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	Why was the Bath Sport Group formed?   The Bath Rec. and the future of sport in Bath   Why sport and active leisure are so important for Bath & the wider community   Drawing on John Wood’s Inspiration   String of Pearls   Legal status of the Bath Rec.   Bath Royal Forum   Under One Roof				Obsession: John Wood and the Creation of Georgian Bath, Building of Bath Museum, 2004 £9.95 plus postage & packing (£3.00 for UK mainland) available from the Building of Bath Museum, The Countess of Huntingdon's Chapel, The Vineyards, The Paragon, Bath BA1 5NA John Wood is the unsung hero of 18th century British architecture. As the creator of Britain's finest Georgian city, he revolutionised the aesthetic of city streetscapes and proved hugely influential to the development of town planning. Obsession: John Wood and the Creation of Georgian Bath investigates the development of Wood's obsessions, explaining how his extraordinary theories on architecture affected every building he imagined and designed, combing to form his ideal city.
			Drawing on John Wood’s Inspiration Let’s be inspired by John Wood by creating a 21st Century Bath Royal Forum and banish forever the jumble of embarrassing buildings that currently blight the Rec. and its surrounding areas. The 21st Century Bath Royal Forum would enhance and enlarge the open-space of the Rec. Instead of facing away from the River Avon, the Royal Forum would embrace it with a garden landscape and would provide: a permanent home for Bath Rugby; a multipurpose community arena; modern sports, leisure and retail facilities. It would use a rectilinear design harmonising with the dominant terraces and squares of Georgian Bath. Combined with a new cricket centre for Bath Cricket Club, inspired by the crescents and curves of the city, it would provide an inspirational sporting gateway to our unique city. An historical perspective A massive new community recreational space for Bath, equivalent in size to almost nine rugby pitches! Not some 21st century planning nightmare but a heroic addition to John Wood’s “Masterplan for Bath” first published in 1743 in “An Essay Towards a Description of Bath”, volume 3. Called the Royal Forum, and straddling a canalised section of the River Avon at the Ham, Wood intended the new public space to provide leisure and recreation facilities for the citizens of Bath and its visitors.   Where we are today Unfortunately for today’s citizens and visitors only a small section of this extraordinary vision was completed, namely North Parade, Duke Street and Pierrepont Street. The remainder of the area designated for a public gathering space is now covered with private houses and the police station. Yet just a few yards upstream, in the area known as the “Rec.”, stands a motley and somewhat shabby collection of public leisure buildings and significant areas of public open space. This disjointed group of buildings consisting of the Bath Rugby stands, the Sports and Leisure Centre, and that overgrown scout hut affectionately named the Pavilion, sit in undefined public space with no acknowledgement of the river which flows just yards away. This public embarrassment and affront to Bath’s civic pride has evolved in an unplanned way and is the complete antithesis of Wood’s inspired vision for a recreation space “equal to the magnificence of the Ancients”. Let’s be bold Just for once, let’s be adventurous and try to tread in Wood’s giant footprints by replacing this mish-mash of unsightly buildings. The new first class community facility we propose would be integrated with both the river and surrounding areas and would provide an enhanced and enlarged open space for the people of Bath; a 21st century Bath Royal Forum that is fit-for-purpose in the modern world. Although somewhat smaller in scale than the original Forum, this audacious vision calls for the formation of a grand set of terraces to create both a multi-purpose arena for a variety of community events and festivals, and the new home for Bath Rugby. It would also house the facilities of the existing Sports and Leisure Centre and Pavilion. The rectilinear design of the new Forum building draws inspiration from the squares and terraces of Bath and complements the curved design of the new Bath Cricket Club building planned for the other side of North Parade; a 21st century sporting equivalent of Queen Square and The Circus perhaps. Walking or driving along North Parade people will be treated to the attractive exteriors of the new terraces in marked contrast to the present jumble of unattractive concrete, glass and dirty stone presented by the Sports and Leisure Centre and The Pavilion. The terraces are sized to match the Georgian terraces that so characterise the architecture of Bath buildings and will house not just the viewing terraces but also cafes and restaurants opening out onto the riverside, with much needed new housing at the upper levels. The enhanced 16000 seat arena, the only one in the country to be built with an exterior which harmonises with its built city context, will be used for both sporting fixtures and other events. Combining and integrating all of the existing sports and leisure facilities into a single unified building will create a new urban street frontage on the north side of North Parade forming an eastern gateway into the city. With Bath Cricket Club providing sporting facilities on the south side, visitors entering the city through this sporting gateway will know they are entering a city that values the contribution sport and active leisure make to the community. The location of this new Royal Forum will release land currently occupied by the existing buildings and allow the formation of a large new open landscape space linking the whole area of the Rec. to the river. The combination of this with the existing Parade Gardens on the opposite bank, possibly connected by a new footbridge, creates a green heart to the city centre. It also draws upon another of Bath’s indigenous themes as a garden city and should appeal to those citizens who have little or no interest in sporting activities. These public garden spaces will embrace the river, making it an integral part of the city centre both visually and for increased leisure activities. A portion of the river could be enlarged to form a new water park in the manner of Wood’s Forum Basin allowing for river buses arriving from the outlying areas of Bath, including Bath Western Riverside and the Newbridge Park and Ride and any future upstream park & glide terminal. Leisure boats and even some gentle water sport activities could also be sustained and would further enhance the area’s appeal. Bath’s heritage is based on being a city designed for pleasure and public life. The new Royal Forum proposal is a bold vision that formalises Bath’s leisure and recreation facilities in the very heart of the city. The implementation of Wood’s “Masterplan for Bath” was incomplete and his ambitions were unfulfilled during his lifetime as the city’s appeal dwindled with the new attractions offered by seaside resorts such as Brighton. The Bath of today is recapturing some of its appeal as a vibrant place for visitors and residents but the modern physical structures required to support these attractions are lacking, as a reluctance to change prevails. Once again we should be guided by Wood and create a new “Description of Bath” that promotes a more radical response to creating new facilities in the heart of our beautiful city but one that is still in the right scale and context for Bath. In other words, elegant structures set in an extensive and well connected public space where the people of Bath can go for recreation. top