The tree, which stands just meters from the proposed new stadium site, has been recognised by a B&NES Council officer as “significant.” Yet the planning application (23/03558/EFUL) fails to properly acknowledge the impact of construction on the tree’s health — despite its 21-metre root protection area (RPA), which would be dramatically reduced to just three metres under current plans.

For years, the tree’s private landowner — whose walled garden sits beside the temporary East Stand — has taken great care to protect its roots. A previous application to build a garage was rejected due to concerns over root disturbance. The Council even installed a metal plate to prevent soil compaction. Yet the new stadium’s plans would see deep foundations, lighting, seating, and display infrastructure built directly into the tree’s root zone — a clear violation of British Standards on root protection.

The Bath & North East Somerset Green Group has already objected to the stadium plan on environmental and transport grounds. But new information about the threat to this veteran tree has renewed their call for urgent action.

In the wake of national outrage over recent high-profile tree losses — from the felling of the oak outside Enfield’s Toby Carvery to the senseless destruction of the Sycamore Gap tree near Hadrian’s Wall — these cases are important. In fact, Cllr Joanna Wright of the Green Group played a key role in securing Alice Park as the site for a Tree of Hope — a living tribute grown from a seedling of the Sycamore Gap Tree, tragically felled last year.

Joanna says

“Trees are vital for life, but more than this veteran and ancient trees have spent generations growing in communities where they are loved and treasured.  The present planning application for Bath Rugby Club’s stadium has failed to address the real threat to this important local tree and ensure that the site of this new stadium is built to ensure its survival

The group reiterates that this veteran tree is far more than just a piece of scenery: it stores carbon, shelters wildlife, and connects generations. Its destruction would be irreversible — a sacrifice of nature for short-term convenience and commercial development.

“This is exactly what’s broken in our political and planning system,” said Councillor Joanna Wright, Leader of the Green Group. “We treat living ecosystems as if they’re disposable, when in reality they are essential. Cutting down a tree that’s stood for three centuries — in a climate and biodiversity crisis — is not just wrong, it’s reckless.”

The proposal highlights a deeper systemic failure. Just last year, the Green Group brought forward a Rights of Nature motion — a bold, legally grounded framework that would have empowered the Council to protect natural entities like this tree. It was based on existing UK law, developed in collaboration with environmental lawyer Paul Powlesland, and backed by residents, campaigners, and young people. But the Council rejected it outright — just five councillors voted in favour.

Had the motion passed, Bath and North East Somerset could have been the first council in the UK to formally recognise nature’s rights. Instead, the administration chose to play it safe, despite claiming ‘boldness’ as a core value in its corporate strategy. The Rugby Club’s proposal is now a direct consequence of that failure of vision.

At the national level, Labour’s recent amendments to the Nature and Climate Bill are compounding the problem. Rather than strengthening the bill to address the scale of environmental collapse we face, they’ve diluted it — opening the door to weaker protections and more development at nature’s expense. This is a step backward at precisely the moment we need to be leaping forward.

The Green Group is calling on the Council to reject the tree-felling proposal and commit to placing ecological health and long-term resilience at the heart of its planning decisions. This moment demands leadership — not excuses.

“We are in an emergency,” said Cllr Wright. “Protecting ancient trees and ecosystems should be the baseline, not the battleground. We need to stop pretending that nature is a luxury we can negotiate with. It’s our life support system — and we’re tearing it down, branch by branch.”

The post Planning Failures Threaten Protected Tree in Bath Rugby Stadium Application appeared first on Bath and NE Somerset Green Party.

“More students living on campus is definitely a good thing,” said Green Councillor Joanna Wright, “It helps ease the pressure on housing in town and means more family homes could come back into use.”

The new development, known as the R7 project, would add 960 new bedrooms on the Claverton Down campus – a big step up from the 4,000 undergraduate rooms the University currently provides across the city and campus.

The University’s plans include new pedestrian and cycle paths within the campus, along with secure bike storage. But Green councillors say that’s only half the job.

“There’s no point in building cycle paths on campus if students can’t get there safely in the first place,” added Green Councillor Saskia Heijltjes, “The routes from town – North Road, Bathwick Hill and Widcombe Hill – are steep, busy and currently not safe for someone on an e-scooter or bicycle sharing with fast-moving cars and buses.”

Even though a Citizens’ Panel on Active Travel was held in conjunction with the University of Bath in 2022, all three roads have been identified in the Council’s Active Travel Masterplan as key links between the city and the University. Despite significant investment in the Citizens’ Panel held in 2022, it is still unclear which route will be prioritised to be made safe for active travel use. The Greens also criticised recent works on Widcombe Hill, which they say don’t meet government infrastructure design guidance for cycling.

