Proposals for a new East of Bath Park and Ride have historically seen protests, criticism, a huge amount of speakers in opposition and a petition to Parliament delivered by Jacob Rees-Mogg MP. This week, B&NES Council has released a report as The Journal went to press, recommending two sites for the new Park and Ride, planned to ease congestion in Bath. The report and its recommendations will be considered at a special public meeting on Wednesday, 25th January at the Guildhall from 5 p.m.

The Cabinet report outlines the work undertaken since May 2016, and recommends which sites should be promoted as a Park and Ride to the east of Bath to cater for traffic from the A46, A4 and A363. There are over 23,000 vehicles using London Road daily, and the amount of people travelling by car into Bath is predicted to rise to 96,000 by 2029.

The sites recommended in the report are site F (East of Mill Lane) and site B (West of Mill Lane), with B requiring the Council to acquire the farm land. Overall, it says that site F, with 800 or 1,200 spaces should be promoted as the preferred site or that site B, with 800 spaces, should be promoted, subject to satisfactory arrangements for the purchase of the site and agreement from Highways England on access.

If site B is not deliverable then site F should be progressed. Subject to the Cabinet’s authorisation, the intention is for the new Park and Ride to be sensitive to the environment with minimal visual impact, utilising technology to deliver Bath’s greenest Park and Ride. Cllr Tim Warren (Conservative, Mendip), Leader of B&NES Council, said: “The debate we need to have is not about whether Bath needs new infrastructure. It’s about how we can deliver new infrastructure in a way that protects Bath’s heritage and is sensitive to its surroundings, whilst at the same time meeting the needs of a growing, thriving city.”

Cllr John Bull (Labour Group Spokesperson for Transport) said: “The B&NES Transport Scrutiny Panel, after considerable investigation, recommended that there were ways of providing for traffic coming in from the East of Bath, other than by building on Bathampton Meadows. This Panel, which I chair, suggested that if the Lansdown Park and Ride was better publicised, it might accommodate many more vehicles coming from the M4 and M5 via the A46, whose drivers are, perhaps, currently unaware that Lansdown Park and Ride even exists.

“It might then be possible to provide a smaller site to the east of Bath to accommodate people arriving from Wiltshire and that direction. It is very disappointing that the report to the B&NES Conservative Cabinet has ignored the research we did.”

The recommendation saw many speaking out strongly on Twitter on Tuesday. The B&NES Green Party said the meadows were at risk of “being lost forever” and Meadows Alliance, a group campaigning to save the green space has called the report “apalling.” Bath Avon North’s Lib-Dem councillor, Alison Millar posted a picture of flooded land, calling the proposals a “disgraceful waste of public money.” The construction of Site F is expected to cost in the region of £16.5 million.

Lib-Dem transport spokesperson, Councillor Neil Butters (Bathavon South) added: “The Conservative Cabinet is going against public opinion, against evidence, against statistics and against common sense. No thorough business case has been produced, and there is no proof that it will reduce congestion or improve air quality.”