Rec stadium plan threat to 'notable' tree

Green Party councillors are warning that Bath Rugby's plans to build a stadium in the city centre will threaten a beloved veteran tree nearby.

- John Wimperis

Bath Rugby is planning to build an 18,000-seater stadium at its home on the Recreation Ground in the centre of Bath. But Green councillors in the city - who previously warned the plan would “cause misery for residents” - are warning that the plans could damage the large copper beech next to the stadium. The tree is recognised as a “notable tree” in the Woodland Trust's Ancient Tree Inventory.

Although it is not one of the ten trees that would be removed to make way for the stadium, foundations and a drain could now be built into its root zone, which the council’s arboriculture officer warned was “unacceptable”. Meanwhile the north stand would be so close it would be actually under the canopy.