Issue - meetings

The Bath Christmas Market transferred from Visit Bath to the Council in January 2021.

With the expected lifting of social distancing measures in June, or at some point shortly after,  the Council now needs to decide whether to proceed with planning and delivery of Bath Christmas Market in 2021, with the uncertainty over the pandemic and variants of concern entering the UK.

The Bath Christmas Market provides the gateway to an annual economic uplift for multiple commercial sectors such as accommodation, retail, hospitality and tourism in the B&NES region. The market gives a platform to local charities and supports community groups through a wide range of projects and local initiatives. 

Councillor Dine Romero introduced the report by reading out the following statement:

‘We need decide tonight whether to proceed with planning, and delivery of the Bath Christmas Market 2021.

As you will recall last year’s Christmas market was cancelled due to the rapid increase in cases without the backstop of a mass vaccination program. Uncertainty still remains due to the increases in case numbers, however this increase must be considered alongside the fact that the majority of adults are now being vaccinated, and there are low-far the cases are less severe cases and people are not ending up in our hospitals. Be assured, I am not underplaying the severity of the pandemic, and will along with the local SAGE be keeping an eye on the situation and changes will be made as required.

However, if we are to have the Christmas Market, we need to decide that now. We are already about 4 months behind where we would be in a normal year, if you can remember what that was like!

I am hopeful that all on cabinet will see that we must decide to proceed. The economic wellbeing of the city, and its traders depends on us making the right decision now.

I know some have asked to move the market to Victoria Park for example, but if we did that then the extra business for our hard pressed local traders will be lost, following such a year this could be death knell for many who are hanging on to survival by their fingertips.

The market is ranked in the top 10 of Europe, and attracts 400k visitors each year, with an estimated spend of £32.5 million in 2019. Half of which is spent elsewhere in the city, on food drink, entertainment, travel and other shopping. The market directly or indirectly supports about 500 actual jobs.

We know that greater proportion of visitors to the market are local, with perhaps 40% coming from further afield. But we are not expecting as many visitors this as that not least as we will not be marketing internationally.

As in previous years we will be asking all to travel sustainably, to use the P&Rs, or public transport wherever possible. This will also be the most sustainable market so far, we are clamping down on the use of single use plastics, relishes etc won’t be offered in plastic sachets, LED lights will be used throughout, reliance on fossil fuels on site will replaced by mains fed electricity points.

The market itself will have an increased footprint, while the number of chalets is being reduced from 205 to 161, with spaces built into the arrangement, and the footprint of the overall market will increase. This will help manage social distancing, and help people stay safe.

The high numbers of visitors can be inconvenient for our residents, but we have a range offers to help. These include a residents-only pre-market event, advertised quieter times for those with autism or who appreciate less bustle,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26