A message from Cllr Kevin Guy, Leader of Bath & North East Somerset CouncilSporting success dominated the start of this week for the city – with Bath’s fantastic victory against Exter in the Premiership Rugby Cup final and the hugely popular Bath Half Marathon which drew in thousands of runners and visitors. Well done to Bath RFC and all their supporters, as well as to everyone who took part, or was involved in the organisation of the Bath Half - including many of our own council staff. After 18 months of hard work and talks we were delighted this week to be able to announce department store group Morleys Stores Ltd is reopening Bath’s much-loved Jolly’s store. Councillor Mark Elliott, cabinet member for Resources, and I welcomed Allan Winstanley, chief executive of Morleys Department Stores (pictured), to Bath on Tuesday. Joining us was former store manager Jess Merritt-John, who has been retained by Morleys and will help oversee the transformation of the store over the next 12 months. I very much look forward to the reopening next spring. Milsom Street has always been a very special shopping destination and Morleys Stores is not only a fantastic fit for the area but its decision to open up in Bath also complements the investment the council is making in the Milsom Quarter. Earlier in the week we were informed that the Planning Inspectorate rejected an appeal for housing on the Sulis Down development. It is important to consider carefully where best to put development like new homes, businesses, schools, health facilities and green spaces to make sure places continue to work for the people who live there as well as protecting the environment and lowering carbon emissions. We are moving forward with the reset of the Local Plan and will be working closely with parish and town councils, residents and local stakeholders during this year to look at how the places in which we live could change and for potential new development sites to accommodate the significant uplift in the housing numbers that we need to deliver. A great example of how we are working hard to deliver new homes is the former gasworks site in Bath Western Riverside which I visited this week along with representatives from Home England, Mayor Dan Norris and our development partner Berkley Homes. In January we were successful in securing more than £18m Homes England funding for remediation works on the site which are now well under way. When completed the development will provide around 900 quality, sustainable market and affordable homes as well as a riverside park. Have a good weekend. | 
