Plans to repair a Bath pub that was gutted by a fire in 2022 have been submitted to Bath & North East Somerset Council.
Photo courtesy of Milo Bishop
The plans include removing fire and water-damaged debris and re-instating the third floor and roof at the Grade II listed Rising Sun in Grove Street.
Bedstone Developments Rising Sun Ltd is seeking full planning and listed building consent for the repair work to the property, which dates from around 1790, with alterations from the 19th century.
On 21st September 2022, 16 guests had been staying in the property, which had eight en-suite letting rooms. Guests reported a fire alarm sounding for a few seconds at approximately 2am before falling silent.
At 2.48am, a passer-by called 999 to report a fire coming out of the roof. Guests were evacuated, with one of them sustaining a burn injury. Around 40 firefighters worked through the night to bring the blaze under control.
A subsequent investigation identified three fire safety breaches, including failure to ensure that appropriate procedures to be followed were in place in the event of a fire; failure to ensure that fire safety precautions were properly maintained; and making false entries in the fire safety logbook.
Ex-landlord Norman Butcher pleaded guilty at Bristol Magistrates’ Court in June 2023 to two of the three charges against him and the following month entered a guilty plea for all three charges at Bristol Crown Court.
He was sentenced in August 2023 to nine months’ imprisonment, suspended for 15 months, and 150 hours of unpaid work for each charge, to run concurrently.
The application says the works will enable the building to be returned to a “suitable and viable use” that will be discussed with the council.
The planning reference is 25/00535/FUL. The deadline for comments is 14th March.
