Decision details

Bath Western Riverside will provide a new housing quarter on former industrial land in the heart of the city. The scheme was committed in 2010 and has now built out 854 new homes including 25% affordable homes. The remaining land comprises former gas works and live operational gas infrastructure which risks the delivery of the remaining approx. 1,000 homes. The Council has a continuing role using external grant funding to secure delivery of this strategically important project in the heart of the Bath City Riverside Enterprise Zone.

The Cabinet Member for Resources and Economic Development in consultation with the Leader, Chief Executive and S151 Finance Officer agrees to:

Delegate the decision to the Chief Executive in consultation with the S151 Finance Officer and Cabinet Member for Resources and Economic Development to:

I.  Enter the Stage 1 Agreement with National Grid Property and St.William Homes.

II.  Negotiate and agree the final terms of the Conditional Land Agreement (or similar Collaboration Agreement as the case may be), and then enter it with St.William Homes (and National Grid Property, if required).

Bath Western Riverside will provide a new housing quarter on former industrial land in the heart of the city. The scheme was committed in 2010 and has now built out 854 new homes including 25% affordable homes. The remaining land comprises former gas works and live operational gas infrastructure which risks the delivery of the remaining approx. 1,000 homes. The Council has a continuing role using external grant funding to secure delivery of this strategically important project in the heart of the Bath City Riverside Enterprise Zone.

Through a previous Council decision , E3168 B&NES Council has entered in to funding agreements with Homes England and WECA to fund infrastructure and land investment in the future phase of Bath Riverside.

The Council  exercised its pre-emption under its Agreement with Crest to acquire undeveloped land within Bath Riverside, by entering the land investment Funding Agreement with WECA to fund the acquisition. The Council also contracted with Wales & West Utilities to undertake site wide gas rationalisation works and associated enabling works across this undeveloped land, using this infrastructure funding. 

The next key development step (and also a requirement of the Funding Agreement) is for the Council to enter Land Agreements with Bath Riverside’s interested parties. The Council will  contract with National Grid Property (“NGP”), and St William (“SW”) (NGP’s Joint Venture Partner) under a ‘Stage 1 Agreement’. This Agreement is needed to maximise the benefit of the upfront public sector intervention, to ensure NGP pay a proportionate element to the enabling  works, and to protect the Council in any ‘downside scenario’. If such an Agreement is not put in place, these key aspects will not be secured.

Alongside the above, the Council will also contract with SW under a Conditional Land Agreement (“CLA”) (or similar Collaboration Agreement as the case may be) to bring forward comprehensive development of the overall remaining land. Combined, both Agreements will ensure that the current irregular landownership position is made fit for redevelopment, and upfront enabling works are delivered to ensure  subsequent site-wide strategic infrastructure can be provided. 

The Council has considered the other options available to safeguard the delivery of new homes in Bath as;

Do Nothing – The Council leaves it to the market to bring the land forward once viable to do so. Given the site complexity and expense of upfront infrastructure and remediation, this is likely to continue to stall development for a number of years.

Do not enter the land transaction – this option would not unlock or maximise the regeneration opportunity of Phase 2. Housing, infrastructure and placemaking output would be significantly reduced. This would be a sub-optimal outcome for the site and would introduce an unacceptable commercial risk on the Council.