Cabinet asked to approve £2.4m funding for Milsom Quarter Masterplan

A report on a major scheme to regenerate Milsom Quarter in Bath, including relocating the Fashion Museum at the Old Post Office, will be considered by Bath & North East Somerset Council’s cabinet next week. 

The report recommends that a £2.475 million funding award made by the West of England Combined Authority in September is accepted for the Milsom Quarter Masterplan project. 

The Masterplan will revitalise the north of Bath city centre by attracting creative industries, providing 180 new homes and transforming the area into a nationally renowned fashion destination.

Results of an informal public consultation on the plans held from May to July this year are also summarised in the report that will go before Cabinet on 10 November.

A total of 220 responses were received, broadly showing support for the plans with 68% of respondents strongly agreeing or agreeing with the vision for the Milsom Quarter as a destination for fashion and culture. 

The provision of new homes, including above shops, was strongly agreed or agreed with by 71% of respondents. The Masterplan work and the consultation undertaken will also help inform a new Local Plan for Bath & North East Somerset. 

Following the recent purchase by the Council, the report also proposes that rental income from the Old Post Office during the development phase is dedicated to the £37 million Fashion Museum project to support this key project. 

Councillor Mark Roper, cabinet member for Economic Development, Regeneration & Growth, said: “The Milsom Quarter Masterplan is a long-term vision to regenerate the north of the city by providing more homes for the community, attracting more businesses and visitors and positioning the area as a fashion destination including the Fashion Museum. It’s a significant and wide-ranging plan which will also improve the public realm for everybody and make it safer and easier to travel on foot or by wheel."

“We will review the recommendations made in this report carefully, especially the results of the consultation which are also important in feeding into a new Local Plan for how Bath and North East Somerset will grow and thrive. Thank you to everyone who commented.”

The six key elements of the Masterplan are: 

• Broad Street Yards – repurposing the council-owned car park to create maker space and flexible workspace for start-up businesses and SMEs.

• Walcot Gateway (Cattlemarket) – redeveloping a brownfield site and the disused Cornmarket building to create 70 new homes.

• Fashion Museum Bath – converting the listed Old Post Office to a new home for the Fashion Museum at the heart of Bath

• Improved public realm – to reduce the dominance of vehicles, prioritising walking, wheeling and cycling, and creating greener streets

• Energy and sustainability – reduce the carbon footprint of the area by retrofitting existing buildings and making new buildings zero-carbon

• Repurposing upper floors of buildings to provide more homes. 

Read a copy of the report going before cabinet on 10 November here. 

Watch the cabinet meeting live on the council’s YouTube channel. 

The Fashion Museum Bath relocation project will also create a new Fashion Collection Archive in Locksbrook, to the west of the city centre, to house the collection. The aim is for the Museum and Fashion Collection Archive to open in three to eight years time, dependent on fundraising. To help deliver the project, the council has submitted a £20 million bid to the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund to help complete the £37 million project.