Bath and North East Somerset

History

Bath and North East Somerset was created in 1996, as part of larger reforms to English local government that took place in the 1990s.

The boundaries of what is now the unitary authority area were first defined in 1974, when the non-metropolitan county of Avon was created from the county boroughs of Bristol and Bath and parts of the administrative counties of Gloucestershire and Somerset. Avon was divided into six non-metropolitan districts including Wansdyke and Bath, the two of which together covered the same area as the current unitary authority area.

Avon and its districts were abolished in 1996, under the provisions of the Avon (Structural Change) Order 1995. The same order established Bath and North East Somerset by creating a new non-metropolitan district and non-metropolitan county with the same area as the former districts Wansdyke and Bath.

Geography

Bath and North East Somerset covers an area of 136 sqmi, of which two thirds is green belt. It stretches from the outskirts of Bristol, south into the Mendip Hills and east to the southern Cotswold Hills and Wiltshire border. Surrounding local government areas include Bristol, North Somerset, Somerset, South Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire.

The city of Bath is the principal settlement in the district, but B&NES also covers Keynsham, Midsomer Norton, Radstock and the Chew Valley. Bath lies on the River Avon and its tributaries such as the River Chew and Midford Brook cross the area.

In the west of the area the Chew Valley consists of the valley of the River Chew and is generally low-lying and undulating. It is bounded by higher ground ranging from Dundry Down to the north, the Lulsgate Plateau to the west, the Mendip Hills to the south and the Hinton Blewett, Marksbury and Newton St Loe plateau areas to the east. The River Chew was dammed in the 1950s to create Chew Valley Lake, which provides drinking water for the nearby city of Bristol and surrounding areas. The lake is a prominent landscape feature of the valley, a focus for recreation, and is internationally recognised for its nature conservation interest, because of the bird species, plants and insects.

To the north of Bath are Lansdown, Langridge and Solsbury hills. These are outliers of the Cotswolds.

Governance

The unitary authority area is governed by Bath and North East Somerset Council. As a single-tier local authority, it is responsible for most local government functions including local planning and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health, markets and fairs, refuse collection, recycling, cemeteries, crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism. It is also responsible for education, social services, libraries, main roads, public transport, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning. Fire, police and ambulance services are provided jointly with other authorities through the Avon Fire and Rescue Service, Avon and Somerset Constabulary and the South Western Ambulance Service.

The current council consists of 59 councillors. The political division after the 2023 Bath and North East Somerset Council election was:

|votes % = 42.5% |plus/minus = 1.2% |seats % = 69.5% |votes % = 14.5% |plus/minus = 1.9% |seats % = 8.5% |votes % = 5.9% |plus/minus = 0.5% |seats % = 8.5% |votes % = 24.1% |plus/minus = 0.9% |seats % = 5.1% |votes % = 13.0% |plus/minus = 3.7% |seats % = 5.1%

Parishes

The city of Bath is unparished. The fifteen electoral wards of Bath are: Bathwick, Combe Down, Kingsmead, Lambridge, Lansdown, Moorlands, Newbridge, Odd Down, Oldfield Park, Southdown, Twerton, Walcot, Westmoreland, Weston and Widcombe & Lyncombe. These wards are co-extensive with the city, except that Newbridge includes also two parishes beyond the city boundary.

Demography

170,238 people live in the area and approximately half live in the City of Bath making it 12 times more densely populated than the rest of the area.

According to the UK Government's 2001 census, Bath, together with North East Somerset, which includes areas around Bath as far as the Chew Valley, has a population of 169,040, with an average age of 39.9 (the national average being 38.6). According to the same statistics, the district is overwhelmingly populated by people of a white ethnic background at 97.2% – significantly higher than the national average of 90.9%. Other non-white ethnic groups in the district, in order of population size, are multiracial at 1%, Asian at 0.5% and black at 0.5% (the national averages are 1.3%, 4.6% and 2.1%, respectively).

The district is largely Christian at 71%, with no other religion reaching more than 0.5%. These figures generally compare with the national averages, though the non-religious, at 19.5%, are significantly more prevalent than the national 14.8%. Although Bath is known for the restorative powers of its waters, and only 7.4% of the population describe themselves as "not healthy" in the last 12 months, compared to a national average of 9.2%; only 15.8% of the inhabitants say they have had a long-term illness, as against 18.2% nationally.

Economy

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of North and North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire at current basic prices published by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.

Settlements

The major towns and villages in the district are:

• Bath
• Bathampton
• Peasedown
• Keynsham
• Midsomer Norton
• Paulton
• Radstock
• Saltford
• Chew Magna

Transport

Bath is approximately 12 mi south-east of the larger city and port of Bristol, to which it is linked by the A4 road, and is a similar distance south of the M4 motorway. Bath and North East Somerset is also served by the A37 and A368 trunk roads, and a network of smaller roads. Bath is also 12 mi south-west of Chippenham, and 8 mi south-west of Corsham.

