Dear Editor, I read the Bath Voice every month to get an understanding of what is going on in Bath and expect it to give unbiased and fair reporting on all matters.
However I found the April article “Rugby Stadium: opposition grows” an extremely poor example of unbiased fact based journalism.
After reading the headline I was interested to find out what this “growth” in opposition referred to was. However I could not find any new piece of opposition which I had not read about before. In fact I believe that the latest round of the planning application had a growth in number of supportive comments than opposition but this, an easily obtained factual piece of information, did not appear in the article.
Then there were statements such as
“would fundamentally alter the character of Bath”
“would introduce a modern oversized structure”
ignoring the fact that a large stadium already exists on the site and every attempt is being made to listen to practical suggestions to ensure the development does not have a significant detrimental impact to the site / the city.
There was then no balancing comments given to the statements by the Councillor and BAthNES Greens who strongly oppose the stadium development.
There was then the absurd statement that with the additional hospitality facilities being planned other businesses around the stadium and the city would lose out. Most rugby fans already drink and eat at the existing stadium but also many still patronise the pubs / restaurants and hotels of Bath. This will not change and with increased capacity should grow.
Harry Mottram’s addition of an anonymous objector’s biased comment did nothing to add to the quality of the journalism.
Only the last three paragraphs of the article tried belatedly to bring some balance but almost appeared as after thought when editorially it was realised how one sided the article was.
Yes, I am a Bath Rugby supporter but I am also a supporter of good balanced journalism and this was not an example of it.
Yours, James Madsen
The article that James refers to can be read here: https://bathvoice.co.uk/2025/03/31/bath-voice-news-opposition-to-the-rugby-stadium-plans-grows-as-the-proposals-are-slammed-by-the-green-party-and-the-friends-of-the-recreation-ground-as-being-disproportionate-in-scale/
The editor replies: the issue of the stadium plans for Bath Rugby have been and are very divisive raising passions on both sides. Bath Voice has published several features and news stories on the subject and are consistently called out by readers for being in favour of the plans or opposed to them – we try to give a balance as best we can.
Your views are on the subject are welcome – email news:bathvoice.co.uk
Bath Voice and Local Democracy Reporters
The journalists are funded by the BBC as part of its latest Charter commitment, but are employed by regional news organisations. A total of 165 reporters are allocated to news organisations in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland including Bath Voice. These organisations range from television and radio stations to online media companies and established regional newspaper groups. Local Democracy Reporters cover top-tier local authorities, second-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.
Bath Voice Monthly Newspaper is distributed free to thousands of homes and some supermarkets – distributed from the first of the month. Harry Mottram is the News Editor
Email him at news@bathvoice.co.uk Bath website: https://bathvoice.co.uk/news/
Bath Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/bdtf2kep Also on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bath_voice And Bluesky @bathvoicenews.bsky.social And also on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/harrymottram6/
Read the newspaper online at :https://issuu.com/bathvoice
To advertise to thousands of Bathonians call Shaun on 07540 383870 or email him on sales@bathvoice.co.uk
Harry Mottram is a freelance journalist. Follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Telegram, TikTok and Email: harryfmottram@gmail.com
Website: www.harrymottram.co.uk