Bathwick Hill Residents’ Association

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on

Thursday 15^TH April 2021 on Zoom

Attendees

Committee

Sarah Trimmer – retiring Chair

Claire Jackson – new Chair

Andrea Haywood – Treasurer and acting secretary

David Martin – FOBRA rep

Helen Green

Colin Clark

Members

Christine Clark

Bill and Veronica Otley

Sheila Stewart

Dorothea Cuerdon

Paul Jackson

Graham and Jill Brown

Julie Hayward

Mike Barron

Linda and Mark Snelus

Suzanne and Simon Campbell-Jones

Christopher Bell

Guests

Cllr Yuktesher Kumar

Cllr Manda Rigby

The retiring Chair, Sarah Trimmer welcomed all to the meeting. Apologies received by email from P’noo Stanley-Smith.

Agreement of Minutes of the last AGM

The last AGM was not held due to Covid restrictions.

Chairperson’s Report

As new Chair, Claire Jackson thanked Sarah for her long service on the BHRA committee in various roles and as Chair. She will remain on the committee.

Treasurer’s report

The treasurer reported on the accounts for the year ended 28^th February 2021. An effort to collect cash subs has been successful so that subscription income is now on track. Members that pay in cash had found it difficult to pay because no face to face gatherings could be held during Covid restrictions. The accounts were approved and are posted on the website.

Federation of Bath Residents’ Associations Report

The FOBRA rep updated the meeting on issues that FOBRA is dealing with and these are issues that are seen as Bath wide. These issues, which are influenced by the council through the planning process, included issues around the environment and response to climate change as well as other issues:-

• The Clean Air Zone
• Low Traffic Neighbourhoods
• Cleveland Bridge repairs and diversions
• Active Travel Scheme
• Closure of central Bath with “Ring of Steel” security
• Purpose built student accommodation and HMOs
• Proposals for the old Homebase site

All reports and meeting notes are available on the FOBRA website.

http://www.bathresidents.org.uk

Mike Barron asked – if the closure of Cleveland Bridge to heavy traffic is made permanent, has the reaction of the Wiltshire areas that the diverted traffic will then drive through, been considered? This was not answered.

Election of the Committee

The following were offered for re election to the Committee:

Chair-person                                        Claire Jackson

Secretary                                               Temporarily Andrea Haywood

Treasurer                                              Andrea Haywood

FOBRA representative                        David Martin

Committee members

Sarah Trimmer, Colin Clark, Helen Green and Wendy Stockley.

Jill Brown nominated the motion to re-elect the committee and Veronica Otley seconded.

Some potential new committee members have come forward and hopefully will be elected.

Annual Programme of Events

The Chair thanked all who had opened their gardens for the Open Gardens event in September which was the only event we managed this year due to the lockdown restrictions. An open garden event is planned in July this year.

The members were asked for suggestions for any events that might be planned. Manda said that Sydney Gardens were running a lot of family friendly events over the summer and it might be possible to have a BHRA event there.

Any Other Business

Suggestions for nominated local charity are welcomed. Trussell trust, the food bank charity, was suggested by Helen Green to help those affected by Covid.

Guest Speakers

Cllrs Yuktesher Kumar and Manda Rigby updated us on local issues and answered questions.

A brief round-up of the issues and questions follows:-

• Pollution from traffic is a reoccurring issue and well over 3,000 responses to the Active travel consultation are being considered with a decision made at the end of May. The proposed closure of North Road as part of the Active travel scheme was not considered by the councillors as a solution to pollution and traffic management and would divert traffic to Bathwick Hill rather than increasing cycle traffic.
• The most polluted area in Bathwick Hill vicinity is the roundabout at the bottom of the hill.
• The CAZ currently in force doesn’t include private cars. The success of the CAZ as it stands will be judged by how much cleaner the air becomes. The point was made that the test should be done in October when travel is at full capacity. The councillors said the pollution monitoring will be continuous.
• It was confirmed by Manda that the funding for active travel can be used for any of 7 active travel schemes only one of which is the closure of North Road to motorised traffic.
• Cleveland Bridge closure for repairs starts May 4^th with closure of one lane to erect scaffolding. After that the bridge will be closed to all traffic except pedestrians, bikes and the emergency services until the beginning of October. The council is working with Sat Nav providers to create dynamic diversions to mitigate the problems the closure of the bridge will cause.
• The Rec is still a big planning issue – there has been a planning application not to take down the temporary stand this year and a council decision on this is due next week
• There is a lot of opposition to the proposals to create a lot of parking under the Rec as this is against all the initiatives to reduce pollution in Bath.
• The security lockdown or “ring of steel” was initiated in response to police view that Bath city centre was a potential terrorist target being small and enclosed and a major tourist attraction. It is recognised that it has been overly strict and keeping Bath as a city in which people live centrally means that such restricted access is not possible. In particular the reduction of blue badge parking is under review. The consultation period on this has finished and the council is now working with the police to adjust these measures to keep central Bath workable for residents.
• Jill Brown raised the issue of a broken bench at the bus stop at the bottom of the hill. This bench has a plaque to Ken Smith who used to run the newsagents and corner shop on the hill. We need to investigate who paid for the bench and how the dedication can be preserved. New benches have been installed elsewhere on the hill and the canal side.
• Farmers market at Green Park is looking for a new home because the roof has become unstable. Council officers are looking for a permanent site – this was the first Farmer’s market in the UK.
• The overflowing bins at the exit to the fields at Cleveland Walk – The NT will not have bins as they do not have the resource to empty them. Likewise the council only have 3 vans to service all of the litter bins in Bath. The number of times the bins are emptied has increased however but residents who live close to the bins are still not content. The idea of removing the bins for 6 months was discussed to see if this increased the amount of litter taken home rather than left piled up at the side of the full bin. There was some support for this as an experiment.

