Public Realm

The public realm in Bath has deteriorated over many years as a result of a lack of investment and maintenance.

The quality of the streets and public spaces, including pavements and street furniture is poor; motor vehicles dominate over pedestrians and cyclists; and there is little public information for visitors. The current state of the public realm is a matter of concern to all who live and work in Bath, and FoBRA believes it is unacceptable in a World Heritage Site which is so dependent on visitors.

FoBRA thinks that Bath should learn from other cities, particularly on the Continent such as Freiburg (bottom), which have developed a civilised and attractive public realm.

The Federation therefore strongly supports the Council’s public realm and movement strategy, “Creating the Canvas for Public Life In Bath” and has made detailed inputs to the Council’s thinking. We have supported plans for:

• Priority for pedestrians and reducing the dominance of motor vehicles;
• Wide-scale decluttering of the streetscape;
• A Bath pattern book to unify the process of development;
• A new citywide information system for visitors and locals;
• The earliest possible implementation.

At the same time we have pointed out that unintended side-effects need to be guarded against, such as displacement of traffic into residential areas and the inappropriate use of bendy buses.

If Bath is to maintain its prosperity in a competitive world it needs to make the best of its unique assets. FoBRA is keen to play an active role with the Council and other parties in the development of this strategy. We hope to play a full role in the stakeholder group which the Council is setting up.