Bath’s long-awaited Quays South development – which will create a much-needed new business centre for the city – has received planning permission despite the 11th-hour withdrawal of key partner, defence consultancy BMT.
Bath & North East Somerset Council (B&NES), which is leading the flagship development with regeneration specialists TCN, give the ambitious scheme the go-ahead this week. 
The move paves the way for Bath to take its place alongside other cities, such as Bristol and Oxford, in providing digital and innovation campus-type space for fast-growing tech and creative businesses.
The city’s lack of grow-on accommodation for these kinds of businesses has widely been viewed as a problem – with fears that the type of innovative firms that choose to start up in Bath are often forced to look outside the city when reach a certain size.
Design, engineering and risk management consultancy BMT, which had agreed to be the anchor occupier in the scheme, suddenly announced just ahead of the planning approval that it had revised its intentions and no longer wanted to be involved.
The firm, a significant employer in Bath with more than 500 staff in the city – many of them in highly skilled jobs – is already based in the South Quays area. It planned to build its regional headquarters on the site. Instead a 5,017 sq m Grade A office building of the kind not built in central Bath for decades will now be offered on the commercial property market.
B&NES divisional director, community regeneration, John Wilkinson said: “Despite the withdrawal of BMT from the scheme, demand is proving buoyant for the new offices and early discussions indicate that they will be snapped up.
“The office building provides a highly flexible opportunity which may suit one single large business or multiple smaller ones. It will be built to British Council of Office guidelines and has been designed with high sustainability standards.”
Work on the new office, along with a new bridge over the River Avon, will start this year, according to Mr Wilkinson, and be completed by the end of next year.
He said the scheme would be at the heart of the new Bath Quays Central Business District and linked to the council’s economic strategy which sets out plans to bring new jobs to the city “by encouraging the growth of local companies and inspiring business chiefs to bring their businesses here”.
The plans include:
· Refurbishment of the derelict Grade II listed Newark Works building on Lower Bristol Road into a 40,000 sq ft creative centre innovation and digital campus, providing workspace for creative businesses in affordable short-let commercial units
· A new, 5,017 sqm Grade A office building
· Two buildings for residential/specialist office use to accommodate up to 5,027 sq m of residential space and up to 193 sq m of retail space
· Completion of flood defence and river walls, new public spaces and landscaping.
London-based TCN is known for regenerating unloved buildings and creating innovative workspaces and is behind a number of schemes across the UK including five in Bristol – among them Temple Studios near Temple Meads railway station, which has been transformed into premier creative space.
CEO Richard Pearce said: “We look forward to continuing to work with B&NES to ensure the whole Bath Quays South regeneration is a great success for the region.”
TCN will regenerate Newark Works at the same time as the new office building is under construction.
The proposed Pioneer Building on the site will be aimed at supporting entrepreneurs who have outgrown the of University of Bath’s SETsquared Innovation Centre and The Guild Hub, offering them much-needed flexible and adaptive accommodation.
Innovation Centre deputy head Ali Hadavizadeh said: “Tech entrepreneurs and high-growth companies are vital to the future of the UK economy. Bath has always had a vibrant and thriving culture of innovation but without the right support these companies will not grow into global leaders.
“SETsquared has played a key role in supporting tech companies in the South of England, helping put Bath on the global innovation map.”
SETsquared’s sister operation in Bristol, which is based at its Engine Shed innovation hub, has played a key role in developing that city’s world-class reputation for its tech and creative sectors.
The Bath Quays South area has been derelict for around half a century but a number of attempts to develop it over that time have failed.
B&NES planning application was supported by Bath Chamber of Commerce and The Initiative in B&NES.
Executive director Ian Bell said: “I am delighted to see this development taking an important step towards its fruition. We have waited far too long to see a successful scheme on Bath Quays South.
“There is widespread concern among the business community that a lack of modern office space in the city will damage the local economy. This development will not only do something to help with that, but it will underline the fact that the council is determined to address the issue in a positive way.”
Despite its change of mind, BMT said it was still fully committed to remain in Bath.
