Green Group Gears-up Better Cycle Access at Bath Leisure Centre

Better, Bath Sports and Leisure Centre, is a vibrant hub for families, offering a variety of activities from soft play and swimming to trampoline parties, sports, and bowling. GLL is contracted by the Bath and North East Somerset Council to provide leisure services in the area.

The Bath Sports and Leisure Centre is situated in the heart of Bath, easily reached on foot, by bus, or by cycle, and is complemented by a large car park with subsidised rates for customers. While encouraging active travel for short distances to this centre of physical activity is ideal, accessing it by cycle has proven challenging.

The busy North Parade Road and the nearby riverside path, which has a flood defence barrier without a ramp, create significant challenges. This is especially difficult for cyclists who use larger or adapted cycles, including disabled individuals who rely on cycles as their mobility aid.

In March 2022, local parent Ruth Hand and Councillor Saskia Heijltjes from the Green Group in B&NES highlighted these issues in correspondence with Councillor Dine Romero and Councillor Sarah Warren. Despite receiving acknowledgement in April 2022, action wasn’t taken. Following up in November 2022, they finally received a response in January 2023, outlining plans to install a dropped kerb at the North Parade entrance and additional cycle racks in the car park, subject to funding.

By February 2023, the dropped curb was in place, significantly improving access to the street-level cycle parking. This area has since become a popular spot, particularly during weekday afternoons, with many families using cargo bikes.

Since being elected as a Bath and North East Somerset Councillor in May 2023, Councillor Saskia Heijltjes has advocated for enhanced cycling facilities as Member Advocate for Active Travel in Bath. After numerous engagements with council officers and staff, substantial progress was made in April 2024. This included installing new cycle stands providing parking for up to 10 cycles at the car park level.

Today, cycle parking is available at both street and car park levels, meeting essential criteria: undercover, conveniently located near entrances, fully accessible without kerbs, and suitable for a variety of cycle types including adapted cycles and cargo bikes.

However, challenges remain for disabled cyclists using cycles as mobility aids, as they may be unable to access the new cycle parking due to steps between the cycle parking and the entrance. Additionally, less confident cyclists, including children, will be most likely to approach the leisure centre via the riverside path with no access to the leisure centre from the path. Councillor Heijltjes remains committed to collaborating with residents to address this issue. 

Earlier this month, Councillor Joanna Wright queried Cabinet Member Alison Born about the access and cycle storage issues when they updated the Children, Adults, Health and Wellbeing Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel on GLL’s achieving endorsement by Which? As recommended for leisure centres and gyms. The Cabinet Member was not aware of the issues.

The Green Group is committed to improving cycle storage and access at Bath Leisure Centre, aiming to ensure that all community members can benefit from the convenience and health advantages of cycling.