Plans for new schools and fitness facilities in Bath

Plans to build two new schools and sports facilities in Bath have been revealed.

Bath & North East Somerset Council is proposing to build the new schools in the former Culverhay School and Odd Down Sports Ground sites on the southern edge of the city.

The plan includes a 120-place school for pupils with special educational needs, and the other is a 55-place alternate provision school.

The council said Culverhay Sports Centre will close on 28 June so works could start, after officials deemed it as being at the end of its lifespan.

A brand new gym and fitness spaces will also be built, as well as padel tennis courts and new walking trails around the playing fields.

Culverhay Sports Centre has been operational since the 1990s and is only open in the evenings and partially on the weekend.

Sports clubs currently using the centre would be offered alternative booking options at other leisure centres in Bath and Kenysham.

Councillor Paul May, cabinet member for Children's Services, said the new schools would "eventually" provide places for pupils who needed support and would not have to leave the area for education.

Barnaby Rich, partnership manager for the council at GLL, which manages the leisure centres in Bath and Keynsham, said the new sports facilities at Odd Down would bring "significantly enhanced availability throughout the week".

"Health and fitness members at Culverhay Sports Centre will have access to all our UK centres and can continue their fitness routines at our Bath or Keynsham leisure centres at no extra cost.

"Additionally, we plan to run some of Culverhay's ongoing classes at Odd Down Sports Ground to reduce the necessity for extra travel."

Draft plans for Odd Down will be go to public consultation in the spring.

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