Council to vote on plans to turn Bath's old post office into Fashion Museum
Committee set to decide fate of £54m cultural project for city centre
Plans to turn a historic city centre building into Bath’s new Fashion Museum could be approved next week.
Bath and North East Somerset Council wants to turn the old post office building on the corner of New Bond Street and Broad Street into an iconic new home for the museum. The world-famous collection of clothing has been stored in a glove factory in Wiltshire since it had to leave its former home at the Assembly Rooms in 2022.
Councillors on the council’s planning committee will vote on whether to grant planning permission for the scheme on Wednesday May 13. The council’s planning officers have recommended that the plan should be approved, stating: “The benefits of the proposal are considered to decisively outweigh the identified harms.”
The plans would see galleries created upstairs, with a flexible exhibition space the 2005 extension to the rear. Another extension would be demolished to recreate the building’s old courtyard. A “large and welcoming foyer” would include a museum shop with a storefront on New Bond Street.
The council also plans to pedestrianise the end of Broad Street, turning it into a new public square. This could include outdoor seating from the planned cafe in the Fashion Museum foyer.
Although it is the council’s own plan, that does not guarantee that it will receive planning permission. The planning committee is independent of the council administration and has been known to turn down the council’s own applications before — perhaps most notable in the case of its plans for padel courts.
But the Fashion Museum plans have been widely supported by the experts consulted. There was only a single objection to the plan from one member of the public, who said it needed better public transport links.
Receiving planning permission is an essential step to being able to complete the project. The plan is for the new museum to open in 2030, if plans are approved.
The museum is set to cost £54m but the council has insisted it has a “strong grip” on the project. £37m of that is the cost of the renovation itself, while the £54m figure also includes the £8m cost of buying the building and the £7m plan for the new public square.
Money from the West of England Combined Authority, along with the National Lottery, and other grants and donations will cover almost half of the cost of the renovation — but the council itself will cover £20m of the project through borrowing. The profits of the Fashion Museum, once it is open, are planned to cover the cost of £17m of that borrowing, with the remaining £3m to be covered from the council’s operational budget.
Defending the cost in March, council cabinet member for resources Mark Elliott said: “To get an entirely new world-class museum including improvements to the surrounding public realm for £54m will be a great achievement.
“This is a project that will create a major new cultural and heritage asset for the people of Bath and North East Somerset of international importance. This is more than a museum: it’s a catalyst for civic pride, a driver for social and economic improvement, a major learning and skills development hub, a celebration of craftsmanship, a driver of the visitor economy, and a catalyst for the regeneration of the Milsom Quarter.”
The planning committee will meet at 10am on Wednesday May 13 in the council chamber in Bath’s Guildhall.