Locals fume at university planning to replace Green Belt sports field with yet MORE student accommodation

The proposal represents a significant departure from earlier intentions to convert existing buildings into a community climbing facility while preserving the surrounding pitches, a plan abandoned citing "challenging financial environment" concerns.

The university, recently recognised as Sports University of the Year in September, has additionally proposed 962 student accommodation units for its Claverton Down campus in separate planning applications.

The proposed development threatens to obliterate sweeping vistas across the southern Cotswolds and towards Westbury's famous White Horse, integral features of Bath's Unesco World Heritage Site designation.

Seventeen endangered bat species inhabit the area, including lesser and greater horseshoe bats and Bechstein's bats, which depend on the dark skies and natural valley environment extending to the River Avon.

"They will all be lost because the building work will be so disruptive to the local wildlife and then, once the buildings are complete, we will have students who, as we know, like to stay up late at night, which of course creates light pollution and noise," Sanne Terry, a Bristol University senior figure spearheading resident opposition, told The Daily Mail.

The Bath Skyline tour incorporates these fields, which attract six million annual visitors to the historic Roman city.

Ms Terry, 50, questioned whether destroying "this beautiful part of the city" and causing "huge upset and distress to a whole community" justified potential gains of "maybe a couple of million pounds".

She emphasised that planning permission had recently been granted for over 900 new campus units, making the additional 250 homes appear "gratuitous" and suggesting all student accommodation should stay within campus boundaries.

Local campaigner Vishaka Robinson highlighted the university's £9.8million surplus for the 2023/24 financial year, arguing management were behaving "like greedy land developers not like a university".

"The university is not recognising its responsibility to the community it has nested itself within," Terry stated, noting the institution's charitable status brings both privileges and obligations.

Kevin Gibbs, a 65-year-old retired water management specialist who has resided in the area for 23 years, described the semi-rural character as "unique" while warning of "horrendous traffic congestion" and construction noise.

"All the green space will have gone. It will just be covered in concrete and the light pollution will make us feel like we're living in the centre of the city," Mr Gibbs stated.

He highlighted existing traffic volume problems during peak hours and noted the absence of proposals for essential services, including GP surgeries, schools and dental facilities.

An anonymous retired businessman, whose property overlooks the sports fields towards Westbury's White Horse, expressed being "appalled" at the proposals after three decades of residence.

"I've nothing against students, but it will completely change the feel of the area. The noise and light will destroy this part of the world," he said.

Ralph Allen School, situated adjacent to the Sulis Club, pays the university to utilise these pitches for physical education classes, according to Lisa Stares, chair of Friends of Ralph Allen School.

"So for the university (which prides itself as being a champion for sports) to attempt to turn the entire site into housing is pretty shocking," Ms Stares explained.

Planning consultant and local parent Gemma Killick characterised the sports facilities loss as a "backwards move for our community".

Meanwhile, the University of Bath Students' Union formally opposed removing the Sulis Club from Green Belt designation, stating: "The Sulis Club must be protected."

However, a University of Bath spokesman indicated that the Sulis Club had been identified as a potential development site within the local authority's consultation on the Local Plan framework extending to 2042, examining district-wide growth and transformation over the coming 15 to 20 years.

"Should any potential development be considered in the future, the University is both mindful of and well experienced in taking into account environmental impact, sustainability, and the need to maintain appropriate sports provision across its sites and would conduct all necessary public and statutory consultations in the process," the spokesman stated.

The council's Playing Pitch Strategy, developed with Sport England, emphasises the strategic significance of enhancing sporting facilities at the Sulis Club for sustained community access and benefit.