Expert ‘can’t support’ bid to flatten cottage
There is hope for the survival of a historic cottage outside Bath after the council’s conservation expert refused to support plans for its demolition.
More than 280 people have objected to the scheme, which would see Waterworks Cottage knocked down and three new houses built on the plot.
If approved, the plans submitted by Jeremy and Sarah Flavell would include parking for 12 cars.
Concerns have been raised by residents of Charlcombe Way about the extra traffic the development would bring to the narrow lane, and local walkers have also objected on environmental grounds.
Jeremy Seal, a local travel writer, has called the scheme “terrible over-development” and said it was “driven, no doubt, by material gain”.
Now, a conservation expert for Bath and North East Somerset Council has refused to support the scheme.
In her conservation response on December 16, Caroline Power wrote: “I am unable to support the current proposal. On the basis that the cottage meets the criteria for designation as a locally listed heritage asset, the scheme fails to have
regard to the loss of this locally significant heritage asset.”
Ms Power went on to explain that “evidence has now come to light” to show engineers from the waterworks site lived in the cottage after it was built in the mid-1800s.
She added: “This building has both local architectural and historic interest and represents an unusual survival of a waterman’s cottage, reflecting the social and economic history of the water supply infrastructure of Victorian Bath.”
In their objections, residents had mentioned that the cottage overlooks the Charlcombe Valley and is on the migration route of the area’s famous toad population. It also backs onto the Cotswold AONB (area of outstanding natural beauty), which extends as far as Bath. Ms
Power agreed with residents in her statement that the building contributed to “the rural character of the landscape and neighbouring AONB”.
“The spaciousness of the cottages’ garden marks an important transition between the built-up nature of the city and the altogether contrasting openness of the countryside to the north,” she wrote.
The target decision date for the application was January 4, but according to the planning website it is still pending consideration.