BANES Council votes to take action over derelict Bath building
Bath and North East Somerset Council will be appealing to the owner of the old King Edward’s School building on Broad Street to sell
Action will be taken over an “architecturally important, handsome” building left empty and deteriorating by its owner in the centre of Bath.
Bath and North East Somerset Council will be appealing to the owner of the old King Edward’s School building on Broad Street to sell, and could force them to sell or make repairs to the Grade II* listed building if needed.
Mark Roper, the council’s cabinet member for economic development, regeneration, and growth, told a meeting of the council’s cabinet on March 9: “This architecturally important, handsome property has sat empty for nearly 40 years. It is at risk. Visual inspections of the exterior show continued deterioration in its condition.”
The cabinet heard that the building is owned by Samuel Smith’s Brewery, who faced heavy criticism at the meeting.
Richard Samuel, the council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for resources, said: “The owners of this building are not looking after it and it is on the national risk register and that is a disgrace for a city like this.”
Luke Emmett, a public speaker at the meeting, told councillors: “Samuel Smith Brewery also owned two sites in Bristol, both of which they have left fall into decline: the Old Seaman’s Mission and a plot of land by the Arnolfini.”
But he added: “After the efforts of councillor Nicola Beech, who is a Labour cabinet member from Bristol, the Old Seaman’s Mission was finally put on the market for £550,000 in February this year — so there is hope.”
Mr Roper presented a plan to cabinet to “help bring the old school back to its former glory.”
He said: “We can do this by our preferred route of working with the owner Samuel Smiths Brewery — and yet again I appeal to them to engage with us.”
He added: “If Bristol can do it, so can we.”
But he said: “If all else were to fail, then ultimately there is the last resort of a compulsory purchase order. That, however, would be our least favoured option — and, in effect, a failure by the owners and the Council.”
Mr Samuel tabled an amendment to the plan, calling for the council to inspect and report on the condition of the building. He commented that he walked past the building every day and had seen it decline, adding: “It looks like it has been used as an ashtray.”
He also raised concerns about loose windows and the potential for damp. He said: “Depending on what the surveyor finds, there may be the case for a listed building repairs notice, and that is actually quite a serious intervention.”
The cabinet voted to approve the amendment and the plan.
Mr Emmett, in his comments, suggested how the building could be used if brought back into use. He said: “A few years back I had a conversation with local historian Kirsten Smith and we both noted that there isn’t currently a museum dedicated solely to the history of Bath, an all-encompassing museum of Bath.
“So perhaps taking back this building could present the opportunity to finally rectify that.”