What is Bath Bike Park?
Following an open procurement exercise, Bath & North East Somerset Council has agreed to appoint Pedal Progression to provide a new mountain bike and activity park on the site of the former Entry Hill golf course in Bath. The site will be enjoyed by riders, families, walkers and nature-lovers.
The park will provide free access to park areas and trails for walking and cycling, a learn-to-ride area and new natural play areas.
New wildlife habitats and wider biodiversity will be encouraged with a nature garden, pond and community growing area. There will also be a new and expanded café with seating and viewing areas across the park.
We are looking to create a progression park, in which people can grow the skills and confidence and provide an affordable entry point to the growing sport of mountain biking. Evidence shows that building these skills and confidence also make riders safer and more confident road cyclists and encourages them to use bikes more for commuting etc. It is also intended to make Entry Hill a place where people can come just to have fun outdoors, even if they never plan to venture out on to the mountains with their bikes.
This will be a unique facility in that Entry Hill will provide an offer for mountain biking with associated community facilities.
Who is Involved
Pedal Progression will operate and manage the site, bringing the progression park vision to life and overseeing the various community elements.
Architrail will provide the technical expertise in the design and development of the Mountain Bike trails and Velosolutions UK the pump track. You can find out more about them here https://www.architrailvelosolutions.com
The Council will provide the capital funding for the development of the Mountain Bike park, manage the project and monitor the contract with Pedal Progression. The Council will continue to own the site and be ultimately responsible for it.
What consultation has taken place?
A community consultation on the future of the site was undertaken between December 2019 and March 2020 and involved carrying out substantial stakeholder engagement to understand the views of residents, golf course users and those who would like to use the site. The consultation ignited considerable local interest from local residents and organisations with a range of exciting proposals coming forward.
It is acknowledged that people from outside of Bath took an interest in and responded to the survey. To ensure local views were understood and considered, an addendum to the consultation report was produced and published alongside it which analyses only Bath and North East Somerset residents’ responses.
There were 1762 responses providing a valid Bath and North East Somerset Postcode and stating they are a resident, over 50% of which were from postcodes very local to the course. This highlighted that most people strongly supported a family cycle centre, while other popular options that were trails for walking and running and a park with a café.
What happens next?
The Council and Pedal Progression are progressing discussions towards final contract and this will include engaging with a range of interested parties and stakeholders to try to achieve the best outcome for both potential users and the local community.
The concept design that was submitted by Pedal Progression as part of their bid is just that. It demonstrates that a mix of activities can be achieved on the site in a commercially viable way. It shows that free to access community facilities for walking, dog walking, running and family cycling, a café for users and the local community and a range of cycling activities from trails, to pump tracks and skills areas to jump lines that can be used by a wide range of ages and abilities can be accommodated on the site.
As part of the design development process over the coming weeks the Council and Pedal Progression will be listening to the views of a range of groups.
While it will not be possible to incorporate all of the feedback we receive as part of the final design we are committed to ensuring that we have heard people’s thoughts and views and have considered them as part of the process.
Over the coming weeks we will be working on a more detailed project plan.
The intention is to begin preliminary discussions with Planning in late May/early June, with a full planning application being submitted in August/September.
Physical development of the site would follow, with a view to opening the bike trails in 2022. Pedal Progression hope to be able to open the café sooner if this is possible. The construction of proper Mountain Bike trails, available to ride all year, with adequate drainage and with necessary variety of challenges that riders expect, requires significant construction work.
Consultation with residents and other interested parties will take place throughout April and May. We recognise that we need a variety of mechanisms for different groups with varying interests and concerns.
It is hoped that the bike park will open in spring 2022
Will there be an increase in visitors to the site?
It is hoped that the site will be a popular attraction for local people and the wider community. However, visitors will be encouraged to not visit by car and instead either walk, cycle or use public transport to travel to the site. There is no intention to increase the available parking. Pedal Progression and the Council are working with residents and local communities on a sustainable travel plan for the site.
Will there be allotments on site?
Community growing space and allotments will be located within the site. We hope to engage the local community in the ongoing management of these spaces.
Will there be a cafe?
We intend to start with a simple café offering great coffee, cakes, toasted sandwiches, pastries, snacks, ice-creams and cold drinks etc.
We feel that the café holds a really exciting opportunity with the potential that fresh local produce could be sustainably grown on site.
Should growth of the café be as successful as we project then would look to expand the café with additional decked areas.
Will I be able to walk my dog on site?
Yes. There will be a designated dog walking space.
Will I need to pay to go into the play park?
No, free access will be provided. The free to access park will be approximately 7 acres with an accessible and enjoyable perimeter trail for a walk or bike ride.
How will the site be maintained?
Pedal Progression will be responsible for managing the site which will include rubbish collection and security. They are keen to engage with the community to help with the site maintenance including the ecology and trails.
How do I find out more information?
Pedal Progression will be holding range of community engagement events. We are keen to hear from anyone who may be interested in the site. bathbikepark@pedalprogression.com Please also sign up to the Bath Bike Park newsletter here.
What are the details of the procurement process?
Encouraging people to be active is one of the most effective and sustainable ways to improve lives and confront inequality.
Discretionary services, such as leisure, must aim to deliver financially sustainable solutions. Golf at Entry Hill has required significant subsidy from the Council for some time now.
Based on achieving these outcomes the Council made the decision in July 2020 to run an open procurement exercise to seek a new operator for the Entry Hill Golf Course. We sought bids that are inclusive, environmentally friendly, that ensure a sustainable financial future and offer an improved experience for local people.
The process, which started in August 2020, only considered bids of a sporting or community provision nature.
Five bidders submitted final tenders for Entry Hill, all of which addressed the recommendations of the consultation and priorities of the Council which are: to contribute to the climate and ecological emergency goals; getting more people more active; and ensuring there is leisure provision for all members of the community in the future through removing the subsidy requirement to the Council.
Why Pedal Progression?
The main advantages of the Pedal Progression submission are that it:
- Provides a good mix of free and paid for activities.
- Provides a good mix of bike and non-bike activities.
- Meets and exceeds the Council’s objectives for the site.
- Includes plans for consultation with interested parties throughout the life of the contract.
- Delivers outcomes in line with the consultation process.
