A message from Cllr Kevin Guy, Leader of Bath & North East Somerset CouncilWe are enjoying a landmark year across Bath and North East Somerset for our events and attractions so this week’s announcement naming Bath as the Best UK City in in the prestigious Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Choice Awards 2025 is well deserved.
The award, voted for by more than 182,000 readers, has seen Bath beating cities including London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Cambridge and Liverpool to the number one spot.
Earlier this year the Roman Baths was officially recognised as one of the top attractions in the UK, earning a coveted spot in Tripadvisor’s Travellers’ Choice® Awards Best of the Best for 2025. Ranked number seven nationally, it places The Roman Baths among the top one per cent of attractions worldwide on Tripadvisor.
It’s great recognition for us and comes on top of a fantastic year so far where we welcomed 190,000 people to a huge range of events from the Robbie Williams concerts at the Royal Crescent, Keynsham Music Festival and the Bath Rugby Victory Parade. More recently celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth has brought global attention to the city.
Looking ahead we are preparing to welcome residents and visitors to Bath Christmas Market for its 25th anniversary year. Since its modest inception the council-run event has evolved to become one of the UK’s most beloved festive events that last year saw an estimated 444,000 visitors create a £60.4m turnover for businesses, supporting for more than 500 jobs and generating a £48.9m associated spend in the city.
Recognition for the great work going on in our area extends to many other services the council is delivering for residents. I want to take the opportunity to congratulate our Trading Standards team which has picked up awards in the South West Trading Standards Excellence conference for work tackling scams and removing illicit vaping products from the market. These successes highlight the vital role Trading Standards plays in safeguarding residents, supporting consumer confidence and making a real difference to improving people’s lives.
Finally our work to deliver homes has also been recognised with our Argyle Works development being shortlisted as Finalist in the ‘Residential Development’ category for 2025 Bath Property Awards. Aequus Group, the council’s wholly owned development company, has also been shortlisted as a finalist in the ‘Developer’ Category in the awards which will be held on November 7.
Have a great weekend. | 
