We are currently reviewing, and planning to improve, council-owned green spaces in the Foxhill area of Bath. These pages aim to give you the information you need, to enable you to learn about and contribute to these discussions.
Why we're reviewing this area
A large new housing development, Mulberry Park, is currently being created by our housing partner Curo between the Foxhill and Combe Down areas. There will be 600 homes, a new primary school and community centre, with a planned completion date of 2026.
Read on Curo's website about plans for the Mulberry Park development
As part of agreeing planning permission for large new building schemes, we sometimes require developers to contribute towards the costs of creating new public facilities for growing communities to use. These are called Section 106 planning obligations.
Read in detail about Section 106 spending, our infrastructure funding and delivery plans
For Mulberry Park, the agreement with developers includes clauses about public space which are designed to benefit both existing and new communities:
- To incorporate a new public open space and woodland walk within the development
- To contribute (via Section 106 payments) to the provision and enhancement of parks and open spaces in nearby areas
Why the plans are important
Our Parks and Open Spaces team work to provide high quality, accessible and welcoming spaces for everyone to enjoy. Parks improve physical and mental health and wellbeing, and the Coronavirus pandemic has underlined how important these public spaces are for individuals and communities. We want our parks and open spaces to cater for everyone, and for more people to enjoy them, take an active role in deciding how they're used, and help to look after them.
We are also committed to tackling the climate and ecological emergencies, and green open spaces have a leading role to play in doing this.
We are keen to consult with the community on which enhancements are needed and where, and to provide a variety of parks and open spaces which cater for the different uses and needs of the community.
Our broader aims for public consultations
We have published our broader aims and priorities as a council in our Corporate Strategy, which shapes everything we do. Giving people a bigger say in what we do, and how we do it, is central to these aims. We hope to consult people who are already using the parks and open spaces in this area, and also those who aren't, to find out how we can develop facilities which will best serve the whole community.
We are aiming to develop plans which are in tune with our main strategic policies, and reflect our principles and commitments to local communities:
- Helping to tackle the climate and nature emergency
- Improving accessibility
- Supporting healthy and active lifestyles
- Managing spaces more sustainably
- Choosing options which help us to meet the demands of a reduced maintenance budget, where possible
Find out more about why and how we run our public consultations and our democratic process.