“With buses already packed and fares rising, walking and cycling need to be real options. But at the moment, they’re not, and that’s holding people back.

“We support sustainable development but that has to include how people get around. It’s time for the Council and University to work together and finally deliver at least one safe and accessible route between campus and town”, concluded Councillor Wright.

The BaNES Council Green Group says it’s looking forward to seeing the full Transport Statement and Travel Plan that will accompany the planning application later this year and will be pushing for a proper, joined-up approach to transport.

The post Greens Back New Uni Housing – But Say Safe Routes to Town Still Nowhere to Be Seen appeared first on Bath and NE Somerset Green Party.

At a recent public meeting in Larkhall, the message from residents was clear: without enough officers on the ground, RPZs are little more than lines on a map. Areas such as Lambridge and Fairfield Park are frequently left without coverage, while central Bath continues to receive regular patrols. The result is blocked bus routes, unsafe streets, and residents unable to park near their homes.

“B&NES says it’s committed to cleaner, safer neighbourhoods and to making sustainable transport work,” commented Green Councillor Saskia Heijltjes, “But when there’s no one to enforce the rules, it’s all just talk.”

The BaNES Green Group is calling attention to the council’s low pay for CEOs — currently advertised between £13.26 and £13.47 per hour — a wage that does not reflect the demands or importance of the role. 

“This is a physically demanding job that often involves confrontation and working in all weather,” the spokesperson continued. “If the council is benefitting from high parking revenue, it should reinvest in the very workers who make that possible”, added Green Group Leader Councillor Joanna Wright.

Local businesses are also feeling the impact. In areas where short-stay bays are abused, customers can’t park, and traders lose vital footfall.

The BaNES Green Group is urging the council to:

• Increase pay rates for CEOs to ensure recruitment and retention
• Provide consistent enforcement across all RPZs, not just the city centre
  Invest parking revenues back into frontline enforcement staff
  Honour commitments to sustainable travel by ensuring bus routes are protected

Cllr Wright concludes, “Residents are tired of empty promises. If we’re serious about RPZs, protecting public transport, and supporting local shops, then we must put officers on the streets and pay them fairly. Otherwise, we’re not managing a system — we’re just managing its decline.”

The post Greens Demand Action on Parking Enforcement Crisis in Bath: ‘No Officers, No Point” appeared first on Bath and NE Somerset Green Party.

The confirmation, which came via email on 31st March 2025, ends a long and frustrating battle for residents of Eastville, Eastville Lodge and Vale View Place – homes that were inexplicably excluded when RPZ Zone 27 was rolled out in July 2023.

Despite multiple emails, calls, and even a public meeting, B&NES Council repeatedly told residents that no formal requests had been made during consultations – a claim disputed by both residents and ward councillors, who had written to the council on their behalf as early as June 2023.

While nearby streets in Walcot, Snow Hill and Claremont Road were included in the new parking scheme, Eastville residents were left in limbo, with the only on-street parking provision in front of their homes now only available for others to use.

Leader of the BaNES Green councillors Joanna Wright, who supported residents throughout the saga, commented:

“This has been a textbook case of shifting goalposts. People were asking to be included from the start, and were repeatedly told it wasn’t possible. Now, nearly two years later, the council has finally confirmed it is possible after all.”

Over 20 months, the issue was raised with council officers, Cabinet Members, and the local MP. 

Alongside the issue of exclusion of residents, the dangerous chicane design on Claremont Road was also raised by residents and ward councillors. A traffic study was undertaken and the design was reversed, at significant cost to the council. 

The council’s own Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) reviews – the official process for amending parking restrictions – were cited as the only route for change. Yet even when TRO reviews came and went, Eastville residents remained excluded. The breakthrough came just days before Easter, when a council officer finally confirmed in writing that residents of Eastville and neighbouring homes would now be eligible to purchase RPZ permits.

The broader review of RPZs across North East Bath is due to begin this summer  While ward councillors welcome this work, they are relieved the residents of Eastville don’t have to wait until the outcome of this review which is probably going to be mid-late 2026 at the earliest. 

“This simple change shouldn’t have taken two years,” said Green councillor for Lambridge, Saskia Heijltjes, “It’s a basic issue of fairness – and people deserve a council that listens.”

The post Parking Permit Farce Ends in Victory for Overlooked Bath Residents appeared first on Bath and NE Somerset Green Party.

But concerns are growing over the reliance on volunteer stewards to enforce road closures. While some School Streets schemes across the UK have trialled this approach, evidence suggests it may not be a sustainable long-term solution.

