Stadium for Bath, the group behind a new stadium for Premiership club Bath Rugby, has announced final revisions to the venue design ahead of a planning submission it hopes to make early next year.
The revisions have been announced following what Stadium for Bath described as “extensive consultation” with residents and representatives of the city.
The 18,000-seat stadium will be built on the same site as the 14,500-capacity Recreation Ground. In July, Stadium for Bath said it was targeting a completion date of summer 2022 – nearly a year later than originally planned.
Key aspects of the new design include an overall height reduction of 5.1m, a 550-space car park providing blueprint for electric vehicle usage in Bath, mature trees along the riverside with enhanced public realm design, enhancements to the stadium’s West, East and North Stands, and a hybrid playing surface that will be usable all year round.
Stadium for Bath has sought feedback from local residents and consulted with Bath and North East Somerset Council officers, Historic England and the Environment Agency along with other statutory stakeholders and the Bath Preservation Trust.
Bath Rugby chief executive Tarquin McDonald said: “For 125 years we have played our rugby at the Rec. This project is about the next 125 years and beyond.
“Keeping sport in the heart of the city is the catalyst for this project, but we are also incredibly proud of the opportunity to regenerate the riverside creating an amazing place for everyone to enjoy; of the significant social legacy we will build through the delivery of education and employment programmes being run on the site every day of the year and of the opportunity to promote grass roots community sport.
“We are passionate about the potential to support electric vehicle take-up in Bath; and of the significant boost Stadium for Bath will bring to our local economy. We have taken time to revisit and challenge every aspect of the design philosophy and to review how best to draw on Bath’s amazing architectural heritage – in particular its World Heritage Outstanding Universal Values – and we look forward to submitting a planning application which we hope will be early in the new year.”
Image: Stadium for Bath
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