Shock as council moves to oppose plans for new Batheaston village hall
A five-year plan to build a new £700,000 village hall in Batheaston is facing an unexpected hurdle after the parish council voiced its objection to the scheme.
Letters to planning officials show villagers are divided over the proposal to replace the crumbling 1951 church hall at Northend with a larger multi-purpose facility.
Those in favour say it would provide a much-needed community resource for clubs, activities, theatre productions and weddings.
However, some of those who live closest to the School Lane site are concerned it will aggravate an already problematic parking and traffic situation.
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The plans are now likely to go before Bath and North East Somerset Council’s development control committee next month, but without the backing of Batheaston Parish Council.
Chair of the Batheaston New Village Hall committee Carole Bond said the vast majority of villagers supported the scheme and wanted to do everything possible to see the dream become a reality.
She said: “We have a huge groundswell of support from within the village, but it is sad that it has become so divisive at this stage.
“It is not what we want or what we expected, and we really do believe there is a way through.
“The best of intentions are at work here.”
Ms Bond added that she understood the parish council’s concerns about parking, but that the team had drawn up a green travel plan to try to tackle these problems.
She said they hoped to persuade people to find other ways of getting to and from events rather than driving their cars.
The parish council initially declined to make a recommendation on the plans, but after being pressed by B&NES, it voted to oppose it.
It said it approved of the general idea of a replacement hall but said it needed adequate parking.
Concern was also raised about noise and disturbance from late-night events.
Parish council chairman Vito Pecchia has not been available to comment.
The committee, which has been working on the plans for the past five years, is around three-quarters of the way towards its fundraising total.
It was given a financial boost three years ago when lifetime Batheaston resident Patsy Townsend left her £460,000 house to the scheme in her will.
3 Comments
by Georgina Barratt Gardening
Thursday, March 07 2013, 6:07PM
“Patsy would be knocking heads together over this if she was still around! Its a fantastic scheme, the Parish Council should be behind it all the way.”
by Batheastonian
Thursday, March 07 2013, 2:52PM
“Outrageous that an unelected (there weren't enough candidates to fill all the seats) Parish Council should actively oppose a community project in their village backed by most residents. Surely the default position for 99% of parish councils would be to get right behind such a project. Come on Batheaston - make sure you get some representative candidates to come forward next time.”
by BV_BV
Thursday, March 07 2013, 9:25AM
“Why do people choose to live near a community facility (some may have lived there before 1951 as well), then complain when the villagers actually want to use it?”