Bath & North East Somerset Council are currently consulting on three proposed schemes for promoting Active Travel. These are generating a lot of interest and press coverage which you may have seen. Because there is a probable direct effect on traffic using Bathwick Hill the Bathwick Hill Residents Association has responded to the proposed experimental closure of North Road to through traffic to provide a route which is largely free of motor traffic for cycles and electric scooters. The content of the response was sent to you on Monday and is available on our website https://bathwickhill.info.
We would encourage all members to respond to these consultations where they have an interest, in particular those that are likely to impact on Bathwick Hill. The closure date to respond is the 21 March 2021. The link to the BathNES consultation areas is as follows:
Active Travel Schemes https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/active-travel-schemes
There are three schemes to comment on
• Combe Down to the University of Bath: Copseland
• City Centre to the University of Bath: Beckford Road and North Road
• A4 Upper Bristol Road

City Centre to University of Bath Proposals via North Road

We are opposed to the proposal for the bus gate in North Road.  The impact of this proposal will be a high increase in traffic using Bathwick Hill with little increase in cycles using North Road.

Bathwick Hill is already a very busy road with many buses using the hill for access to the University.  In addition there are a large number of cars and commercial vehicles that use the hill in normal (non Covid) times.

Large stretches of Bathwick Hill have houses that have no front gardens set very close to the road.  For  example George Street and Raby Place.  Many other houses have a small frontage area, giving residents very little protection from traffic fumes and noise.

North Road is mainly used for vehicles to access public facilities.  These include the West entrance to the University, the golf course and King Edwards School.    Any traffic accessing the golf course or University West car park from central Bath will now have to drive up the full length of Bathwick Hill before turning left into North Road.  In addition any traffic to King Edwards from the Combe Down direction, via Oakley will now have to travel down the full length of Bathwick Hill, possibly using a short cut along Cleveland Walk if this remains open.  Similar increases in travel on the hill will result from return journeys.  In addition there will be additional traffic from North Road residents and visitors.

The scheme is not linked to any plans to reduce the use of cars overall, for example there are no proposals to reduce car parking spaces at any of these facilities which might result in a modal shift away from car travel.  In addition there are no plans to help students or other potential cyclists to purchase electric bikes.

We do not believe that North Road will be the preferred route for students cycling to the university.  Most students live to the West of the hills leading up to the university.   Cyclists would have to cycle past Widcombe Hill, Bathwick Hill and Prior Park before reaching North Road.

We do support measures to improve safety of cyclists on Bathwick Hill, with traffic calming measures and potentially a cycle lane.

Travel to the university by bus is likely to remain the most important method of transport for them.  There is a very good service from Oldfield Park to the campus and bus travel will continue to be the travel mode of choice for the vast majority of students.

Combe Down to University of Bath

We do support more cyclists being encouraged to use the route from Combe Down to the university and the proposed crossing at the top of Bathwick Hill will help both cyclists and local residents.  We also support the improvements for pedestrians crossing the top of North Road and crossing Copseland at its junction with Bathwick Hill.  Both of these junctions are very difficult for pedestrians at present.  There is currently no pavement build out at Copseland and we hope the new scheme will improve sightlines for pedestrians crossing from Bathwick Hill to Oakley across Copseland.

From Cllr Manda Rigby

Below an invite to a webinar about active travel. Please can you circulate and encourage people to attend, especially those impacted by the Beckford Road/North Road schemes, including the Bathwick Estate, Cleveland Walk, Bathwick Hill, and surrounding roads.

https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/webinar/active-travel-schemes

Please find the latest accounts posted on the accounts page of the website. The year has been unusual as there has been little activity due to the covid situation. The subscriptions for the year are a little down because cash was not able to be collected at the AGM or the Autumn meeting. Many of you now pay by standing order which is very helpful and I have had cash through the door from a number of members so thank you for that. Please email me on andreahaywood@hotmail.co.uk if you have any questions regarding the accounts or subscriptions payments.
Andrea (Treasurer)

You will have received a letter from B&NES regarding the proposed cycle lane on North and associated changes related to this.

