The entrance fee to visit the historic Parade Gardens in the centre of Bath will be removed for the coming year following a successful pilot event.
The move comes after an ‘open doors’ event was held during the October 2024 half term, which attracted more than 29,000 visitors to the park.
The pleasure gardens which provide a home for community events, weddings and bandstand performances and, along with the Colonnades, were opened for Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Bath Central Riverside regeneration project to trial the gardens being accessible to everyone.
The October event allowed visitors to explore the Gardens, Colonnades, Undercroft and vaults under Grand Parade, and the Medieval East Gate on Boat Stall Lane, with activities including sculpture from local artists, a pop-up living maze and a winter garden installation.
Footfall exceeded expectations with more than 29,000 people visiting Parade Gardens over eight days, including 803 visitors in one hour at its peak.
The council is now trialling the removal of the entrance fee, currently £2.50 for adults and £1.50 for children and concessions, for this coming year.
Fees are usually chargeable from Easter to the end of October.
The move aims to make Parade Gardens accessible and inclusive for everyone, as well as test the effect of free entry on footfall, over a longer period.
The council is also planning to open the Colonnades once again for visitors during the weekend of 30th May and 1st June, alongside a food and drink outlet.
A coffee cart piloted at the open doors event run by Chandos Deli reported higher sales than expected.
Councillor Tim Ball, cabinet member for neighbourhood services, said: “We are extremely proud of the iconic Parade Gardens which are renowned for their stunning flowerbed displays, magnificent views of Pulteney Weir and Bath Abbey and being the location for many romantic weddings.
“We are pleased to announce that we are trialling making them more accessible for everyone by removing the entrance fee this year from April.”
Councillor Paul Roper, cabinet member for economic and cultural sustainable development, added: “Our ‘open doors’ event last October was hugely popular across the board, with some visitors expressing support for making Parade Gardens free for everyone.
“Thank you to all our partner organisations who helped make the event such a resounding success.
“Revealing hidden histories of the Colonnades and other spaces clearly captured public imagination and we plan to build on this interest by providing more exciting activities in the gardens later this year.”
Bath Central Riverside was awarded £548,000 of grant funding from the West of England Combined Authority in 2023 with £232,000 of match funding from the council.
