Upper Borough Walls faces 18 months of daytime closures

Two streets in the middle of Bath are about to spend a year and a half working around a building site. Bath and North East Somerset Council has given notice that it intends to close Upper Borough Walls and Parsonage Lane, each for its entire length, from 29 September 2026 for a maximum period of 18 months.

The reason the council gives is short: contractors undertaking works to the old Bath Mineral Hospital. The order is numbered THTTC4296 and is dated 10 September 2026 (B&NES statutory notice).

The headline number overstates the daily reality, and the notice says so. Read past the 18 months and the closures are narrower than they sound.

What the order actually does

• The closures apply between 10am and 6pm, not around the clock. The council adds that the times “may be adjusted or modified if/when required”.
• Upper Borough Walls will not be closed continually. The notice says it will shut “only for occasional short periods of time when construction related loading or unloading activity is taking place”.
• The closure covers vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians. That matters on Upper Borough Walls, which is a walking route between Milsom Street and the Abbey end of town.
• Parsonage Lane, the lane running north from Upper Borough Walls, is covered for its entire length on the same 10am to 6pm basis.

Two further changes in the same order reach beyond those two streets.

The loading bay on Avon Street, near the junction with Corn Street and the Riverside coach park, is suspended for the life of the order. In its place comes a temporary 30-minute waiting bay, operating at all times, for goods vehicles and construction vehicles only.

And the bollards at the junction of Westgate Buildings and Saw Close are to be removed, so that construction lorries can reach Saw Close from Westgate Buildings. The notice limits that access to authorised construction heavy goods vehicles, plus police, fire and ambulance vehicles when needed. Emergency access at Cheap Street is unchanged.

Eighteen months is the plan, not just the ceiling

On most temporary traffic orders the stated maximum is boilerplate. A six month ceiling covers a three day job. This one is different. The notice sets the maximum at 18 months and then says separately that the works themselves are “anticipated to be for EIGHTEEN MONTHS”.

The contact given for the works is the on-call manager at the contractor BUKO, on 01934 733516. The order is signed by Chris Major, the council’s Director of Place Management.

What we could not confirm

We could not check the building’s current planning record on the day we published this. The council’s planning search at app.bathnes.gov.uk runs through a separate service, and that service returned an error to every request we made on 14 September, including its own home page. So this report sticks to what the council’s own traffic notice says, and does not describe the scheme inside the building.

What it means for you

If you walk, drive or deliver anywhere near the old Min, assume interruptions from the end of this month rather than a permanent wall across the street.

• Walking through: Upper Borough Walls can be shut to pedestrians as well as traffic, so allow for a diversion via Old Bond Street or Westgate Street if you are crossing town between 10am and 6pm.
• Driving in: the changes sit inside the area where the city centre streets around the Abbey are already closed to vehicles between 10am and 6pm. Our roadworks and travel page has the full picture, including Manvers Street, which stays shut until around 20 November.
• Deliveries: the Avon Street loading bay is going. Businesses that use it need the new arrangement, which is a 30-minute waiting bay restricted to goods and construction vehicles.
• Parking: nothing in this order changes car park charges. Those are set out on our parking in Bath page.

The council has not published a completion date for the streets, only the 18-month ceiling on the order. We will follow the works and update this report.

Frequently asked questions

When does Upper Borough Walls close?

From 29 September 2026, and only between 10am and 6pm. The council’s notice says the street will not be closed continually, but in short spells when construction vehicles are loading or unloading. The order allows this for a maximum of 18 months.

Can I still walk along Upper Borough Walls?

Not while a closure is in force. The order covers pedestrians and cyclists as well as vehicles, so when the street is shut you will need to go round. Outside the 10am to 6pm window the closures do not apply.

Why are the streets closing?

The council’s notice gives the reason as contractors undertaking works to the old Bath Mineral Hospital. It names the contractor’s on-call manager at BUKO as the contact for the works.

What is changing on Avon Street and at Saw Close?

The Avon Street loading bay near Corn Street is suspended for as long as the order lasts, and is replaced by a 30-minute waiting bay for goods and construction vehicles only, in force at all times. The bollards where Westgate Buildings meets Saw Close are being removed so construction lorries and emergency vehicles can get through.

Sources

• Bath & North East Somerset Council traffic notices, published 10 September 2026, containing order THTTC4296 for Upper Borough Walls and Parsonage Lane, for the closure extents, the 10am to 6pm hours, the 18-month duration, the Avon Street loading bay suspension, the Westgate Buildings bollards and the contractor and signatory details.