.
The new Committee:
Paddy Doyle (Chairman)
John Ashbery*
William Hobhouse
Hilary Lee
Ali Penfold
Flo Penfold
Joseph Thompson*
Andrew Vickers
* re-elected
The incoming Chair thanked outgoing chair Jane Brown and her Committee for their work for RCV in difficult times.
Surveys of Members
The number of responses from members was high for a survey of this type and there was overwhelming support for RCV to continue. We had responses from 37 members and 97.3% wanted RCV to continue. Additionally, there were a number of suggestions as to how RCV can increase membership and continue to best serve its members.
Opening of Destructor Bridge
After 4 years of waiting the Destructor Bridge finally opened without pomp or ceremony on 7th October 2020
All North-bound traffic is now permitted to use Midland Road (towards the Upper Bristol Rd from the Lower Bristol Rd)
South-bound traffic crossing the Bridge will effectively be entering a cul-de-sac unless they are permitted to turn left into Stothert Avenue, as Midland Road becomes one way with a No Entry sign just after this point.
(The car in the picture has ignored the No Entry sign)
NB The Bus Gate is currently (Nov '23) out of use awaiting the installation of a new, stronger support pole for the camera.
Council Elections
Council elections took place in May 2019 and 6th May 2023
All Bath Riverside falls within the Westmoreland Ward where our two sitting independent (not connected to any political party) councillors, June Player and Colin Blackburn, were both returned both times - in 2023 by landslide,
If you would like to be included in June's newsletters, please email June
