Couple submit plans for homes to replace cottage
Plans for two new homes on the site of a historic cottage in Bath have been submitted to the council.
The local authority ruled in September that Waterworks Cottage, on Charlcombe Way, could be demolished “without prior approval”, after a two-year planning row that saw residents pitted against the developers.
Jeremy and Sarah Flavell, owners of an architectural design practice with offices in Bath and London, initially hoped to knock down the 1850s cottage and build three fourbedroom homes in its place.
This sparked a fierce local backlash and they went on to revise their plans, proposing to extend the existing house and build two new homes beside it.
However, this scheme was rebuffed as too “cramped and contrived” by Bath and North East Somerset Council. The Flavells appealed to the Planning Inspectorate but the council’s decision was not reversed.
The couple then applied several times to demolish the house, eventually succeeding with their third application. Now, they have submitted plans detailing what they hope to do with the site once the cottage is gone.
In their design and access statement, Mr and Mrs Flavell wrote: “We have been waiting for the right site that would be able to offer us the chance to put forward proposals to create a family home, to be part of the community and the quality of life that this particular area of Bath offers, through a design that is in line with our modern, sustainable ethos.
“Contrary to popular opinion in the area, we are not ‘Developers from London’ and have lived in Bath for the last 8 years, with our 2 children, who have attended school locally. To enable us to meet our goals, the opportunity that the site presents affords us the ability to create an aspirational home.
“This would be funded and made possible by the sale of the second property.”
The new homes would look over the valley and have four or more bedrooms each. Four parking spaces would be created in addition to the existing two.
The design and access statement added that the new homes would make the most of the cottage’s sloping, triangular site.
“The proposed scale of the two new properties fronting onto Charlcombe Way, have been created to provide an appearance of being a single-storey, which reflects the original cottage, when viewed from the road,” it said.
You can view the proposals in full, and comment on them until Tuesday (November 8) at: www. bathnes.gov.uk/webforms/planning/details.html?refval=22%2f041 22%2Fful#details_section.