Update on plans for The Rec

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Merry Christmas & Rec Update

As 2013 comes to an end we would like to take this opportunity to wish all RFOTR members a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We would also like to give members an update on the progress and status of four key activities that should finally lead to the redevelopment of the Rec and to provide a first-class venue for "All Sports for All People". 2013 has been a year of excellent progress on all fronts.

1. The Charity Commission Scheme for the Rec
The Charity Commission gave the go-ahead for a Scheme for the Recreation Ground in June 2013. The key elements of the Scheme are:


A new trustee body of at least seven Trustees for the Rec.
Powers given to the Recreation Ground Trust to grant a new lease to Bath Rugby on the land it currently occupies, together with some additional land (the 'land swap' with the former Bath Rugby training ground at Lambridge). This would enable Bath Rugby to redevelop its ground to meet Premier League standards.
A separate trust created for the Leisure Centre.

See http://www.bathrec.co.uk/future-of-the-rec/ for full details.

The new Rec trustee body is now up and running with ten trustees making up the Rec Trust Board (see http://www.bathrec.co.uk/contact-us/ for a list of trustees). The new Rec Trust Board will be responsible for implementing the Scheme for the Rec and to grant a new lease to Bath Rugby.

Three individuals (Jack Sparrow, Rosemary Carne, and Nigel Wepsper) have challenged the Charity Commission Scheme and have appealed to the Charity Tribunal to have the Scheme overturned. The RFOTR made a submission (read here) at the Directions Hearing of the Tribunal in October. The full hearing of the Tribunal will be held at Bath Magistrates Court on 13 – 15 January and will be open to the public.

2. Application to register the Rec as a Town or Village Green
In January this year Jack Sparrow (see above) submitted an application to register the Rec as a Town or Village Green to B&NES Council. This is a common delaying tactic used by objectors to delay or curtail proposed developments. If the application were to be successful it would have prevented many of the current activities taking place on the Rec and would have limited the Rec Trust's ability to successfully manage the Rec. In this case it was clear from the outset that the application did not meet the criteria for the registration of the land as a Town or Village Green. The application was finally rejected by B&NES Council Regulatory (Access) Committee on Friday 15 November 2013.

3. Bath Rugby's Arena Proposal
In November Bath Rugby showed their proposals for redevelopment of the Rec (see http://www.bathrugby.com/recredevelopment/ ). The RFOTR Committee supports the proposals for the new arena and believe it will be good for the Rec, the beneficiaries of the Rec, and for the citizens of Bath. This is a proposed design and we are sure that Bath Rugby, B&NES and other interested parties can come up with a final design that will be fit for a World Heritage Site such as Bath. We are pleased that the proposal maintains a temporary East Stand that will be removed in the summer months to provide a great venue for other events and sports such as cricket.

In due course Bath Rugby will be submitting a planning application and at that time we will be urging all members to makes their views known to the planning authorities.

4. 1922 Covenants
In March 2013 Bath Rugby announced that they proposed to apply to the High Court to seek a declaration that the covenants attached to the 1922 deed of conveyance of the Recreation Ground are unenforceable. If the 1922 Covenants were to be enforceable that could potentially affect the activities that Bath Rugby conducts on the Rec. Bath Rugby stated that they are advised that the 1922 covenants are unenforceable.

We understand from Bath Rugby that they are in discussions with relevant parties and need to go to the High Court in 2014 to have the issue resolved.

During 2014 the RFOTR will keep you informed about all further progress regarding the Rec.


CONTACTS
You can contact the Executive Committee via email at [email protected]



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