It may have decided it couldn’t afford the time or money to continue with organising the city’s annual lantern procession but Bath’s Holburne Museum has now got itself involved in another light show.
It’s being consulted by the design company behind radical new proposals to enliven and enhance the public spaces within the Southgate Shopping Centre.
One aspect of the new design would involve a ‘sculptural lantern element’ – a community artwork ‘ to get input into the words and prose that could be used with the lantern design to represent the local area.’ The Holburne has been approached to ‘begin the dialogue on getting the community involved in this artwork.’
These details form part of a planning application that has been submitted to B&NES which is aimed at enhancing the large central space within the SouthGate Centre and in Brunel Square – alongside Bath Spa Station – encouraging footfall with both permanent and temporary ‘interventions.’
In documents you can view on line the application explains:
‘SouthGate already hosts a successful series of events throughout the year, connecting in with the City’s busy festival programme.
The events hosted within Brunel Square and the colourful umbrellas, for example, show how contemporary, playful interventions within the public realm make a big impact on visitors arriving from the train station, showcasing the vibrant character of the City of Bath.
The proposed public realm placemaking initiatives aim to continue to foster these popular seasonal events whilst also enhancing the Centre’s public realm during ‘every day’ modes when there are no events on.
The proposals look at the spaces and streets as a key journey from the train station to the City Centre, which SouthGate forms a key part of.
By enlivening SouthGate’s public realm through a series of temporary and permanent interventions, the aim is to enhance the experience for people as they pass through and dwell within SouthGate.’
The big central area within SouthGate would be transformed.
‘The Place’ is the central pedestrianised space at the heart of the SouthGate Centre. The intention is to create a ‘permanent’ Pocket Park to enhance the quality of this public space during ‘everyday’ mode.
There will also be a more exible space for events and for circulation, working in tandem with SouthGate’s events calender.
Within this exible space, it is proposed that planting / seating platforms populate this space when no events are on. These are designed to be de-constructed and re-located when the spaces is required for events to ensure that the space is a multi-functional and exible as possible.
Proposals involve tying in with city festival events so that objects other than just coloured umbrellas can be used in the centre’s shopping avenues. There will be room for music and even cinema.
Bath Newseum is actively seeking a spokesperson to tell us more.