Please can you reply to this on  www.bathnes.gov.uk/activetravelschemes or

you can get a paper copy of the consultation by calling Council Connect 01225394041.

BHRA committee are meeting to discuss a response as we are concerned about the impact of increased traffic Bathwick Hill , but it is important that individuals respond.

The deadline  for responses is 21st March 2021

For details of Uni plans, please click on link

To reduce pollution in Bath,  the council is proposing increasing parking charges in conjunction with other measures. The proposal would see a vehicle placed in a charging band according its recorded emissions with the DVLA.

The base price of a residents’ parking permit would remain at £100 a year with a second permit costing £160. Under the proposals four out of ten existing permits would continue to cost this amount.

Charges for higher polluting vehicles would increase by 5% for each subsequent emissions band. Diesel vehicles would be subject to an additional 25% surcharge in order to reduce NO2 emissions in the shortest possible time.

Where an emissions rating is not available, which includes vehicles registered before 2001, charges will be based on engine capacity on a similar sliding scale. Other proposed changes include:

• A 10p an hour increase in on-street parking charges each year for the next three years
• The removal of the 10p service charge for all on street parking stays when using the digital MiPermit, so the charge is the same as cash
• On-street parking tariffs and residents’ permit operating hours to be extended to include Sundays
• An increase in trade permit charges
• An increase in temporary parking suspension charges
• A review of medical permits – to include the introduction of digitised permits to counter misuse and an increase to bring the charge in-line with residents’ permits
• A review of hotel and guesthouse permits – to reallocate the parking to car parks and to include the introduction of digitised permits
• A review of the remaining small number of historic paper permits – with digital permits issued if renewal is authorised
• Residents’ parking visitor permit charges to be increased by 50p a day in year one with subsequent rises of 25p a day in years two and three.
• The introduction of half day paper visitor permits to support vulnerable residents unable to access the financial savings offered by digital permits.
• An increase in Bath Christmas Market coach parking management fees, rising by 25p on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and 50p at weekends.
• The removal of the 10% discount for using MiPermit for residents as it disincentives the use of more sustainable forms of transport and encourages cars into the city centre

Revenue from the proposals will pay for their implementation and running costs with any surplus used to support the development of sustainable transport schemes across Bath and North East Somerset.

Full details of the proposals can be viewed by visiting:
https://democracy.bathnes.gov.uk/mgIssueHistoryHome.aspx?IId=31781&PlanId=770&RPID=31357153<http://tracking.vuelio.co.uk/tracking/click?d=ARYGOLY0ewqHRaMi8qeAHxX017lqPij1y9F_GDEmqHfz7ja8KSCTarqlt5Z4sF9Z0DbvSN4nGX5-E4501Jh6WuaCTBayYLwAhyoB9W1u3IoAf7SvzO4CXa2mYdcK2HeQuQ2M2y7wvMAkEy6U2FMaF_mgz8kBHkvx8zfTd5xBuph7_2Mg_B9g2uu4v71KUrgFYNZD0MXbjY8nOOdais_JY_rlMnQZZOVXw9E9l3AzwDBM0>

Residents can check DVLA records to confirm their emissions, or engine capacity, online at https://www.gov.uk/get-vehicle-information-from-dvla<http://tracking.vuelio.co.uk/tracking/click?d=UjpbcmkFm4Wj8C0QTmh71hhDW2OX1T7mAItYhSC4EGCUxwLVZ4NcOFTTDxH0EIUoTbncEJGAIByLc44CCyEhLcxHnIoBBjUmICxWbNqg5CFhZp8NR0ZB_46D9w917HB8mJzBrt-2ESMxSm06GMe39IMY9tpuv7jodPr-jV4Cly9B0>

From the Council :

In late 2019, Bath and North East Somerset Council made known the need to carry out essential structural refurbishment of Cleveland Bridge in Bath. The bridge is an important link for traffic crossing the River Avon and the refurbishment is necessary to maintain the transport network now and for the future.

With funding from the Department for Transport, works were originally intended to take place in summer 2020, but the wide ranging and severe impact of the COVID pandemic meant that we were unable to go ahead as planned at that time. However, we have been continuing to work on our plans in the background and can now update you on the next steps.

We will shortly be publishing important documents on our planning portal which outline how we will carry out work on this listed structure that is sympathetic to its historical significance. We will also be advertising temporary traffic regulation orders that are necessary to manage traffic during construction.

The plan is for work on the bridge to start mid April, under traffic signal control, before a full closure of the bridge in mid May for around twelve weeks. The further use of traffic signals will be needed up until the completion of the work which is expected to be in October. More details regarding programme will be on our project web page.

There are many consultations in the pipe line, we as a committee look at those that have an immediate effect on Bathwick Hill and respond where and as we think appropriate. We also work with FoBRA ( federation iff bath Residents’ Associations to respond on Bath wide issues such as these consultations.

However it is very important that individuals who object or support proposals also respond.

• the climate and ecological emergencies,
• housing land supply,
• potential sites for non-residential development and Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs).