Monday 9th December 2024

Bath has a new event venue in Royal Victoria Park following an agreement between local business owner Simon Smith and B&NES Council.

The lease agreement was brokered by Caroline Taylor, Head of Real Estate at Stone King. It involved negotiating the restoration of the park's Grade II listed pavilion, as well as a preservation order placed on nearby trees.

 Mr Smith, who runs a host of ventures in the city, including the seasonal ice rink and beach bar outside the pavilion, plans to keep running these attractions and hopes to bring new events to the park in the future. The pavilion is also home to the newly renovated Treetop Café, a bright and stylish eatery that is already a favourite among locals and tourists alike.

Mr Smith said: “I am personally delighted to wrap up this tender and legal process and am now able to fully focus on the future of the site. We have already made sweeping renovations to the building and grounds. The interior refurb of the café looks fantastic and wins many compliments, and we have a steady five year plan that we are working towards. We aim to bring the rest of the site up to a great standard that befits the stature of the surrounding park and city. With a long lease, we can really invest in the site and we hope to start new events there in the future.”

Caroline said: “This is an exciting time for regulars and visitors to Royal Victoria Park, as this is quite an unusual use of a listed pavilion and the new agreement opens so many doors to potential further uses of the site. I’m very much looking forward to attending an event there one day soon!”

Stone King operates nationally with offices in Bath, Birmingham, Cambridge, Leeds, London and Manchester. It specialises in the sectors of Business & Social Enterprise, Charity, Education, Faith, Private Client, and Public & Regulatory law. The firm is consistently top-ranked by independent legal guides Chambers and the Legal 500, and has been named a Best Law Firm for 2025 by The Times.

Pictured below: (left) Simon Smith and Caroline Taylor stood outside the Grade II listed pavilion and next to the seasonal ice rink; (right) Caroline and Simon having coffee in the Treetop Café.