Introduction

1. Under the Lease Agreement (Schedule 8, Part 2) between Bath & North East Somerset Council (B&NES) and the Thermae Development Company Ltd (TDC), a Monitoring Panel of three is required to report to the Council's Cabinet on various aspects of the performance of the Spa. The key role of the Panel is to review TDC's marketing, customer service, maintenance and development plans, and to publish an Annual Report assessing its performance. The Monitoring Panel first met in October 2006 and consisted of one representative from B&NES (the Landlord), one from TDC (the Tenant), and an Independent Chairman.

2. This is the first Annual Report of the Bath Spa Monitoring Panel and covers the period August 2006 to July 2007.

3. The three natural springs in Bath, the Kings Spring, the Cross Spring and the Hetling Spring, deliver over 1 million litres of water each day. The Council developed four boreholes which provide hot spring water from a depth which is free from any microbial contamination:

The Stall Street Borehole, which intercepts the Kings Spring at a depth of 84 metres. 

   The Cross Bath Tube Well which was formed inside the Cross Spring under the   current Cross Bath.

The Cross Bath Borehole which intercepts the Cross Spring at adepth of 105 metres.

The Hetling Borehole, drilled in 1999 to a depth of 85 metres.

 4. The water from the natural springs and boreholes is monitored continuously for flow and temperature. The supply pipes, which can exceed 100 metres in length, are cleaned on a weekly basis. The quality and purity of the water is monitored via a weekly analysis at 17 different locations. The water emerges from the boreholes at a temperature between 41 and 46 degrees C, and has to be cooled before it can be used in the Spa. The iron and manganese content is also removed, otherwise the Spa pools (and the bathers) would become stained with the red deposit which can be seen in the Roman Baths.

5. A year of frequent monitoring of the water quality has demonstrated that the source water is of consistently good quality. It was essential to ensure that the required quality levels of the water were confirmed in order to demonstrate the complete safety of the water in the Spa pools. Nevertheless, regular testing of the water by independent laboratories is expensive, and now that a year's experience of the quality of the water has been collated, it may be possible to re-assess the frequency of the tests as long as the stringent standards in the Water Quality Safety manuals are met.

Report for the Year August 2006 to July 2007

12. During the first year of operation of the Spa, the Monitoring Panel met on six occasions to discuss progress regarding the development and running of the Spa. In addition, the Chairman and Panel Members made a number of unannounced visits to the Spa, and also inspected the water treatment systems.

13. The Spa opened on 7th August 2006, and the public response was overwhelming. For a few days a severe strain was imposed on the booking and information systems. However, this was quickly remedied by the addition of more telephone lines and the use of a “call centre” to deal with requests for information. As one would expect, several teething problems occurred during the first year of operation:

Software problems caused problems for visitors attempting to gain access on the internet. These have now been resolved.

The footbaths in the Steam Room were not reliable. It was difficult toremedy this problem due to thedifficulty of gaining access to the plumbing which controlled the footbaths. Repair will be costly and is subject to discussion with the designers of the footbaths.

The Steam Room walls suffered from poor paint adhesion, but this was temporarily controlled by stripping the surface layers. Discussions continue as to the best permanent solution. These and other minor teething problems were dealt with under the normal 12 months defect liability period and the usual landlord and tenant obligations. Only the problem with the footbaths has had any impact on customer enjoyment.

14. Regular meetings of the Spa Monitoring Panel ensured that it obtained a progressive view of the operation of the Spa and of the five factors which it needed to examine in order to arrive at the Satisfaction Index for the first year of operation.

15. The Panel received the first Customer Survey results in April 2007. The survey was conducted independently by South West Tourism on three days in February 2007, (Wednesday, Friday and Sunday). 150 face to face questionnaires were carried out at random, and completed as visitors left the Spa. The percentages shown below indicate the percentage of visitors who stated that they thought their experience was “good” or “very good”. The results for each of the five factors in the User Satisfaction Index (USI) were as follows:

a. Quality of Environment. (Max 30 points).

