The Canal and Rivers Trust have been working to drain the muddy section of the canal towpath near Sydney Road. This stretch of path is popular with parents taking children to Bathwick St Mary’s Primary, but in recent years it has often been muddy and difficult to pass.
New channels are being installed to stop water from the hillside pooling on the path. Work is being undertaken by volunteers, using materials paid for by Cllr David Martin’s devolved funding.
The National Trust have built a woodland play area for children on the skyline walk. The official opening by the Mayor of Bath will be on 9th April.
The new woodland play area is on Claverton Down, to the east of the Bath Clinic. Its design has been influenced by Combe Down School. The Trust hope that it will “re-kindle the love of the great outdoors by bringing communities together to explore, discover and have fun in our wonderful natural settings.”
The National Trust in Bath has decided to withdraw its support for the diversion of the footpath from Smallcombe Farm. Previously the Trust had facilitated the alternative route from Bathwick meadows.
In October the National Trust organised a public consultation about the new plans to determine whether they should continue to support the proposal. Prior consultations had shown strong public opposition to the proposed diversion. The manager of the Trust in Bath reports 70% opposition to diverting the footpath.
It remains up to the applicant whether they wish to continue. If so, any proposal will be subject to further public involvement and scrutiny at the Council’s Regulatory Committee.
The Friends of St Mary’s Cemeteries, together with the National Trust, are applying to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a grant to restore Smallcombe Cemetery and create a link pathway through the cemetery from the Bath Skyline Walk leading onwards to the City.
Members of local Residents’ Associations are invited to join a tour of the cemetery and discover what is being planned and learn about opportunities for their active involvement in this project. The tour of “Bath’s secret cemetery” is on Saturday 11th January from 11am.
The cemetery is accessed via the private road at the bend where Sydney Buildings joins Horseshoe Walk. The tour will start at the cemetery gate and will last around one and half hours.
A second public consultation into plans to divert the footpath by Smallcombe Farm has concluded. There was a strong public response, with many residents sending copies of their objection letters to Bathwick’s councillors Nicholas Coombes and David Martin.
Like the first round, this consultation was undertaken by a specialist solicitor acting on behalf of the applicant. At this stage the consultation is preliminary, for the applicant to understand public opinion and give them an opportunity to modify their proposals. However, all of the responses received will be handed over to BathNES Council if and when the formal decision making stage starts.
If the applicant chooses to proceed, a report will be presented to the Council’s Regulatory Committee at a public meeting. They will decide whether to move the application to the next step, or abandon it at that stage. If the committee does decide to pursue the application, there will be further formal consultation undertaken by the council before the committee is able to confirm the diversion order. If, at this stage, there are any objections – which seems very likely – the file will be passed to the Planning Inspectorate to undertake a public inquiry into the matter.
The process for diverting a footpath is long and complicated; a proposal with significant public objection will struggle.
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Cllr Coombes was formerly chair of the Regulatory Committee, but he no longer comments on planning or footpath matters to avoid conflict with his employment at the Planning Inspectorate. Cllr Martin will represent residents’ views to the Regulatory Committee if necessary.
A government Planning Inspector has agreed that the muddy path from Claverton Down to Combe Down can be used as a cycle path.
“This is great news,” said Cllr David Martin. “This decision means that the council can improve the path to make it a safe and convenient shared route.” The Inspector mentioned the petition collected by Bathwick’s Liberal Democrat councillors, signed by 91 local residents, in her judgement.
There need to be adjustments to gates and end points to make the route safe, and a new surface to stop the mud. Nicholas Coombes and David Martin will be fighting for council funding to get this work done swiftly.
The National Trust are asking residents about new plans to alter the footpath by Smallcombe Farm.
Earlier this year dozens of residents took part in a preliminary consultation into diverting the existing footpath. Given the overwhelmingly negative response, a new proposal has been drawn up by the applicant.
The Trust wants to gauge residents’ support for the new plans before deciding whether to support them and divert their popular skyline walk.
An exhibition is being held on Thurs 31 October in St Mary’s Church Hall from 2 to 8pm.
These proposals are at any early stage and any plan needs several stages of formal consultation and approval by the council Regulatory Committee before implementation.
For many years your Liberal Democrat councillors have been campaigning to improve the muddy path between Combe Down and Claverton Down. The path has been officially recognised, the original width restored and a new surface laid. Now the Liberal Democrat led council are trying to upgrade the path to allow safe cycling with an improved surface for everyone.
An application to change the status of the path was sent to the Planning Inspectorate earlier this year. You can follow the progress of the application here. The case is being dealt with by written representations, instead of a full public inquiry.
The applicant and objectors have exchanged written statements of their cases, and commented on the others. This concluded last month. During October the Inspector dealing with the case will visit the site to assess it for themselves. After this they will write their report and issue an order.
This frustratingly slow pace has been typical of the campaign to improve this path, but everything continues to move in the right direction. Bathwick’s Liberal Democrat councillors Nicholas Coombes and David Martin are now working to ensure that BathNES council have enough money to improve the path if the order is confirmed.