As people may have heard the Pedal Progression bike park plan will not proceed, due to financial constraints. A critical route connecting Wellsway to Entry Hill and Fox Hill has been lost and Scholar’s Way will be less because of this decision.

This connection has been WRB’s focus throughout the whole OJEU (Official Journal of the European Union) procurement process. There is a real need for a connection across the site and a further connection to Chelwood Drive and onwards to St Phillips school. Our hope is that this would also include the upgrade of the Wellsway/Midford Road junction as part of West Of England’s £617m Sustainable Transport Settlement. It is almost impossible for a child to cross Wellsway here.

But what about Entry Hill?

For many, the objection to the Bike Park was on the grounds that it was a commercial activity that fenced off access to around half the site. This is no longer on the table:

But this is an amazing asset that belongs to all residents of Bath and North East Somerset. There is a strong argument now for the site to be made fully accessible for walking/wheeling and cycling. The car park is closed which is a real problem for disabled access. All other entrances use gates and should be replaced by bollards to give good access. There are certain places where creating a new entrance (top of Wellsway) would really improve access for the surrounding communities.

This is what people wanted

Many of the arguments *against* the bike park were founded on the need to maintain public access to *all* of the site. The council should now do the right thing. Open the site up and develop a number separate walking and biking trails keeping interaction between people walking/wheeling and biking to a minimum. Any ground “churn” could be repaired using wood chippings similar to what happens at Kensington Meadows. It would also support rewilding of the space and the trails would encourage people to keep off the rewilded areas.

Whatever side of the fence you were on with regards to the commercial bike park, the reality is that this leisure site has been locked away for quite sometime, particularly if you are a disabled person. It is time that it was made fully accessible for walking, wheeling, and cycling and the site become something for all the residents of Bath (and beyond). This all could be funded from Community Infrastructure Levy and maybe some of the funds that were allocated to develop the site commercially.

“Mindful of both the climate and ecological emergencies a range of outdoor leisure activities including walking, running and adventurous play, as well as a Forest School, remain possible.”

It would also, long term, be fantastic to have a couple of wheel friendly accessible 4 season trails across the site creating good links from Entry Hill and Fox Hill to Wellsway, providing trails that could be enjoyed comfortably by anyone using a wheelchair or any other mobility device.