Bath residents' concerns over number of events in city

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-24090746

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A group of residents in Bath have raised concern about the number of large-scale events taking place in the city on the same day.

Events include a major rugby match, the Jane Austen Festival, a university open day and a US civil war re-enactment.

Henry Brown from the Federation of Bath Residents' Association said it would "cause a great deal of inconvenience".

Bath and North East Somerset Council said it had organised extra "traffic management arrangements".

Mr Brown said the inconvenience would affect "everybody in Bath".

He said: "You know, people who might have innocently booked a weekend or be planning to come in shopping - or indeed for the residents like my members."

'Minimise impact'

The council said it was working with the police and event organisers to "ensure that vehicles moved as freely as possible" during the day.

It said it had increased the frequency of the park and ride bus services and advised people to use public transport to get into the city centre.

A spokesman from the University of Bath said: "These days are planned well in advance but we do appreciate the strain that it can cause on the local roads and have been working hard to minimise the impact."

The American Museum, which is hosting a a civil war re-enactment to mark the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, said its event was also happening on Sunday giving people the choice to avoid Saturday.

Bath Rugby play Leicester Tigers at the Rec, with kick-off at 15:15 BST, and have advised supporters to expect traffic delays.

More than 600 people, dressed in Regency style, are expected to take part in the Grand Regency Costumed Parade as part of the Jane Austen Festival.