Friday, July 10th, 2026
Man Sought in Child Sex Attack | Bath: First 20mph City? | Third University Formed
🚨 Police have released a description of a man they are seeking in connection with the sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl in Odd Down in June, reports the Bath Echo.
🚘 By April next year, a 20mph speed limit will come into force on all streets north of the River Avon. And hundreds of residents are backing a bid to extend that speed limit to all of Bath, which would make it the first 20mph city in England, writes Local Democracy Reporter John Wimperis for the BBC.
👶🏻 The Norland nanny training college has become a University, reports the Bath Echo.
🛶 The Canal & River Trust, a charity that manages all canal infrastructure, is warning people not to cool off in locks or waterways for their own safety, reports the Bath Echo, given that a whopping 61% of accidental drownings in the UK in 2024 happened at inland water bodies.
🚮 More than 40 businesses have been fined for breaking new rubbish collection rules, writes Local Democracy Reporter John Wimperis in Bath Voice.
🏫 The Council’s Planning Committee last night gave the green light to more student housing in a former office block on Lower Bristol Road, despite concerns it will lead to “a student campus by stealth,” reports the Bath Echo.
🇺🇸 Missed the 4th of July? You can discover Bath Abbey’s connections to the American Revolution here.
↪️ With political ructions on both sides of the Atlantic, you can also read about the British Prime Minister from Somerset who is best remembered for ‘losing America,’ courtesy of the BBC.
Weather
🥵 Another HOT forecast …! Stay cool folks.
🔴 The government has issued an amber alert health warning for the Southwest until Sunday. The BBC explains what’s going on with our weather.
🪭 Comparison site Uswitch has a guide to the costs of running fans and air conditioners.
💃🏽 Bath Carnival Party in the Park
Live Bands, DJs, Food and Drink, Licensed Bars, Walkabout Acts, Super Pirates Play Area & Community Village
📅 Saturday, July 11th ⏰ 10:00 – 22:00
📍 Sydney Gardens, free
🎠 Bath Carnival Parade
⏰ 15:00 - 17:30, free
📍City Centre (starting at Bath Rec Ground)
🛍️ Check out what’s happening inside Jolly’s in this video.
🍺 Packhorse Pub Keg Race
📅 Saturday, July 11th ⏰ 1 p.m.
🐴 A race to pick up a keg for the pub with teams, fancy dress and 400 years of tradition! Read all about in the Bath Echo.
💐 The Secret Garden
📅 July 2-26
📍 Egg Theatre
🎟️ Info and bookings.
🎭 Theatre Royal is raising funds for a new community theatre: The Billings, named after Bath-born Archers actress, Beryl Margot Billings.
City & Region
📚 The Bath Literary Festival has paid its visiting authors after experiencing financial troubles, reports the Bookseller (paywall).
🚛 A lorry demolished a wall in the city centre near the Odeon theatre, reports the BBC.
Crime
🚨 A man and woman have been charged after an attempted robbery and stabbing at the Tesco Express on Windsor Bridge, reports the Bath Echo.
🚨 Police are appealing for witnesses after a white van collided with a pedestrian, reports the Bath Echo.
🚬 A drug dealer caught with 5 kilos of cannabis has been jailed, reports the Bath Echo.
Sweet stuff 🍯
🏆 Another month, another accolade for Bath - this time - the Happiest City in the World, according to TimeOut. TimeOut spoke to Bath residents - 93% said living here makes them happy; 90 percent said their neighbours seem positive and 76 percent said the sense of happiness has grown a lot recently. 😏 Did we really need TimeOut to tell us Bath is a lovely, friendly place?
🥘 It’s rare to see deeply informed food reporting - especially on the complex mosaic of South Asian restaurants in Britain - formed by the interplay of colonial history, global and local economics, class and palates. But this piece by Hugh Thomas, who runs the Wallfish Journal (one of our recommended Substacks), is superb: informed, enlightening and the first time we’ve read the personal story of Luthfur Rahman, founder of The Mint Room and other successful ‘Indian’ restaurants in the Southwest.
🪺 A crane chick marks the return of the species to Somerset for the first time in 400 years, reports the BBC.
Omaze Bath House Draw - 30th July
💷 If you win, please, please subscribe to the Bee… 🐝 😁
🎩 Top posts from last week’s Bee:
🏛️ The Council blocked a £200k proposal to make the vaults under the Empire Hotel safe.
👠 A Bath-based travel firm specialising in stag and hen do’s fell into administration.
🐀 How Norfolk Crescent residents mocked the Council with a ‘Rat Appreciation Society’ leaflet.