General manager Corin Palmer insists Bristol remain fully committed to playing Guinness Premiership rugby at the redeveloped Memorial Stadium.

The ground’s rebuild into an 18,000 all-seater stadium was put on hold for 12 months in May because landlords Bristol Rovers’s preferred student accommodation provider  pulled out.

Bath chief executive Bob Calleja, meanwhile, has threatened to quit the Recreation Ground should his club’s redevelopment plans be rejected.

Bath are in “serious discussions” with Swindon Town Football Club about playing their home matches in Wiltshire next season.

Should they build a stadium at a new location, Calleja has reportedly suggested arch-rivals Bath and Bristol could share a ground at a site – believed to be in Keynsham – between the two cities.

But Palmer said: “We have not talked about this. At the moment, the development with Bristol Rovers is going ahead a year later than planned. We are excited  – as we have been all along – about playing in this new 18,000 (capacity) stadium. That’s always been our intention and it is very much plan A.”

Bath and Bristol were threatened with a merger five years ago, before Bristol were relegated to National Division One – but that is not under consideration now.

Bristol are happy with their gates this season but, if they are to start competing financially with the other top English clubs, need to be playing in a modern stadium.

Bath, meanwhile, regularly sell out the Recreation Ground but, with only a 10,600 capacity, need a bigger stadium to satisfy their fan base.

Calleja has given the Charity Commission until the end of the  year to give Bath the green light to redevelop the ground,  otherwise he will start looking for new sites to build a stadium. He said: “Our focus is still on staying at the Rec, but our discussions with the Charity Commissioners, who have the major say on the future of the ground, are really very difficult.

“We are talking seriously with Swindon Town about sharing their  stadium as an interim measure.  I’d like to think we can find a permanent solution that involves us playing where we play now, but if you ask me for my gut feeling, I’d have to say that I don’t think we’ll be here next season.

“One of the questions we now have to ask ourselves is that, even if we were granted permission to develop the Rec, could we reasonably expect to build a stadium big enough for our needs?

“It may not be long before club rugby commands regular audiences of 20,000. With that in mind, we’re looking at potential sites for a new venue to the east and west of the city.

“If we went for the west option, a groundshare with Bristol would make sense.”