£1.8m boost for coach parking at West Country tourist honeypot, but devil may yet be in the detail
Bath is to get a coach park again – on the Southern edge of the tourist honeypot at Odd Down Park & Ride site next to the A367.
The news follows the announcement on Wednesday (June 28) that £1.8m has been awarded to help fund the project from the West of England Joint Committee (WEJC). A mix of large and small transport projects across the region worth more than £17m also received the go-ahead and were awarded funding of just over £10m to improve walking and cycling links, public spaces, public transport and road safety in the region. They underpin the aims of the Local Growth Fund (LGF) and Economic Development Fund of supporting economic growth and improving connectivity.
The LGF is awarded to LEPs (Local Enterprise Partnerships), who consider competitive bids that demonstrate they will create new infrastructure to encourage growth, support business investment and create jobs. Any additional funding required has been found from other local and government sources.
The previous coach parking bays at Riverside became a drop-off and set-down only, limited to 30 minutes, with no return within an hour between 0800 and 1800hrs. The town centre site is to be redeveloped and as a result is now referred to as Bath North Quays. Alternative coach parking has however, been available at First Bus’ Weston Island depot. Many coach drivers have voiced their frustrations at the situation on social media, with the historic town being somewhere they dread rather than look forward to visiting. Details of current arrangements can be found online at www.bathnes.gov.uk/services/parking-and-travel/coach-parking.
Another project of note to coach operators includes £2.8m towards speeding up the strengthening, maintenance and improvement scheme for the Bromley Heath Viaduct on the A4174 Bristol ring road, reducing the time taken from 52 to 33 weeks. The funding is being used for additional resources to reduce disruption. Traffic management arrangements will be put in place on the road over the weekend of July 22/23 and the actual maintenance work will start on Monday, July 24. More details about the viaduct project, including suggested alternative routes, can be found at: www.southglos.gov.uk/transport-and-streets/streets/roads-road-works/major-roadworks/bromley-heath-viaduct/.
West of England Mayor Tim Bowles said: “Through the Local Growth Fund, the Joint Committee can approve projects that will deliver much-needed infrastructure for the region. We’ve now approved a range of large and small transport projects that add up to deliver a better connected region.”
Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Interim Chairman Professor Steve West said: “Approval for these projects show that we can work together to make the West of England an attractive option for business and industry. As part of the area’s wider funding programme, these are important steps in ensuring that our transport infrastructure meets the growth needs of the region.”
The WEJC met for the first time on June 28 and is the decision making body for issues relating to the four unitary authorities – Bristol, Bath, North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and the LEP.
More details can be found at www.westofengland-ca.org.uk.