Many councils are now moving away from volunteer-led enforcement. Keeping a School Street running with stewards and temporary barriers demands ongoing community effort, and ‘volunteer fatigue’ often sets in, making it harder to recruit enough people. Worse still, in some areas, volunteers have faced abuse from frustrated drivers, discouraging participation even further. 

There’s also a legal issue: volunteers don’t have the authority to stop traffic. They must rely on drivers respecting signs and barriers – and that’s not always a guarantee. The Department for Transport’s latest guidance on School Streets warns that this method may not be appropriate for permanent schemes due to these enforcement challenges.

Cllr Saskia Heijltjes said: “School Streets that are based on volunteers will be relying on parents and carers to attend from around 8.15am until around 9am, and again at pick up time. This is difficult for parents who need to go to work, or who have caring responsibilities for younger siblings for example. Managing this pool of volunteers requires considerable effort, because the scheme would need to be run 5 days a week, all year round.”

If School Streets are to succeed and expand across Bath and North East Somerset, a more reliable enforcement strategy is needed. Other councils have successfully introduced measures such as Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras, which ensure compliance without depending on volunteers.

Bath and NE Somerset council’s Green Group, which has championed this initiative through budget amendments for the past three annual budget council meetings, welcomes the progress but urges the council to consider the long-term sustainability of the scheme. Safer school streets shouldn’t rely on goodwill alone – they need proper infrastructure and enforcement to ensure their success.

The call-in period for this decision will end at 5pm on 7th April 2025.

The post Bath’s £250k Boost for School Streets: Waiting at the Barrier for Lasting Change appeared first on Bath and NE Somerset Green Party.

The data shows a sharp drop in bus journeys per head across the South West during 2020-2021, with B&NES (represented by the red line) remaining below both national and regional averages. The region has struggled to recover to pre-pandemic ridership levels and continues to lag behind.

While public funding for buses increased post-2020, bus ridership in B&NES has not kept pace, raising concerns about the effectiveness of this funding. The reported increase in local bus journeys (from 8 million in 2021-2022 to 9 million in 2022-2023) contradicts the decline in service frequency, suggesting overcrowding or unmet demand. This trend is evident across the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) region, with South Gloucestershire and Bristol also facing funding shortfalls. This reflects the impact of the Best Value notice, which has hindered the growth and potential of public transport in recent years.

It’s important to note that large cities, including London, continue to heavily subsidise bus services, skewing national data. Rural areas like Wiltshire are also forced to subsidise routes to ensure they exist at all. This disparity further highlights the challenges faced by smaller areas like B&NES, where public transport remains underfunded.

A report from Friends of the Earth further underscores the severity of the issue, revealing a 48% decline in urban bus services and a 52% drop in rural services since 2008. In B&NES, bus service frequency has dropped by 61.4% since 2010, with similar reductions seen across the WECA region:

• B&NES: Down by 61.4% since 2010
• North Somerset: Down by 65.8%
• South Gloucestershire: Down by 47.9%
• Bristol: Down by 40.4%

These reductions have significantly impacted local communities, particularly in rural areas. The Green Group is calling for urgent action to restore and expand bus services across the region. With ridership still lagging, it’s crucial that both the government and local authorities prioritise investment in service frequency and reliability.

Without meaningful improvements in public transport, communities in B&NES will continue to face poor connectivity, undermining the local economy and climate goals.

The post Decline in Bus Services Across Bath and North East Somerset Exposed by Government Report appeared first on Bath and NE Somerset Green Party.

Nine projects in B&NES which all have a positive impact on the environment or biodiversity were awarded a total of £260,000 in March 2024 from the West of England Rural Fund, which is funded by the UK government through the Rural England Prosperity Fund.

The completed projects are:

Councillor Dom Tristram, Green Party, Radstock Town Council, said: “While projects like these offer practical benefits, whether it’s reducing emissions or improving access to green spaces, they also quietly reshape how people think about their environment. Helping residents connect with walking and cycling routes isn’t just good for biodiversity, it’s also a step towards building healthier, more sustainable habits. We need more of this kind of joined-up thinking, where investment in local infrastructure actively supports both community wellbeing and the climate.”

The trustees of the Old School Room said: The grant from the Rural Fund enabled us to complete a safe Rest Centre, provide a well set up kitchen with ample storage, solar power packs in case of outages, a high-quality medical kit and interlocking flooring for seating children. In addition it has provided a well-used social space for the community. Thanks for your support.”

The post Parish and town councils in B&NES benefit from funding to support environmental projects appeared first on Bath and NE Somerset Green Party.

Bristol’s decision proves it is possible. By working with the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) and bus operators, Bristol has shown this change can be implemented successfully. If Bristol can make it work, why can’t BANES?

