On Monday I had an appointment to see the Minister Andrew Robothan concerning the MOD plans to vacate Bath. This is bad news for Bath and what is sad for us is that we think their business case is seriously flawed. Making all those workers commute an extra hour each way per day is not good for families, it is not good for Bath and so we have presented an alternative solution to them based on a much denser use of the Endsleigh site and selling off Warminster Road and Fox Hill. The minister listened very closely to our case which is backed by both our local MPs Don Foster and Jacob Rees-Mogg so lets hope we have convinced him.
Below is the statement sent to the local press.
Councillor Paul Crossley, Leader of Bath & North East Somerset Council, said, “The Council has been working with the MoD for a number of years in a very constructive way to work out how to minimise the impact and effects on our community.
“There are a number of concerns we explained to the Minister at our meeting on Monday with the current MoD relocation case including economic loss to the area and the transport and commuting difficulties for local workers getting to Abbey Wood on road and rail.
“Although our first choice would be for the MoD to retain its existing presence in the area, the realities of the severe national economic situation mean we have to reluctantly acknowledge the intention for them to leave Warminster Road and Foxhill but think the business case for Ensleigh is flawed.
“If the MoD left Bath entirely, the Council has made it very clear we’d expect significant investment in the local community – including improved train services and facilities and increased local stops linked to upgrading Oldfield Park station, a minimum of 35% affordable housing on all three sites with mixed use redevelopment at Ensleigh and Foxhill, and matched funding of £5 million to support a bid for Government Regional Growth fund investment.
“We’ve also suggested an alternative to the MoD’s plans for Ensleigh, which would be for them work with us and the Homes and Communities Agency ( the HCA) to jointly develop a mixed use scheme for the site which retains the MODs presence to at least 2018. The Minister asked to submit a proposal for this as part of the on-going consultation.”