Overall quality of Spa Visit 91%

Value for money 78%

Changing facilities 74%

Rooftop Pool 94%

Steam Room 87%

Minerva Bath 91%

These results equate with a USI of 26 points.

b. Hygiene (max 30 points).

This included comments on water cleanliness in the pools, and the cleanliness of changing rooms, lifts and staircases.

Cleanliness 92% This result equates with USI of 28 points.

c. Information (max 10 points).

Ease of finding way around 68%

Presentation of Options 68%

Ease of entry 78%

Telephone reservation system 45%

Website presentation 78%

Marketing literature 82%

These results equate with a USI of 7 points.

Staff (max 20 points).

Helpfulness 92%

This result equate with a USI of 18 points.

e. Food and Beverage (max 10 points).

Service 87%

Choice 84%

These results equate with a USI of 9 points.

16. User Satisfaction Index. As outlined at Para 11 above, the User Satisfaction Index is produced byadding the points awarded for each of the five factors which contribute towards the Index.

For its first year, the Monitoring Panel considers that the Spa has achieved a Satisfaction Index of 88 points.

17. The Spa's record has had to be assessed over three different periods:

The first year of operations for the Spa; August 2006 to July 2007.

The first year of operations for TDC covers the period May 2006 to December 2006.

The first financial Company Report for TDC will cover the period January 2006 to December 2006.

18. TDC and B&NES have agreed to use TDC's financial year as the basis for reporting results. In its first (part) year of operation covering the period May 2006 to December 2006, B&NES were due to receive rents and water fees of some £19,000. However, this was offset by agreed expenditure for one off “setting up costs”, water monitoring and water sampling, and fees totalling £197,000. Thus there was a total net expenditure for B&NES of some £178,000. As each year progresses, income to the Council will increase, and therefore netexpenditure in support of the Spa should decrease.

19. The financial results for TDC for its first year of operation will be outlined in its annual Company Report which will cover the period January 2006 to December 2006, and will be available in November 2007.

REPORT OF THE BATH SPA MONITORING PANEL

20. In its first full year of operation (August 2006 to July 2007), over 130,000 visitors made use of the Spa, and this alone required the level of staff to be increased by 100%. Special arrangements are now available for those staying in hotels, B&B’s and self-catering cottages in and around Bath, and they have benefited from the increased numbers of visitors whowish to visit the Spa. The past Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce's Retail and Tourism committee considers that the Spa has helped restaurants improve takings over the year. And even Marks & Spencer's has gained benefits, as it is now one of the few M&S stores which stock swimming costumes outside the summer period!

21. The survey of users produced some interesting results. 18% of visitors were local residents, and 20% of those carried out a repeat visit. For visitors from outside Bath, 70% stated that the Spa was the main reason for their visit to Bath. 91% of all visitors interviewed for the survey were very pleased with their Spa experience. The facilities of the Spa are also used regularly by disabled visitors. In October 2007, arrangements were made for a remedial swimming group to gain sole access to the Spa for one hour, early one morning each week.

22. The Spa has also gained a number of awards:

It was judged by the Daily Telegraph to be its readers favourite Spa It was a finalist in the South West Excellence award for the Best Tourism Experience. It received the top award from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors for Regeneration in the South West of England.

23. Thermae Bath Spa opened on 7th August 2006, and has welcomed over 130,000 visitors in its first year. It has achieved a Satisfaction Index of 88 points for its first year. From the point of view of the customers it has clearly been a success, and has added a new dimension to Bath's attractions for visitors. It will be a year or two before possible peaks and troughs of visitor attendance can be accurately assessed, but what is already clear is that a high number of visitors come to Bath specifically to visit the Spa, there are high levels of user satisfaction, and there is a growing proportion of local residents who visit on a regular basis.

Alun Morgan, Chairman

Councillor Charles Gerrish: Bath & North East Somerset CouncilRepresentative

Henk Verschuur, Thermae Development Company Ltd.