Officers recommend permission for a market of up to 25 days, seven more than now, with Parade Gardens and Queen Square held in reserve. Councillors decide 2 September.

Bath Christmas Market could run for up to 25 days a year, seven more than it does now, and spread into Parade Gardens, Queen Square and Kingsmead Square. Planning officers have recommended the scheme for approval. Councillors on the Planning Committee decide on Wednesday 2 September, at 10am in the Council Chamber at the Guildhall (agenda, B&NES Planning Committee).

The applicant is the council itself, through the Bath Tourism Bureau at Abbey Chambers. Application 26/02250/REG03 would replace the temporary permissions the market has run on for years. The current one covers 2022 to 2026 inclusive and expires after this year’s event.

What the application asks for

The officer’s report sets out four changes:

  • a permanent permission, so the market no longer needs a fresh temporary consent
  • up to 25 days each year in November and December, up from 18
  • a maximum of 260 stalls, chalets and catering units, up from a planned 210 this year
  • the option to use Parade Gardens, Queen Square and Kingsmead Square in future years

None of it changes this year’s market. It still runs for 18 days, from Thursday 26 November to Sunday 13 December 2026. The council says the footprint will be largely the same as 2025, with a small increase in chalets and the addition of The Lodge bar (B&NES Council).

The application went to committee rather than being decided by officers because the chair and vice chair of the Planning Committee both asked for it. The chair wrote: “This is a substantial change and should go to Committee.” The vice chair said the extension “will create substantial economic and social commentary and interest”.

What the Christmas Market permission would allow Days of the market 18 days now (26 Nov to 13 Dec 2026) up to 25 days proposed Stalls, chalets and catering units no more than 210 in 2026 maximum 260 proposed Source: officer's report on application 26/02250/REG03, B&NES Planning Committee, 2 September 2026. Graphic by Bath Daily
Bars are drawn to scale. The 25-day and 260-unit figures are ceilings, not the plan for this year.

Thirty-nine objections, and support from traders

The council received 25 comments of support, 39 objections and 14 general comments. Objectors raised:

  • traffic, congestion and parking pressure over a longer period
  • less reliable public transport, with bus diversions running for an extra week
  • noise, vehicle emissions and air quality
  • harm to the historic environment and to how the Georgian city is experienced
  • accessibility for disabled residents, and the loss of Blue Badge spaces
  • the use of Parade Gardens, including a bar close to the River Avon
  • Queen Square, where the City of Bath Pétanque Club meets weekly
  • clashes with Bath Rugby fixtures putting pressure on the park and rides

Supporters, many of them businesses, said the market carries them through a quiet trading period, and that spreading it across more of the city would reduce overcrowding rather than add to it. Several backed the use of Parade Gardens.

The council’s Green Group supported the market in principle but objected to the extension. It asked for the impact on bus services, cycle routes and Blue Badge parking to be assessed against the development plan, and for evidence of mitigation.

Historic England did not object. It recommended that a full heritage assessment be submitted, and asked for more detail about the large Christmas tree outside the Abbey. No such assessment was submitted. Officers judged the information already provided sufficient, given that the market is temporary.

The officer’s case: harm, but outweighed

The report accepts that the market harms the setting of Bath’s heritage. It finds “less than substantial” harm to four things:

  • the doubly inscribed World Heritage Site
  • the Bath Conservation Area
  • Grade I, II* and II listed buildings across the city
  • Parade Gardens, a Grade II registered park

Going from 18 days to 25 is not judged to push that harm any higher.

Against that, officers set the market’s economic weight. The report says it attracts over 430,000 visitors a year and generates an average spend in the city of £50.7 million. From the 2025 visitor survey, it adds that 71 per cent of visitors used other shops and restaurants, the average visitor stayed two nights, and 79 per cent said the market was their main reason for staying in Bath.

On traffic, officers accept the concerns are legitimate. They conclude that severe impacts can be mitigated through the traffic management plans the council has approved in previous years.

Recommended conditions include:

  • no more than 25 days in November and December in any calendar year
  • no more than 260 stalls, chalets or catering units
  • market hours of 10am to 9pm, with servicing and build-up limited to 7am to 9pm
  • a Construction Management Plan and a Traffic and Access Management Plan approved before each year’s market
  • details of structures, lighting, visitor control and grass repair in Parade Gardens, submitted before it is used

What it means for you

Nothing changes for this December. The 2026 market runs 26 November to 13 December, 10am to 7pm Monday to Wednesday, 10am to 8pm Thursday to Saturday and 10am to 6pm on Sunday.

What is being decided is what happens from 2027 onwards. If permission is granted, the council would not need a fresh application to run a longer market or to put stalls in Parade Gardens or Queen Square. It would still have to get each year’s traffic plan approved, and would have to submit details for Parade Gardens before using it.

If you want to speak at the meeting, notice has to reach Democratic Services by 5pm on Monday 31 August, which is the bank holiday. Objectors get three minutes in total, and supporters and the applicant three minutes between them. The meeting is webcast.

Planning the trip in itself: our roadworks and travel page has the current closures, park and ride fares and Clean Air Zone rules, and parking in Bath covers the charges that changed on 25 August. Manvers Street is due to reopen on 20 November, six days before the market starts.

Sources