New Fashion Museum benefits ‘outweigh loss of shops and flats’

The plans for Bath’s new Fashion Museum are expected to get the go-ahead next week.

How the proposed Fashion Museum could look | Image © B&NES Council

Although the project will see the loss of 1,945 square metres of commercial space and nine flats in the heart of the city, the benefits of the council-led scheme is said to outweigh that.

The proposals have the support of conservation experts at the Bath Preservation Trust, the 20th Century Society, The Georgian Group and Historic England.

The site includes the Old Post Office building, the Regency terraced properties at 21, 23 and 24 New Bond Street, and the courtyard behind.

Next Wednesday, 13th May, Bath & North East Somerset Council’s planning committee is being recommended to approve the proposals and grant listed building consent for the new venue, which it is expected will open in 2030 and attract 250,000 visitors a year.

The scheme includes the change of use of the vacant shop at 23 New Bond Street, No. 24 (which was Albaray but where a pop-up fashion store called L&Y is due to open on 9th May) and 25-26 (Rodd & Gunn/first floor vacant) as well as 27 Northgate Street, the vacant former post office/postal museum.

No. 21 New Bond Street (Lakeland) will be significantly reduced in scale by the demolition of the rear extension but retained as a smaller unit in commercial/retail use.

A report to the planning committee acknowledges that a “high level” of commercial floorspace will be lost but taking into account the scale of the city centre and the number of remaining premises, the loss is not considered to be “harmful”.

It says: “To the contrary, the museum use is considered a catalyst for regeneration of New Bond Street and the Milsom Quarter, leading to more trips to and footfall in this part of the city centre.”

The report also highlights that the loss of nine flats above shops on New Bond Street and Northgate Street comes at a time when the council can’t demonstrate the required five-year housing land supply, with the current supply being half that. However, the “unique and substantive benefits” of the project are said to outweigh the loss of housing stock.

The project is targeting a net zero carbon building with additional insulation, high performance secondary glazing, modern ventilation systems, awnings to passively control solar gain and solar PV panels for renewable energy on site.

Works to create an enhanced public realm are proposed outside the museum as part of the Milsom Quarter public space project. The council is planning to turn the end of Broad Street in front of St Michael’s Church into a new pedestrianised public square, funded by the West of England Combined Authority (WECA).

Northgate Square will include spill-out seating from the new museum café.

The whole project including the public realm work has been put at £54 million. As well as grants and donations the council is planning to cover £20 million through borrowing.

The new museum will have double the floorspace of the former museum which was at Bath’s Assembly Rooms for nearly 60 years. The National Trust took back the venue in 2022 and the collection of more than 100,000 items is in storage at Dents at Warminster.

Ward councillor Paul Roper, who is also the Liberal Democrat council’s cabinet member for economic and cultural sustainable development, said: “The Fashion Museum project is a key development for the authority and will be an anchor institution in the Milsom Quarter.

“B&NES is blessed with one of the finest collections of fashion items in the world and since the loss of the Assembly Rooms, there has been no suitable location for the collection to be displayed.

“The creation of a dedicated, purpose-designed space with accompanying public realm improvements will be of international significance and benefit us economically and culturally.

“In addition, creating this new, exciting venue will help deliver our goal of encouraging visitors to stay longer in the city.”

The National Trust’s refurbishment of the Assembly Rooms, which includes a new Georgian visitor experience, is ongoing and on course to open in 2027.