Decision details

(1)  To agree with the decision not to proceed with the Bath Bike Park project and that the costs incurred to date will be treated as a revenue pressure as part of the Quarter 3 reporting process.

(2)  To delegate approvals to the Director of Public Health, in consultation with the S151 Officer, to secure income to cover future maintenance and security costs.

Progressing the project further would require substantial further borrowing at a time of unprecedented financial challenges for all local authorities.

The Council had planned to fund the project through a combination of its own capital funding and by attracting external support, however due to the current national economic climate, it has become increasingly difficult to attract funding for projects of this nature.

The site is currently maintained by Parks under a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Leisure.  This minimal management includes cutting desire pathways and bin emptying.  This costs approximately £4k per year.

Full management of the site as a green space/park would likely require considerable resource from the Parks Team.  This is currently unfunded.

CiL funding could be allocated to this and any other improvements.  However, it is unclear without a reason to visit the site, how this investment would be sustainable.  This option may also require another phase of community consultation to gain resident views.

As part of the initial consultation support was shown for a park and café option for the future of the site.  If this option was selected it should be noted that the buildings on site (café/shop/toilets) will require capital investment which could be in the region of £40k.  A full condition survey would need to be completed – a resource of approximately £2k will be needed for this.