In February, Green councillors proposed lifting the unfair restriction that stops disabled people from using their free bus passes before 9 AM. Many rely on public transport for work, education, and essential appointments, and this restriction limits their opportunities. A similar initiative in Warwickshire benefited 22% of disabled pass holders and saw over 12,000 early-morning journeys in just seven months, improving access to jobs, education, and services while reducing reliance on costly alternatives.

At the BANES budget meeting, the Cabinet Member for Resources stated:

“The proposal for extended free bus travel for disabled people before 9:00 a.m. is actually a national scheme. The Liberal Democrat MP for Frome and East Somerset recently wrote to the government minister about this issue. Funding should be sought from central government, not local council resources.”

However, Bristol’s Green administration—having been in power for just one year—has successfully demonstrated that local councils can influence transport strategy through collaborating with the combined authority. Meanwhile, the BANES Liberal Democrats, who have held power for six years, continue to shift responsibility onto WECA, despite the fact they comprise WECA. The Liberal Democrats’ reluctance to act is in stark contrast to the forward-thinking actions of our neighbours, and highlights the failure of local leadership within BANES.

BANES must not fall behind other authorities on accessibility. The Green councillor group’s proposal aligns with the council’s own goals of social inclusion. The council needs to work with WECA and bus operators to ensure disabled residents in BANES have the same opportunities as those in Bristol.

The post Bristol Proves It’s Possible: Time for BANES to Extend Free Bus Travel for Disabled People appeared first on Bath and NE Somerset Green Party.

The council’s decision to scrap the bus gate came after strong opposition from residents, who raised concerns that it would push traffic into already congested areas like Snow Hill, Lambridge, and London Road.

Several key topics were covered during the meeting:

• Walcot Liveable Neighbourhood (LN) Funding:
  Cllr Rigby explained that the funding no longer needed for Walcot LN could be repurposed for other Liveable Neighbourhoods, following a simple ‘change request form’ to WECA.
• Park and Ride (P&R) Solutions:
  To address the lack of P&R options in East Bath, Cllr Rigby mentioned that smaller sites in Wiltshire are being explored as a potential solution.
• Resident Parking Zones (RPZ):
  While an RPZ for Grosvenor isn’t in the current budget, Cllr Rigby confirmed there’s budget set aside for future RPZs, including for Lambridge, though no decisions have been made yet. Residents can find more details on the Transport Action Map about “Kensington and Grosvenor RPZ” here.
• Bus Route Issues:
  A resident shared that First Bus drivers had told them speed bumps on Camden Road are causing delays on buses 6 and 7, a concern that is being looked into.

The Green Party councillors also shared their proposal for a community-led Liveable Neighbourhood in East Bath to tackle traffic, air quality, and congestion in a way that works for everyone. Residents made it clear they want more transparency and a smarter, evidence-based approach to transport planning.

The Green Party is calling on the council to work across party lines and make community consultation a priority in future decisions.

The post Green Party councillors Gather Community to Shape the Future of Transport in East Bath appeared first on Bath and NE Somerset Green Party.

Despite clear and overwhelming opposition from residents, the council pressed ahead with the scheme, showing their disregard for the community’s voices. After facing mounting criticism and pressure, the council has finally cancelled the proposal in an open letter. However, this last-minute change is little more than a reactive measure, reflecting the administration’s failure to engage with residents, meaningfully.

Bath and NE Somerset Green Party councillors welcomed the council’s backtrack, with Councillor Joanna Wright, Leader of the group and representing Lambridge ward, adding: 

“The cancellation is a small victory for residents, but it highlights the incompetence of a council more focused on winning the votes of a few than actually listening to the concerns of the community. This is not the way to plan for a better Bath or create Liveable Neighbourhoods.”

Rather than relying on rushed, poorly thought-out schemes, the Greens are calling for a more thoughtful, evidence-based approach to traffic management in East Bath. They are proposing the creation of a community-led Liveable Neighbourhood for the east of Bath, which would address traffic, air quality, and congestion issues in a way that benefits the entire community, not just a select few.

In response to the council’s failure, the Green Lambridge councillors are urging the administration to work across political ward boundaries and engage with the community in a meaningful way to come up with a better plan for the East of Bath.

Green councillors are also demanding greater transparency and public consultation to ensure that the voices of all Bath residents are genuinely heard and considered in future decisions.

Lambridge Councillors are inviting the community to another public meeting at the New Oriel Hall on Wednesday 19 March, from 6-7.15 pm to hear their thoughts on a better plan for our community. Cllr Manda Rigby and the Liveable Neighbourhoods team have been invited to this meeting. 

The post East of Bath Deserves Better: A win for the community! appeared first on Bath and NE Somerset Green Party.