Bath’s historic Queen Square is getting a make-over this autumn. B&NES is going to spend £100,000 restoring paths, reinstating gateways, refurbishing benches and enhancing the boules squares – and it could be the start of a bigger intervention to come.
Cllr David Dixon, Cabinet member for Neighbourhoods, said:
‘Queen Square is an iconic historic space, but its tired and run down. Bath and North East Somerset Council’s injection of £100,000 will reverse this slow decline, restoring the landscape, improving accessibility and enabling it to return to a focus of Bath’s community life and a place to be proud of.’
Queen Square was developed by John Wood the Elder between 1729 and 1736. It was the first of the great sequence of urban spaces that culminated with the Royal Crescent some 42 years later.
The central garden was originally divided into four planted sections divided by gravel walks. The obelisk was erected by Beau Nash in 1738 in honour of Frederick, Prince of Wales.
The planned renovation work is scheduled to start after the summer break and be completed by Christmas. One of the short-term plans is to enable temporary road closures for events.
Long term this might lead to a re-routing of traffic on a more permanent basis to re-connect the square with the city.
The Council is seeking the views of the people of Bath and you can find out more via www.bathnes.gov.uk/queensquareproject or if you have suggestions or questions you can email vaughan_thompson@bathness.gov.uk
