Not how Rec was meant to be used

The new plans for the construction of a rugby venue on the Recreation Ground have been published.

As I understand it the land was given to THE PEOPLE OF BATH, for RECREATION.

Looking at a year when perhaps the club is not involved in European cup matches - eg if it got relegated, this monstrous carbuncle, as the King might refer to it, would only host nine matches in a ten team league, plus a couple of cup matches perhaps.

Also, there may be some definitions that imply recreation as meaning ‘watching sport.’ Personally I prefer it to be defined as being involved with an activity.

All the 18,000 anticipated spectators at a Bath Rugby match will do little more than sit for 80 minutes of rugby action, something they could do in their own garden with an appropriate connection to the internet. On a windy day some trees move about more than some of them will.

Now looking at the time the facility offers for recreation, as its original purpose, it could be open for recreation for say 12 hours a day, 365 days a year.

That amounts to over a quarter of a million minutes of recreation.

It stands now on the brink of being used for 80 minutes, maybe 10 times in a year at worst, amounting to 800 minutes, maybe double that on a very good year, 1,600 minutes.

That is less than 1% of the time intended by the original benefactors for the recreation activities of the people.

I recognise it is a conundrum to find a place for a bigger ground, but this plan to pinch the gift to the people is ridiculous.

Nicholas Hales

Bath