8.01 Bath is acknowledged to be an important tourist attraction,
with many of its visitors making short day-trips. In order that the
City should benefit more from its visitors, they need to be
encouraged to stay longer and use Bath as a base from which to
explore the region. A wider spread of visitors throughout the year
would make better use of existing visitor facilities.
8.02 POLICY V1 - THE CITY COUNCIL WILL ENCOURAGE TOURIST RELATED
DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS CONSISTENT WITH OTHER POLICIES IN THE PLAN
WHICH PROVIDE FOR AN EVEN DISTRIBUTION OF VISITORS THROUGHOUT THE
YEAR, AND WHICH ENCOURAGE VISITORS TO STAY LONGER.
8.03 In 1986, the City Council commissioned a study into the
'Economics of Tourism' which set out in broad terms the employment
and income derived from tourist activities. In 1994, a new Tourism
Committee was established by the City Council comprising elected
members and five representatives from the local tourism industry. A
Tourism Marketing Strategy was adopted by the City Council in
1995.
8.04 POLICY V2 - THE CITY COUNCIL WILL MONITOR TRENDS IN TOURISM
WITHIN BATH, HAVING REGARD TO:
i) THE EFFECTS ON CONSERVATION OBJECTIVES;
ii) THE DISTRIBUTION OF TOURISTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AND THE
LENGTH OF INDIVIDUAL VISITS;
iii) THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF VISITOR ACCOMMODATION;
iv) THE EFFECT OF PROVIDING NEW VISITOR ACCOMMODATION ON THE
STOCK OF PERMANENT HOUSING; AND
v) CONTRIBUTION TO THE ECONOMY AND LIFE OF THE CITY.
8.05 The Tourist Information Centre at Abbey Chambers, York
Street, Bath makes a valuable contribution to tourism services,
along with the numerous display boards and maps located in the most
frequented parts of the City Centre. However, the City Council is
seeking to improve the level of information at additional points
throughout the City, such as car parks, Park and Ride sites and the
Railway and Bus Stations. This is being brought forward along with
a rolling programme of new street furniture and new directional
finger post signs.
8.06 The promotion of the conference trade throughout the year
is a continuing aim of the City Council. Whilst there are now
several international hotel chains present in the City, this
provision could be further enhanced with the development of a
conference facility. Another pressing problem at the present time
is the provision of medium priced and economy accommodation for
people on limited budgets.
8.07 POLICY V3 - THE CITY COUNCIL WILL SUPPORT PROPOSALS FOR A
CONFERENCE FACILITY PROVIDING THAT THEY:
i) ARE OF A SCALE, HEIGHT, PROPORTION AND USE MATERIALS
APPROPRIATE TO THE CITY AND CONSERVATION AREA;
ii) TAKE PROPER ACCOUNT OF THE SURROUNDING LAND USES AND
ADJOINING PROPERTIES AND IN PARTICULAR LISTED BUILDINGS;
iii) DEMONSTRATE A HIGH STANDARD OF DESIGN AND DO NOT ADVERSELY
AFFECT THE TOWNSCAPE, INCLUDING VIEWS;
iv) WOULD HAVE ADEQUATE ACCESS, SERVICING AND PARKING
ARRANGEMENTS, AND NOT GENERATE UNACCEPTABLE LEVELS OF TRAFFIC;
AND
v) MAKE ADEQUATE PROVISION FOR ACCESS FOR PEOPLE WITH
DISABILITIES WITHIN SITE LAYOUTS, THROUGH THE PROVISION OF
ALLOCATED PARKING AREAS IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO BUILDINGS AND OTHER
PUBLIC ACCESS POINTS.
8.08 The City Council wishes to maintain Bath's position as an
internationally important tourist centre. Bath already attracts
large numbers of visitors, especially during the summer months, who
visit to see the wealth of attractions the City and surrounding
countryside has to offer. The Council takes a positive approach
towards promoting the City as a place to visit, and fully
recognises the importance of tourism to the local economy, both in
revenue and employment.
8.09 However, the City's ability to absorb increasing numbers of
visitors is limited without having a detrimental effect on the
unique historic identity of the City as well as its residential
amenity and character. It is important to secure a proper balance
between tourism demand on the one hand, and protecting permanent
residential accommodation and safeguarding the environment and
amenity of local residents on the other. It is also recognised that
tourists do not just come to see the architectural set pieces such
as the Abbey and the Pump Rooms, but are often equally attracted by
the wider experience of the historic environment.
8.10 The City Council places a high emphasis on protecting the
existing housing stock especially given the shortage of land
available for development in the City. In order to protect the
existing housing stock, the Council will endeavour to ensure that
tourist development does not result in a reduction in the number of
dwellings.
