Controversial plans to build four houses in an Oldfield Park street are being recommended for approval by council officers, despite a forthright claim that the applicants are “trying their luck”.
The property on the corner of First Avenue | Image © Google Street View / Google 2024
There have been more than 50 objections and the chair of Bath & North East Somerset Council’s planning committee Ian Halsall, who is also a Liberal Democrat councillor for Oldfield Park, has spoken out against the outline plans which involve demolishing the bungalow known as St Malo on the corner of First Avenue and Oldfield Lane.
In his response, Councillor Halsall said: “The fact this is an entirely outline application demonstrates, and as submitted just before the festive period when the interests of residents are less focused on local issues, that this is a speculative application and the owners are trying their luck.
“There may be scope for development on this site, but, whilst delivering a quantum of new houses that could contribute towards the council’s five-year housing land supply in what is a highly sustainable location within the city of Bath, this proposal is in my view and those of many of the residents I represent, completely unacceptable.”
He has intimated that he will step down as chair when the application comes before the committee next Wednesday, 12th February, as approval is being recommended.
St Malo is opposite St John’s Primary School and has a double garage, parking area and garden to the rear.
A total of five off-street parking spaces are proposed as part of the redevelopment – one per home, plus a visitor space. Parking would be accessed off Oldfield Lane.
A statement from planning consultants in support of the application says the original developers of First Avenue had planned terraced houses on the site of St Malo, but ran out of money, leaving the plot vacant until the bungalow was built some years later.
They say: “The proposal would therefore complete the terrace as it was original planned.”
The application says that keeping the copper beech tree in the front garden would “severely restrict the ability for the site to be redeveloped” and it is not considered worthy of preservation.
Councillor Halsall has raised concerns including about the proposed density, height, and scale of four large family homes and the impact on the character and setting of the neighbourhood.
He has highlighted the “potentially poor-quality design through the creation of a pastiche of the design character of the rest of First Avenue, particularly with fake chimney stacks and disproportionate bay windows”.
He has also lamented the loss of the copper beech and an historic stone wall as part of the proposed redevelopment.
B&NES planning officers say that details will be scrutinised and assessed when a reserved matters application comes forward but that given the design, scale, and siting of the new houses, the proposal would not cause significant harm and overall the development will be consistent with the established character of the area.
Concerns have been raised by some objectors about the impact on road safety, particularly with a school nearby, but the council’s highways team has not raised an objection.
