Sharon Ball

I am delighted that the Royal United Hospital has been able to put up the extra cash to enable the new Special care baby unit to be built this year. My eldest son needed the old unit 28 years ago and I have given this new project my full support for some time now. The appeal still needs to raise another £1.5 million but this is a huge step forward.

The Government have axed £2.5 million of funding for a new hostel facility for homeless people in Bath.

 The Homes & Community Agency had demanded an ‘aspirational design’ considered by the Council to be far beyond the requirements of a new hostel facility and beyond what could be afforded. The result of this slowed the process to the point where the Homes & Community Agency decided the Council was unable to meet the timescale previously agreed.

 As part of the Places for Change Project, the Council explored a number of different sites for the new facility undertaking detailed viability assessments on two of these sites. The Government demanded the project be completed by mid-2011 which allowed three years from inception to completion.

Bath Lib Dem MP Don Foster has today written to the Chief Executive of Bath Tourism Plus, Robin Bischert, questioning the tendering process that led to the catering contract for the Bath Christmas Market being awarded to an Oxfordshire company.

Don has asked for a list of the criteria that were used to make the decision, as well as how much weighting was given to each issue. 

 In the letter, Don says, “[I am] extremely concerned about both the procedures adopted and the outcome.

“…what does seem very clear is that the key determinant in the decision was a financial one rather than - as I would have hoped - a range of issues including how the various proposals would best help the local economy.”

The group of Bath businesses who missed out on the contract have called into question the fairness of the tendering process.  Don has addressed this issue in his letter, saying,

“It has been suggested, for example, that while the local bid team were expected to provide full details of the menus to be available at each of the 6 chalets, Supreme Sausages bid did not include such detailed information.”

Bath MP Don has called for the Christmas Market to benefit local businesses, suppliers and people as, “After all, the purpose of the Christmas Market was to act as a driver for the local economy. If we merely get a lot of businesses in to the centre of Bath yet allow the jobs and supplies to come from outside Bath and the profits to flow out of the city, the benefit is minimal.”

The Lib Dem MP has also written to Supreme Sausages Managing Director Paul Garrish to ask for reassurances that local suppliers will be used as widely as possible, and that local people will be given the chance to staff the catering chalets.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee will consider the findings of their Inspectors who visited Bath last November today (Thursday 25th June 2009). The Inspectors came to assess the possible impact that new developments might have on the World Heritage Site.

The committee report states that Bath World Heritage site is ‘very well managed’ and major buildings are in a ‘very good state of conservation and are being closely monitored’. The committee concluded that the first phase of Bath Western Riverside does not have a negative impact on the World Heritage Site, and should proceed.  They include recommendations for the later stages of the development, whilst acknowledging in the report that Planning Permission has already been granted.

Bath and North East Somerset Council welcomes this report that is a clean bill of health for the World Heritage Site. The report gives a very open and extremely positive account of the way in which the World Heritage Site is managed. The Council was certain of an excellent outcome and is pleased there is no threat to the World Heritage Site status of Bath, nor has there ever been. The report reflects very positively on the efforts made by English Heritage, Bath Preservation Trust, and the Council before and during the November visit.”

The Council takes its guardianship of the World Heritage Site seriously and regards it as an inspiration to the city’s future. None of the points made by the report are matters affecting Bath’s inscription as a World Heritage Site. However, there are already plans in place to help respond positively to the suggestions made, like the development of the Public Realm and Movement Strategy and World Heritage education programme.