Rugby would flourish away from city centre
The Trustee proposal of 2011 attracted only 4,515 responses, mostly from unidentified sources.
The new 'scheme' had only 1,868 responses, a drop of over 58 per cent. So is support for the idea declining? The Chronicle gave the latter figure headlined "Rugby club plans win backing from public". Strange as it may seem, I thought we were asked to respond to the 'scheme' not rugby club plans, since none of the latter were included. We now learn that the 'scheme' is to be reviewed by the Charity Commission. This may be because they have realised that swapping, leasing or renting land away from the Recreation Ground, to give professional rugby more space on the Rec, only exacerbates the illegality, breaking English law; Charity rules and defies the High Court. Or it could be that secret, unauthorised and undisclosed dealings by the trustees since November 2011 have now been exposed.
It may surprise rugby supporters that if the 'scheme' was agreed, then their club would be sub-tenants of an organisation based in the Bahamas who could eject them at any time.
The town green application on the other hand, being both open and requiring no changes to the legitimate use of the Recreation Ground, may seem more appealing.
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Professional rugby moving out of the city centre would not have the detrimental effect claimed by some. Moving to the outskirts would not stop supporters attending, nor stop they and their families spending time at other Bath outlets. Bath Rugby could learn from Exeter chiefs, who are now flourishing since moving out of the centre of Exeter.
It appears my family history is of interest to some correspondents. I have been associated with Bath since 1958 and my wife's family since the early 1800s.
I do not use expletives in an attempt to get my point across and it is only since last week that I have been described as a "hurdle".
Jack Sparrow Forester Road Bathwick Bath
16 Comments
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by DariusMehta
Friday, March 08 2013, 9:26PM
“Tell me you are winding me up, 1946! I don't believe you are that naive about the commercial rent asked for in the Scheme, especially as I have pointed out that these have been declared in the Heads of agreement to you which you said you hadn't read but now have!!! The 2002 judgement did not cover the robustness of the RC lease as I have already pointed out to you and the lease can continue for its life span unless the Scheme is adopted!”
by bath1946
Friday, March 08 2013, 8:47PM
“Darius, a 75 year lease at £6,500 pa should never have been signed and i can see nothing in the High Court decision precluding an increased rent.”
by DariusMehta
Thursday, March 07 2013, 11:27PM
“Up to 2002 there was no need, 1946. After the HC case the RC can only change the lease to a commercial one and continue professional rugby on the Rec with the CC blessing. Hence the CC scheme!”
by bath1946
Thursday, March 07 2013, 11:21PM
“Darius, a commercial lease could have replaced the 1995 lease at any time during the past eighteen years.”
by DariusMehta
Thursday, March 07 2013, 10:36AM
“By not agreeing to the proposal that 1995 lease is surrendered for a commercial lease, 1946, you are compounding the so called "flaw".”
by bath1946
Thursday, March 07 2013, 6:00AM
“This is a flawed proposal as was the 1995 lease.”
by DariusMehta
Wednesday, March 06 2013, 6:56PM
“So bath1946 you are against the RC paying a more commercial rent for the rec rugby ground and prefer that the £6,500 pa continues, you also want to deprive the Trust from receiving more money from the use of Lambridge and you don't want someone else to pay for sorting out the ageing buildings that surround the rugby ground to provide the City with a new arena for our children. All I can say is good grief!”
by trikidiki
Wednesday, March 06 2013, 4:03PM
“Could I have my £1 lottery ticket money back please, I didn't realise they weren't going to pull my numbers out.”
by bath1946
Wednesday, March 06 2013, 3:28PM
“Darius, i repeat, i voted for rugby at the rec. and as you say any development to be in accordance with the covenants and benefiting the residents. Even if it amazes you i did not vote for a land swap, an 18,000 seat stadium and retail units nor was i aware at that time that Rugby were only paying £6,500 per annum for the lease, therefore my yes vote can be discounted.”
by trikidiki
Monday, March 04 2013, 6:38PM
“MajorFlack, I see you chose not to address the issue of sexism. Another futile rambling has been laid to rest.
Why do you refer to the possible concern of the 'ex-players' (resists the temptation to suggest ageism), surely the feeling of the current players would give you more of an indication of the feeling within the club itself. Why don't you ask the club to canvas the opinions of their ex and current players and see what their feelings about rugby at the Rec are? I'm pretty certain I could tell you what the result would be.
Rather than 'mutually reliant' surely a more positive way to look at it would be 'mutually beneficial'. From the tusts point of view it makes 'sound' commercial sense, they have a guaranteed income stream for the remainder of the lease over and above what they currently receive and without which the Rec would become a burden on the people of Bath.
I guess Bruce Craig cares more for the heart of the club rather than turning a quick buck which you and your compatriots keep suggesting. As I said in my original response to Mr Sparrow, Bruce Craig is unlikely to see much return on his investment. If he was in it for the money I'm sure the Rec would be mothballed tomorrow and a new ground built elsewhere. His quote to The Telegraph in April 2010 sums it up succinctly:
"I'm not in this for business reasons, I am in it for the rugby and the fun we can have as a club as we strive to reach the next level,"”