Sharon Ball

St James investments are reported to have bought the former Bath Press site on the Lower Bristol Road for what is thought to be around £15million, it is understood that Tesco is also linked to this deal.

Local councillors will be seeking more details on this one as the main Bath Press building is not listed it could mean that the whole site could be developed which would cause concern for conservationists locally.

The Bath Press site closed last year with over 200 jobs being lost in the local community these jobs have not been replaced.

The Bath Press building over the last few months has become run down and it is important that something happens here and the site is tidied up in the short term, and I will be chasing the new owners to make sure that this happens. I also feel that this site needs to be used for employment purposes and will be looking to the developer to give us some assurances in this field.

The issue of shopping in this area is also a controversial one as the effects on other shopping outlets have to be considered, it should also be taken into account that Lidl supermarkets have expressed an interest in opening a store less than half a mile away on the former Herman Miller site.

I am pleased to see that St James investments have made comments in the local media and saying:

"It is too early to speculate about what might be appropriate for the site, but I am happy to say that we will be consulting with the community and stakeholders in forthcoming months.

"It is absolutely critical that we create the right proposals and this must not be rushed."

As a local councillor I will be certainly be holding them to just that and will also raise the issue with them about saving the buildings historic frontage.

Regular updates on proposals for this site will appear on this blog and if any other readers have had dealings with Tesco or St James investments then I would be pleased to receive their advice.