8.11 The protection of the residential character and amenity of
an area will be an important consideration in hotel, guest house
and bed and breakfast proposals. It is important to ensure that
tourist accommodation does not spread into areas that are
predominantly residential, unless it is on a small scale and
strictly controlled, and that the character of an area is not
adversely affected by parking requirements or unsightly extensions.
Competition for trade can result in a large number of
advertisements, and the provision of parking within front gardens
can involve demolition of garden walls and the elimination of
vegetation which can detract from the appearance of an area. The
cumulative impact on the appearance of the main approach roads may
have an adverse effect on first impressions of the City. Further,
noise generated by hotels, guest houses and bed and breakfast
accommodation, can be considerable and can result not only from
activities within the premises but from people and vehicle related
activity. This will be taken into account when determining
applications.
8.12 The degree of control which the Council will seek to
exercise over the number of bedrooms and guests will depend on the
size of the property. A larger house in single family occupancy,
which is able to provide adequate off-street parking within its
curtilage, or has an ample road frontage with on-street parking,
may be considered suitable for use as an hotel or guest house with
an unspecified number of bedrooms, provided submitted plans show
part of the property reserved as one or more private residences. In
the case of smaller houses in single family occupancy where it is
proposed to use vacant bedrooms for bed and breakfast, the Council
will usually seek to restrict the impact of the use on the
neighbourhood in terms of noise and increased on-street parking, by
strictly limiting the number of guests and requiring the proprietor
to continue to live in the house.
8.13 POLICY V4 - THE CITY COUNCIL WILL NORMALLY GRANT PLANNING
PERMISSION FOR THE USE OF EXISTING PREMISES AS A HOTEL, GUEST
HOUSE, OR TO PROVIDE BED AND BREAKFAST ACCOMMODATION WHERE:
i) THE DEVELOPMENT WOULD NOT BE DETRIMENTAL TO THE CHARACTER AND
APPEARANCE OF THE SURROUNDING AREA;
ii) THE DEVELOPMENT WOULD NOT BE LIKELY TO HAVE A DETRIMENTAL
EFFECT ON THE AMENITIES OF THE OCCUPIERS OF NEARBY PROPERTIES;
iii) THERE WOULD BE NO ADVERSE EFFECT ON ROAD SAFETY RESULTING
FROM VEHICULAR OR PEDESTRIAN MOVEMENTS OR PARKING GENERATED BY THE
DEVELOPMENT;
iv) IN THE CASE OF LARGE RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES, A SUBSTANTIAL
PRIVATE RESIDENTIAL UNIT IS RETAINED, AND ADEQUATE OFF-STREET
PARKING WHICH DOES NOT DETRACT FROM THE APPEARANCE OF THE PROPERTY
IS MADE PERMANENTLY AVAILABLE; AND
v) IN THE CASE OF SMALL RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES, THE PROPOSAL
RELATES TO A SPECIFIED NUMBER OF BEDROOMS AND RETAINS SATISFACTORY
RESIDENTIAL ACCOMMODATION WHICH IS NOT TO BE OCCUPIED INDEPENDENTLY
OF THE PROPOSED USE.
8.14 Many visitors, whether day trippers or those on a tour,
come to the City by coach. The City Council has enlarged and
refurbished the coach park at Avon Street. However, this facility
is still insufficient to accommodate all the coaches which visit
the City, and this has resulted in coaches setting down and
collecting passengers in other parts of the City, as well as
waiting coaches parking on the streets.
8.15 Regular sightseeing bus trips take place throughout the
year. Some companies operate a limited number of tours per day :
part walking, part bus ride; and 'open top' buses operate scheduled
services between the main tourist attractions, including Prior Park
and the American Museum at Claverton.
8.16 Some residential areas are being disturbed by sight-seeing
tourists' coaches driving through and parking in residential
streets, and these areas should be afforded some protection,
particularly at the height of the season. The City Council is also
aware of the potential disturbance caused by 'broadcasts'
associated with 'open-top' buses, and seeks the co-operation of
operators in finding a solution.
T16 8.17 POLICY V5 - IN DEVISING TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT PROPOSALS
FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF TOURIST TRAFFIC AND COACH OPERATORS, THE CITY
COUNCIL WILL HAVE PARTICULAR REGARD TO PROTECTING THE CHARACTER OF
THE HISTORIC CITY WHILE PROVIDING ADEQUATE ACCESSIBILITY TO MEET
THE NEEDS OF TOURISTS AND TOURIST OPERATORS, AND WILL INCLUDE
MEASURES TO PROTECT THE AMENITIES
