BUSINESS NEWS
New project to revitalise empty shops in city centre
More empty shops in Bath are being revitalised and repurposed for the community to enjoy as part of a project to breathe new life into the city centre .
Bath & North East Somerset Council ’ s Vacant Units Action Project finds new uses for empty retail units . The project is part of the Council ’ s High Streets Renewal programme and was awarded £ 500,000 from the West of England Combined Authority ( WECA ). Alongside this , further match funding and in-kind support has been provided by the Council and Bath BID .
The news follows the announcement earlier this year that the WECA would be providing £ 1.2 million of funding to Bath & North East Somerset Council ’ s five-year plan to improve Bath City Centre .
West of England Mayor Dan Norris said , “ I ’ m proud that the Combined Authority that I lead is backing Bath so that people can enjoy pop-up art galleries and make use of recycling and repair services in buildings that would otherwise be empty . We are a region of innovation and creativity and this is a brilliant example of Bath people coming together to make sure our city continues to be an amazing place to shop and visit . Making sure our city centres are vibrant and safe is really important to me and our local communities .”
Local charity Share and Repair , which aims to help local people save money and the planet by reducing waste and repairing and reusing items , opened a new shop at 3 York Buildings on George Street in August . The shop will house the charity ’ s ‘ library of things ’, carry out repairs and host ‘ how-to ’ workshops .
Lorna Montgomery , Chair of the Board of Trustees at Share and Repair , said , “ This is such an amazing space and location for us to attract people in and encourage practical action to improve our environment . Keeping items in use for longer and reducing the amount of waste that goes into landfill is essential to reducing our carbon emissions ."
Bath CAZ : Too early to tell ?
Several months on from the implementation of the Bath Clean Air Zone ( CAZ ) and businesses are still weighing up the true impact of the scheme .
In 2018 , Bath & North East Somerset Council agreed to introduce the CAZ to improve air quality in Bath , following orders from the Government to reduce the nitrogen dioxide levels in the city as quickly as possible .
The controversial scheme was launched on 15th March 2021 , charging high-emission taxis , buses and other large vehicles to travel through the city centre .
Whilst many businesses operating from , in and around the city centre have been affected , a range of other factors are obscuring the full impact of the CAZ .
The repairs to Cleveland Bridge , which commenced in late June , have closed part of a major route through the city . This has led to increased pressure on other routes through Bath including The Paragon , George Street and Queen Square .
Additionally , with full Covid restrictions only lifted in July and the decrease in traffic due to the school summer holidays , it is difficult to gain a valid insight into the success of the scheme .
Recently released statistics show that 30,000 to 40,000 vehicles enter the CAZ each day . Around 4 per cent of these vehicles are liable to pay the CAZ charges - a slight drop from the previously released number of 5 per cent .
Councillor Sarah Warren , Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Climate and Sustainable Travel , said , “ The fall in the number of noncompliant vehicles seen in the zone reflects a big effort among businesses nationally to respond to the introduction of Bath ’ s , Birmingham ’ s and soon Bristol and Portsmouth ’ s Clean Air Zones by upgrading vehicles and reorganising fleets .
“ While we won ’ t know the impact on air quality until the first three months of data is released to the public in the autumn , the fact that compliance is improving means we ’ re moving in the right direction .”
For businesses though , the charges have had an inevitable financial impact .
Jaimie Travers is owner of Trowbridge-based JT Distribution . He said , “ I run a leaflet distribution business which has a Bath route every month .
“ I have two vans , one new which is fine and one older which gets charged . I ’ ve had to juggle work around sometimes to make sure the newer van gets used when we are working inside the CAZ . This isn ’ t always very practical and does make life harder due to the vans being different sizes .
“ We have regular clients on all our routes making them full nearly all of the time , however , the Bath route is becoming increasingly hard to fill with half of its original advertisers saying they no longer want Bath covered and have specified it ’ s due to the CAZ . We ourselves are likely to stop the Bath route in the new year and concentrate on Wiltshire . With the new CAZ , impossible parking ( including ridiculous parking prices ) it ’ s not worth the hassle .
“ I fail to see any positives from the CAZ . The traffic seems just as bad , although we do have the closure of Cleveland Bridge at the moment which is making things worse . Pollution in the city may be down but it ’ s just moving the problem further out . Maybe revenue for the Council is a positive but I ’ ve certainly not heard anyone have a good word to say about it .”
Bath resident Ian Scarth , added , " I don ' t understand why the Council closed Cleveland Bridge straight after they introduced this charge . Taking money from companies then causing massive traffic jams that slowed down business traffic to a near standstill was totally unfair as company ' s battle to recover from Covid . On top of this the newly closed Milsom Street just made things worst . There needs to be better scenario planning within the Council ' s Road Management Department . The traffic jams generated will have had a very negative impact on our environment , thus defeating the objective ."
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THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2021 5