A more ambitious plan to transform the city of Bath for the future is needed following the publication of the Milsom Quarter Masterplan, according to the Bath Preservation Trust.
Broad Street in Bath | Photo © Bath Preservation Trust
The Bath Preservation Trust (BPT) has said it welcomes the masterplan’s consultation, which closes today, Friday 15th July, but is calling on Bath and North East Somerset Council to come up with a long-term strategy for the whole city.
CEO of Bath Preservation Trust, Alex Sherman, said: “We think the plan in isolation is good, but has the potential to be excellent.
“Developing a vision for one part of the city highlights the more pressing requirement for a strategy for the whole of Bath so that this masterplan, and others, are not considered in isolation.
“We need much more integration with a vision for the future of Bath as a whole – this masterplan should sit alongside a comprehensive overarching strategy or strategic plan for the development of the city, which includes city-wide public realm, transport and movement, commercial vision and sustainability.
“That vision does not currently exist, and it really needs to.”
In a statement, BPT says the current condition of the wider public realm is one area which requires “urgent attention”.
It said the Milsom Quarter Masterplan should be accompanied by a “robust and compliant” maintenance strategy that sets out the approach and timetables for “essential and overdue” repairs to landscaping and guideline-compliant materials.
Another of the observations BPT makes about the Milsom Quarter plan is its “disproportionate” emphasis on fashion-led renewal.
It says the retail industry is fragile with little evidence that consumers are returning to the High Street in the numbers necessary to facilitate significant growth, hence the currently highly variable occupancy rates in Bath.
Alex Sherman continued: “The ‘build it and they will come’ approach needs a solid understanding of the market and the potential for private investment, which is not there right now.
“Also, Milsom Street represents the communal heart of Bath in the present day for major events and civic functions, and more should be made of this in the vision for the area.”
BPT has also raised concerns that the long-term vision for the city centre fails to protect the character of historic Walcot Street.
It said the Cattlemarket site is the gateway to Walcot Street and “deserves development that responds to the character of Walcot” and protects views to Bathampton Down.
The Bath Preservation Trust concluded by saying Bath & North East Somerset Council is “missing a huge opportunity” to lead on sustainability.
With a high percentage of property within the masterplan area under the council’s ownership, it marks a significant opportunity to facilitate and undertake sustainability retrofits, switch from gas to electric, and introduce micro-renewables.
