Housing association Curo’s plans to demolish 16 garages at Kelston View in Whiteway and build four affordable homes for social rent on the site have been approved.
The garages on Kelston View in Bath
Curo also submitted redevelopment plans to knock down old garages at two sites in Saltford and build four homes on each.
The application to demolish 15 garages on the corner of Stratton Road and Camerton Close has now been approved, with a decision on the other one near Wedmore Road car park still pending.
All the new homes will be highly energy-efficient and feature air source heat pumps, solar panels, electric vehicle charging points and private gardens or balconies.
During a consultation before the Kelston View planning application was submitted, local people had been generally happy with the proposals to knock down the garages – which one described as “an eyesore and magnet for graffiti”- and deliver more housing.
B&NES Council received four letters of support for the Kelston View scheme for two apartment blocks, including one from Bath Preservation Trust.
There were also eight letters of objection, including two from local councillors. Objectors said the loss of garages will create parking problems.
Other issues included loss of views, the impact on the habitats and operations of nearby Bath City Farm, safety concerns should the brakes of vehicles coming down North Way fail, and that local health and education facilities are already overstretched.
But B&NES Council planners have approved the proposal for the apartment buildings, which will house four homes in total, each for a family of four.
The ground-floor flats will have garden space, and the first-floor flats will have rear balconies.
There will be four parking spaces along with two visitor parking spaces and eight bike storage spaces.
The planning officers said the site is of an appropriate layout, scale and design and were happy with access and parking arrangements.
A biodiversity gain and habitat management plan is one of the conditions of approval.
Meanwhile, the council received three objections to Curo’s plans to flatten the two blocks of garages on the corner of Stratton Road and Camerton Close at Saltford to make way for two pairs of semi-detached homes.
Vehicle access will be from Stratton Road and the two-bed houses will front that road. The scheme includes four allocated parking spaces and cycle storage. All the houses will have rear gardens.
The existing footpath on Stratton Road will be extended along the southern boundary with Camerton Close.
The objections were about parking and overdevelopment, but the council’s planning team were satisfied with the proposals.
They have yet to determine the planning application to knock down 24 garages next to Wedmore Road car park in the village and build four two-bed houses on the site.
The site is just outside of Saltford’s housing development boundary, but Curo’s application refers to a B&NES Council policy that allows the release of land that would not normally be used for housing for the development of 100% affordable housing on small plots where there is a proven local need.
Eight parking spaces are proposed on the basis of two per home. The scheme also provides two secure and covered cycle parking spaces per house.
Victor da Cunha, chief executive of Curo, said: “With over 5,500 people on the housing list in B&NES, we’re absolutely delighted to have been given the go-ahead to turn some of our garage sites into much-needed affordable homes for local people.
“When you look at the demand, it’s shocking – a family needing a four-bedroom home could be waiting 100 years. That’s why, given the scale of the housing crisis, we believe every new home counts.
“We have to seize every opportunity to build what’s needed. Sadly, this isn’t just a local problem—it’s happening all across the country, with 1.29 million people on council waiting lists.
“By transforming these sites into energy-efficient, high-quality homes, we’re making a real difference for local families and helping to tackle the housing crisis head-on.”