Bath is connected to Bristol and the sea by the River Avon, navigable via locks by small boats. The river was connected to the River Thames and London by the Kennet & Avon Canal in 1810 via Bath Locks; this waterway – closed for many years, but restored in the last years of the 20th century – is now popular with narrow boat users. Bath is on National Cycle Route 4, with one of Britain's first cycleways, the Bristol & Bath Railway Path, to the west, and an eastern route toward London on the canal towpath. Although Bath does not have an airport, the city is about 18 mi from Bristol Airport, which may be reached by road or by rail via Bristol Temple Meads station.

Bath is served by the Bath Spa railway station (designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel), which has regular connections to London Paddington, Bristol Temple Meads, Cardiff Central, Swansea, Exeter St Davids, Plymouth and Penzance (see Great Western Main Line), and also Westbury, Warminster, Frome, Salisbury, Southampton Central, Portsmouth Harbour and Brighton (see Wessex Main Line). Services are provided by Great Western Railway. There are suburban stations on the main line at Oldfield Park and Keynsham which have a limited commuter service to Bristol. Green Park station was once operated by the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway, whose line (always steam driven) climbed over the Mendip Hills and served many towns and villages on its 71 mi run to Bournemouth; this example of an English rural line was closed by the Beeching cuts in March 1966, with few remaining signs of its existence, but its Bath station building survives and now houses a number of shops.

The 2004 Bristol/Bath to South Coast Study was commissioned as a result of the de-trunking in 1999 of the A36/A46 trunk road network from Bath to Southampton.

Media

The area is served by BBC West and ITV West Country broadcasting from the Mendip TV transmitter.

Local radio stations are:

• BBC Radio Bristol on 94.9 FM, 103.6 FM and 104.6 FM
• BBC Radio Somerset on 95.5 FM
• Heart West on 96.3 FM, 102.6 FM and 103.0 FM
• Greatest Hits Radio Bath & The South West on 107.9 FM
• Greatest Hits Radio Bristol & The South West on 107.2 FM
• Hits Radio Bristol and Bath on 106.5 FM
• Somer Valley FM on 97.5 FM (serving Midsomer Norton, Radstock and Westfield)

Education

State-funded schools are organised within the district of Bath and North East Somerset. A review of Secondary Education in Bath was started in 2007, primarily to reduce surplus provision and reduce the number of single-sex secondary schools in Bath, and to access capital funds available through the government's Building Schools for the Future programme.

The city contains one further education college, Bath College, and several sixth forms as part of both state, private, and public schools. In England, on average in 2006, 45.8% of pupils gained 5 grades A-C including English and Maths; for Bath and North East Somerset pupils taking GCSE at 16 it is 52.0%. Special needs education is provided by Three Ways School.

Bath has two universities. The University of Bath was established in 1966. It is known, academically, for the physical sciences, mathematics, architecture, management and technology.

Bath Spa University was first granted degree-awarding powers in 1992 as a university college (Bath Spa University College), before being granted university status in August 2005. It has schools in Art and Design, Education, English and Creative Studies, Historical and Cultural Studies, Music and the Performing Arts, and Social Sciences. It also awards degrees through colleges such as Weston College in nearby Weston-super-Mare.

Sports

Bath Rugby plays at the Recreation Ground. Bath Cricket Club play at the North Parade cricket ground next door to the Recreation Ground.

Bath City F.C. is the major football team in Bath city but there are also clubs in the surrounding areas such as; Paulton Rovers F. C., Bishop Sutton A.F.C., Radstock Town F.C. and Welton Rovers F.C.

The Bath Half Marathon is run annually through the city streets, with over 10,000 runners. Bath also has a thriving cycling community, with places for biking including Royal Victoria Park, 'The Tumps' in Odd Down/east, the jumps on top of Lansdown, and Prior Park. Places for biking near Bath include Brown's Folly in Batheaston and Box Woods, in Box.

There are sport and leisure centres in Bath, Keynsham the Chew Valley and Midsomer Norton. Much of the surrounding countryside is accessible for walking and both Chew Valley Lake and Blagdon Lake provide extensive fishing under permit from Bristol Water. The River Chew and most of its tributaries also have fishing but this is generally under licences to local angling clubs. Chew Valley Sailing Club is situated on Chew Valley Lake and provides dinghy sailing at all levels and hosts national and international competitions.

Places of interest

The area has 6,408 listed buildings, classified as of historical or architectural importance, of which 663 are Grade I, 212 are Grade II* and the remainder are Grade II. These include many buildings and areas of Bath such as Lansdown Crescent, the Royal Crescent, The Circus and Pulteney Bridge. Outside the city there are several historic manor houses such as St Catherine's Court and Sutton Court.

Bath is a major tourist centre and has a range of museums and art galleries including the Victoria Art Gallery, the Museum of East Asian Art and the Holburne Museum. There are numerous commercial art galleries and antique shops. Museums include No. 1 Royal Crescent, Bath Postal Museum, The Fashion Museum, the Jane Austen Centre, the Herschel Museum of Astronomy and the Roman Baths. The American Museum & Gardens is nearby.

The Radstock Museum details the history of the Somerset coalfield.

The Avon Valley Railway serves Avon Riverside railway station. The Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust is based at Midsomer Norton railway station.

References

References

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2. {{United Kingdom district population citation. England
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30. includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured
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