We visited Twerton to see if it's really as bad as people say
When I first announced plans to move to Bath, multiple friends said the same thing: don't move to Twerton. The city centre is extravagant, Widcombe is trendy, Combe Down is idyllic, Weston is perfect for raising a family, Oldfield Park is ideal for students, and on top of the hill Larkhall is simply stunning: but Twerton, it would seem, is to be avoided.
When we did look into renting in Twerton, my partner asked the lettings agent whether the rumours about the district were true. He gingerly said it was true enough twenty years ago, but has improved a lot since.
In 2021, the Office for National Statistics identified Twerton as the most deprived area in Bath and North East Somerset, with 62.8% of local households facing deprivation. But does being deprived mean a place deserves to be despised?
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So having arrived in Bath, we took a trip to Twerton to see how its residents feel about the place they call home - and see whether it deserved the reputation. The road in was dotted with chain shops. Gone are the quirky indie shops that characterise the city centre; In Twerton, you'll be greeted by McDonalds, Costa, Lidl, Pets at Home, and a Curry's.
On the way in you'll also pass a piece of graffiti declaring "WE ALL DESERVE BETTER", though with the current state of national affairs it's difficult to tell if the artist is talking about Twerton or the UK generally.
Viv is manager of a community project called Twerton Time Bank. Speaking of the area's rep, she said: "Twerton's the poor cousin of Bath, a working class area in a very middle class city.
"It does have high levels of disadvantage in various ways, but what I do like about Twerton is that it has a strong sense of community."
Twerton Time Bank is just one example of this neighbourly spirit. At the time bank, residents can borrow kitchenware, lawnmowers, books, and other useful items. There are also a range of community projects on offer, including guitar classes, creating writing circles, and gardening clubs.
The food bank Mercy in Action also operates out of Twerton, its shelves stacked with food, children's books, clothes, and nappies. Just across the road from the time bank is Rose Cottage, a bright and cheerful Victorian café and community hub run by a local church group.
Visitors to Rose Cottage are greeted warmly. In the garden is a raspberry patch, a children's playground, and a wealth of bits and bobs for sale. The amount of charitable works on just one street in Twerton reveals a level of neighbourliness that, frankly, is harder to find in other districts.
Cathy, who lived in Twerton for around fifteen years and is still close by, thinks projects like Rose Cottage have really helped give Twerton a 'makeover': "At the moment, [Twerton] seems to be on its way up, improving its image. It went right down hill and was pretty shabby, but lately it seems to be picking up."
She continued: "[Rose Cottage] helped to give the overall feel of Twerton a bit more of a boost, because it was feeling like quite a nefarious area."
That said, Viv is of the opinion that the work to revitalise the area is not done: "The High Street is obviously in the process of being developed and at the moment it's pretty defunct, which is a shame."
Perhaps the best part of Twerton is Brickfields Park, a lush area up the hill with panoramic views of the city that seems sometimes to judge it so harshly. Overall, while the area wasn't as well-to-do as other parts of Bath, it's hard to fight the feeling that in most cities nobody would bat an eye at a neighbourhood like Twerton.
If it was spirited away to Bristol, Southampton, London, Newcastle, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Coventry, or Nottingham, I doubt Twerton would have much of a reputation at all. Perhaps Bath is so affluent that areas like Twerton attract more scorn than they truly deserve.
If you're still not convinced of its merits, all I can humbly ask readers is that their dislike for the place doesn't drive them to discriminate against the people there. Because if there's one impression Twerton made on me, it was the welcoming and kind spirit of its residents.
People in Twerton seem to look out for one another. It's an example the whole of Bath could follow.