Living heritage
The principle of 'Living Heritage' is established under
Defining
Bath's DNA.
Context
A plan showing Bath's main area of heritage
sites (shaded yellow) with red circles showing key museums and
cultural attractions
Bath’s heritage offer includes breathtaking, world-famous
architecture and urban spaces including the Royal Crescent, King’s
Circus and Queen Square; Pulteney Bridge and Great Pulteney Street;
Bath Abbey and the Roman Baths.
It also accommodates an impressive variety of museums and
galleries, the city’s principal shopping area and a range of
offices, hotels and guest houses, cafes, restaurants, pubs and
bars.
The densest and richest mix of uses is situated within the
boundary of the former Roman and medieval city. This merges with
the planned streets and spaces of the 18th-century extension to the
north and east which are predominantly residential with a
finer-grain mix of other uses.
Despite this array of attractions and the city’s success as a
visitor destination, Bath currently fails to articulate a
compelling and cohesive story about its exceptional attractions as
a World Heritage site.
Confusion often begins before arrival with the plethora of
uncoordinated images and messages that Bath sends out to the world
via a range of tourism media. Then, on arrival in the city centre,
there is a lack of clear information and way-finding systems to
reveal the city and orientate and guide visitors towards their
primary areas of interest.
Consequently, many of Bath’s attractions sit passively, awaiting
discovery. A number are also in need of reinvestment to refresh,
update and animate their appeal in order to engage a wider and
younger audience.
Bath has an internationally recognised brand which speaks
strongly of history and tradition. The city’s remarkable heritage
must continue to be promoted and celebrated. But Bath must
also talk of the present day and the future, offering diversity,
choice and opportunities for increased interaction and
participation.
Bath has an exciting opportunity to retain its essential
character, but to reinvent itself with a contemporary twist.
Proposals
Bath as a World Heritage Site
Bath often fails to explain the importance of its UNESCO World
Heritage Site status and its outstanding universal values to local
people and visitors.
The city needs to articulate an engaging and cohesive story of
its past and develop new ways of interpreting the relevance of its
history in a 21st-century context. A series of options for
improving the interpretation of the city's heritage are
currently being developed.
Legible city
For Bath to improve its marketing and communication to the world
it needs a strong visual identity or brand that encapsulates and
expresses the city’s ‘DNA’, its history and its future potential.
This should be expressed and promoted through a range of media.
One of the most effective ways of interpreting and revealing
Bath’s cultural identity, heritage and current offer would be
through a state-of-the-art explanation, way-finding and signage
system.
This and other elements of legibility are being explored further
as part of the forthcoming Public Realm and Movement Strategy.
Uplifted public realm
There is a significant opportunity to enhance the attractiveness
and value of Bath’s heritage buildings and the commercial success
and vitality of the city centre through investment in a beautiful,
simple, high-quality and pedestrian-friendly public realm.
This could then be animated by a managed programme of
appropriate activities to encourage a stronger sense of enjoyment
and public life.
See also
Public Space and Public Life.
More people living in the city centre
As Bath begins to develop new sites for offices and other forms
of employment, this will create opportunities to convert some of
the existing used and unused office stock above ground-floor shops
and restaurants in the historic core to residential apartments.
More residents living in the centre of Bath would help animate
the city’s streets and spaces and contribute to a safer and more
balanced city centre.
National centre for conservation skills
In recent years, leading organisations in the heritage sector
have predicted a national shortage of conservator skills within the
United Kingdom.
Acknowledging Bath’s World Heritage Site status and the
expertise of existing local conservation training providers, an
opportunity exists to explore the concept of a national centre of
excellence for conservations skills in Bath.
With the prominence of the climate change agenda, such a centre
might also combine traditional conservator skills with new
approaches to energy efficiency in historic buildings. This
proposal requires further testing with local and regional training
providers and relevant national bodies.