[7] On the site prior to this development was the Southgate Shopping Centre designed by Owen Luder, architect of the Tricorn Centre in Portsmouth and Trinity Square Carpark in Gateshead; and, on the east half of the site, the former Bath bus station and Ham Gardens Car Park.

The new SouthGate precinct occupies roughly the west half of an area of land once known as The Ham that existed up until around the time of Jane Austen.

(The first section of that wall, starting at the city's south gate, ran east roughly along the present-day New Orchard Street.)

Both the first and upper floors feature outdoor balconies facing into SouthGate Place through Georgian columns spanning the two levels.

The developers were unable to find a tenant to operate the planned leisure centre and the floor has been re-purposed as office space.

SouthGate has over 50 other shops, including H&M, New Look, Apple Store Urban Outfitters, Fat Face, River Island, Hotel Chocolat and Boots.

Restaurants and food outlets in the main SouthGate centre include Pizza Express, Caffè Nero, Krispy Kreme, Pret a Manger, a branch of Giraffe Restaurants, and Cake Café; and, added in 2017 in the space that was previously Little SouthGate, are Absurd Bird, Tapas Revolution, Thaikun, and Comptoir Libanais.

[16] Restaurants and food outlets in the Brunel Square vaults include Be At One, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Franco Manca, Graze, Prezzo, and Nando's.

The arcade, Little SouthGate, running through the middle of Block E/F, housed a number of smaller shops, none of which was a sustained success.