Support local and cherish what we have

LIKE many Bath residents, I look forward to the annual excitement of the Bath Christmas Market, when our city becomes a destination for hundreds of thousands of visitors. It is disappointing that the full, largescale Christmas market will not go ahead this year. However, Christmas is not cancelled!

We’re working closely with our partners to put on a fantastic programme of Bath at Christmas events and attractions, including festive stalls, traditional food and drink, winter illuminations, street entertainment and the return of the much-loved Victorian carousel. These will deliver a fantastic festive experience for residents and visitors alike, and a much-needed boost to the local economy

Bath at Christmas will help attract residents and visitors to the city to do their Christmas shopping and will put the focus very much on our local independent, hospitality and high street businesses.

Visit West, Bath Bid, Southgate and Milsom Place are all working together to publicise Bath at Christmas.

There has been a lot of commentary about the decision to scale back our Christmas offer this year. Not all the remarks have been made in good faith or with any knowledge of the facts.

Sadly, the double whammy of Covid and Brexit is having an enormous impact on recruitment and availability of staff. This is completely out of the council’s control and is affecting businesses across all sectors. I am told that in Bath for example, there are over 300 vacancies in hospitality and retail roles, that businesses can’t fill.

The pandemic has had a particularly devastating impact on the events industry, with many staff taking up alternative work. Brexit has made this worse.

The Bath Christmas Market is bigger, more popular and more complex than Christmas markets in other cities and it’s backed by an