Inspiring dance club taken away from us

In December 2021, B&NES chose speculative student housing over accessible dance facilities.

The vote, eight for and only two against, effectively shut three dance studios which provided ballroom, ballet and modern dance at competition level, to over 500 dancers every week without any cost to B&NES Council.

Housed above the Co-op in Oldfield Park, the beauty of its position was its accessibility.

Situated in the heart of the community it provided walkable and affordable access to all types of dance and also for those living farther afield; the Co-op car park ensured dancers who came by car never impacted on the surrounding streets.

It provided wellbeing, vibrancy and was a jewel; a place dreams are made of, inspiring young and old alike.

However, B&NES has decided to fund a mountain bike park on the former Entry Hill Golf course (see Bob Goodman’s letter to the Bath Chronicle, January 6, 2022).

It has taken some digging but I found a record online to the original tender document published on the 12th of August 2020 (Bidstats Entry Hill and Approach - facility development and operation) and on the 9th of October (Bidstats facility development and operation).

This way of managing development in B&NES is inappropriate on so many levels.

Residents living in areas, local to potential development should be consulted prior to the issuing of contracts and tenders, especially one that is to last for 20 years. Facilities used by hundreds of people for weekly exercise should not be cavalierly closed by a

vote of eight to two with no consideration for the consequences of their actions. Bath can certainly not “Keep Dancing” - B&NES planners made sure of that.

Something is going wrong with the planning decision that are currently being made by B&NES.

The reason consultation is necessary with residents affected by planning decisions is that they have a more in-depth knowledge of their areas under discussion and can help and inform, and ultimately will have to live with the consequences of planning decisions.

This is a plea to our very own leader of the council, Kevin Guy, who has only lived in Bath since

2017 - how can you be familiar and have the knowledge of every ward of Bath? You need our help.

Deborah Ireland

Bath