Hopes for revival of iconic street
Traders on Milsom Street in Bath said that the street may have lost some of its “sparkle” - but are adamant it is fighting back.
In 2010 the street was voted Britain’s Best Fashion Street in the Google Street View Best Street Awards.
It has a long history of being the go-to and best street in Bath for fashion, homeware retailers, independents and everything in between, but in recent times, the area has taken a hit.
Empty units break up the flow of the otherwise stunning shops, creating a somewhat disjointed feel. The bus gate, which prohibits car traffic going down the street between 10am to 6pm, can mean the street appears quiet.
The street has taken another blow in the scaling down of Bath Christmas Market, which used to see sheds line the road and crowds swarm the city.
Traders new and old say things are different now, and it is not as pristine as it was ten years ago in its heyday, but they maintain a few simple changes could see the street restored to its former glory.
To help this, the West of England Combined Authority has developed a ‘masterplan’ for the area with £434,000 being put towards regeneration of Milsom Street Quarter.
The plan acknowledges: “The Milsom Street area of Bath is experiencing an accelerating decline in retail demand associated with the shift to online shopping and changing consumer habits, which has been heightened as a result of the Covid pandemic.”
In the meantime, Sue Sitton, of Inside India Jane, the designer interior shop which has been a staple of the high street for many years, said the street had “lost its sparkle” and that the bus gate was affecting trade.
She said that customers were put off buying larger pieces because they could not take them home with them easily. The shop doesn’t have a back entrance so anyone wanting something has to take it out the front door.
She said: “It’s a logistical nightmare, people can’t pick up what they want if it’s larger and they can’t carry it. We have to sometimes help them up the street to the loading bay where they can take it, but it is not convenient. Thankfully we’ve been doing well anyway.”
She added: “If they pedestrianised the street fully that would have an impact on us for delivers. I’m not sure what the answer is.
“Now the market is not going ahead why can’t those empty units be given to local businesses who were planning on going, that would be good.”
Fat Giraffe Gifts is a newcomer on the block having only opened in May this year.
Run by Josh Bevan, 29, and Sarah Hulme, 38, the shop offers the “world’s finest handicraft giftware” with all of the objects made by artists in Bali, close to where the couple used to live.
Mr Bevan said: “We opened in May and after the lockdown people did slowly come back out and in June, July we were busy.
“We’re a seasonal shop really,
summer and Christmas so we’re in an autumnal lull but it is gradually building back up.”
Mr Bevan said they had picked Milsom Street as the place to open because of its long history of being one of the best streets in Bath but that it had been a blow to hear the Christmas market would be scaled back.
He said: “In part we picked this slot because of the market, because it sort of starts here with the sheds leading down into town and we wanted the crowds and the Welsh to come over.”
Natasha Woodhead, store manager of Oka, the luxury furniture and accessories shop on 26-27 Milsom Street (inset), said: “For us, since July 4 post-lockdown we have been doing really well. I think we’ve been able to capitalise on the fact people went from only being home in the evenings to being home 24/7 and wanting to make their spaces better.
“The footfall has been trickier to manage, shoppers don’t always come up here, if it wasn’t for the restaurants on George Street and the bus stop I think it would be worse and it’s good to have The Ivy close by.
“It’s sad it is not quite what it used to be. I think perhaps a few
more food places would be good.”
Ms Woodhead went on to say it was a shame the Christmas market had been effectively cancelled. “It helped to make Bath feel so festive.”
Vinegar Hill’s assistant manager Christina Lourenco said the shop had been doing “very well”, but the street did present some challenges.
She said: “It is very difficult deliveries wise and for customers who want to pick up their goods.
“It can be off putting to them when we say they can’t draw up outside and take it away there and then.”
She continued: “I do like the idea of it being pedestrianised though but the logistics are tricky, I’m not sure how they could solve it. I think that only allowing deliveries until 10am is too early, perhaps the time of the bus gate could be altered - a half day even.
She added that whilst it was a shame there was no Christmas Market, she was personally relieved as she is still very cautious about the virus for herself and her staff.
Ali and son Kei Gabucci, of Gabucci menswear, which has been on Milsom Street for 30 years, said they felt the bus gate needed better signs.
Mr Gabucci said: “I was worried when they introduced it that the buses would constantly block our window because we are right by the bus stop but actually we find people do come in here straight away.
“The window is our best salesman after all but it seems to have worked out for our benefit.”