Manifesto

BATH ALLIANCE FOR TRANSPORT AND PUBLIC REALM

A coalition of Bath stakeholders to achieve excellence in transport and public spaces

Aviva Investors | Bath and Bristol Area Trams Association | Bath BID | Bath Bridge | Bath City Football Club | Bath Festivals | Bath Independent Hospitality Association | Bath Preservation Trust | Bath Spa University | Bath Rugby | British Land | Curo | First West of England | Kaleidoscope Hotels | NHS B&NES, Swindon & Wilts ICB | NHS RUH | St John’s Foundation | SU Bath | University of Bath | Walk Wheel Cycle Trust | Wessex Water

Bath Transport Manifesto

The Bath Alliance for Transport and Public Realm is an association of 21 major employers, institutions, businesses, housing providers, residents, public transport providers, universities and other custodians of Bath representing a spectrum of transport interests across the city. Our members share a common goal of helping to resolve the city’s transport problems.

  1. The people living in, working in, and responsible for Bath today have inherited a glorious legacy from our predecessors, which is reflected in the city’s designation as a World Heritage Site. World Heritage Sites are “places of Outstanding Universal Value which are so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and to be of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity”*.  As Bath’s current custodians, we all have a duty to make it one of the great small cities. This means working with aspiration and confidence to make it prosperous, cohesive and functional. Excellent transport and an outstanding public realm lie at the heart of realising Bath’s full potential, for the people who live and work in it, commute to it, or visit.
  2. Bath suffers from high levels of traffic congestion, which prevents free movement of pedestrians, deters cyclists, blocks buses, imposes economic costs and spoils the city experience for residents, workers and visitors. Air pollution, largely caused by vehicles, has reduced but remains significant, harming the health of residents, workers and visitors, and damaging the historic buildings. Vehicles in Bath cause a significant amount of the city’s carbon emissions, contributing to the Climate Emergency. The city’s public realm suffers from long term neglect, degrading the urban environment and impeding the enjoyment of public spaces. Bath has a dysfunctional transport system, with over-reliance on private cars, inadequate public transport alternatives, and a free-for-all for commercial vehicles.
  3. Bath is falling far short of its potential. A bold initiative is needed to reduce overall traffic volumes in the city, address the problems of traffic congestion, air pollution and carbon emissions and degraded public realm, whilst reducing car-dependency. This will transform Bath into a place that is truly worthy of its World Heritage Site designation. Many cities elsewhere have shown what can be achieved.
  4. The starting point is to have a vision for the city which is specific and concrete in terms of transport and the public realm – how the city should actually look, feel and function in five or ten years’ time. This vision applies to all of Bath but should start with the city centre, which contains most of the city’s economic and social activity as well as the cultural and historic places that visitors come to see.
  5. The Alliance Vision is of Bath as: “A beautiful city in a green setting, with vibrant public spaces, a historic centre free of all but essential traffic**, clean air, good mobility and excellent transport infrastructure.”
  6. The policy framework for Bath transport already exists in B&NES Council’s Journey to Net Zero (JNZ) transport plan.  The WECA Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) serves as Bath’s policy for Public Transport.  WECA’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) provides funding for local transport networks.  A Clean Air Plan (CAP) was introduced in 2021 and NO2 levels have dropped (just) below the legal limit (see para 3 above).
  7. This Manifesto proposes a set of essential transport initiatives, grouped within eight broad themes in the Annex, to be implemented through the JNZ, BSIP and CRSTS. These are interconnected and mutually supportive. Although these initiatives must be planned now as a package they will be delivered over an extended period of time. Some of these initiatives require significant funding but many of them do not. Some actually provide revenue to fund other transport initiatives.
  8. Traffic movement is closely related to land use.  It is most important that the transport implications of proposed new developments are fully considered.

Updated May 2025

*Bath’s World Heritage Site Management Plan – 2025

**e.g. Deliveries, cleansing, buses, taxis, key business needs, the disabled, and residents for access to their homes.

Annex

Proposed Initiatives                                                     

Public Realm: Deliver the excellent 2010 Public Realm and Movement Strategy

  • Rebalance the Movement Hierarchy towards walking & cycling.
  • Refresh the Public Realm.
  • Create a coherent street lattice in the centre.
  • Reclaim public spaces in the centre for people.
  • Follow B&NES’ Public Realm and Movement Strategy Pattern Book for consistent, high-quality design.

Traffic Movement: Design and deliver a new movement system that excludes most traffic from the centre

  • Design integrated traffic flow throughout Bath for all modes.
  • Exclude through traffic from centre with radial-only entry and exit.
  • Hierarchy of roads: Through | Radial | Access | Neighbourhood.
  • Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (‘Liveable Neighbourhoods’) throughout Bath, including the centre, respecting the need to avoid increasing traffic outside these areas.
  • Road User Charging scheme as successor to the CAZ.
  • A joined-up approach to respond to the barriers visitors face when accessing Bath.
  • Consideration of car-pooling/sharing.

Air Quality and CO2: Deliver the Bath Clean Air Plan (CAP) and reduce CO2 emissions

  • Keep air pollution below the legal limit throughout Bath.
  • Meet climate emergency target for reduced CO2 emissions from transport.

Parking: Deliver a new Parking Plan that reduces congestion

  • Controlled parking zones over all of Bath.
  • Plan parking capacity by year and by location with no aggregate increase from 2020.
  • Shift parking capacity from centre to P&Rs over time.
  • Deliver east of Bath parking solution and expand existing P&Rs.
  • Use parking pricing policy to keep P&Rs full, discourage car ownership and increase revenue.

Public Transport: Make buses a competitive alternative to cars

  • Redesigned bus network with more frequent and reliable bus services to compete with car journeys; including direct services to the larger employers and more early morning commuter buses from rural areas.
  • WECA use of powers available under the Bus Service Act 2017, including consideration of franchising.
  • Bus priority on all corridors, reallocating some kerbside parking space.
  • Operating subsidy to allow dynamic, demand-responsive affordable fares that fill the buses.
  • Real time passenger information and contactless payments.
  • All green buses by 2030.
  • MetroBus (or ‘MetroTram’) on Bath-Bristol corridor.

Walking & cycling: Deliver comprehensive Walking and Cycling Plans

  • Redesign the Bath components of the WECA Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan.
  • Secure better provision for walking by adding to Local Plan proposals to improve segregated footpaths network over the years, as sites come up for redevelopment.
  • Make the networks relevant, functional and safe.
  • Reallocate some kerbside parking space to dedicated cycle lanes.
  • Secure cycle parking facilities in central residential areas, at major transport hubs and near shops.
  • eBike and eScooter sharing, rental and purchase schemes.

Commercial Vehicles: Minimise the impact of commercial vehicles on the city

  • Coaches, inter-city buses and through HGVs excluded from centre.
  • Coach drop off at periphery of centre.
  • Coach parking at all P&Rs.
  • Deliveries scheme in centre with time and vehicle size restrictions.

Travel Plans: Link institutional travel plans with JNZ.

  • Bath Enterprise Area
  • RUH
  • Universities
  • Schools
  • B&NES Council.