Council planners have granted permission for part of a boundary wall to be demolished so on-site parking can be provided at a £1.75m five-bedroom converted church in Bath that was proving difficult to sell.
The converted church | Photo © Bath Echo
In August we reported on the planning application to create an access at the former Claremont Methodist Church at the junction of Eastbourne Avenue and Tyning Lane in Larkhall and install parking for two cars with an electric vehicle charging point.
A report accompanying the application said the property had been on the market for 16 months and prospective buyers were being put off by the lack of parking, particularly as nearby on-street parking is often at capacity.
When planning permission was initially sought from Bath & North East Somerset Council in 2022 to turn the church into a house, on-site parking was proposed but ditched due to concerns from the council’s conservation officer.
That in turn led to an objection from the council’s highways team but in approving the scheme at the time, the planning officers felt there would not be an unacceptable impact on local roads.
They said the building had been a church and community building for many years with no on-site parking and that the site is in a sustainable location.
The latest application, to open up access from Eastbourne Avenue, level the ground to provide parking and provide an EV charging port, sparked five objections citing road safety concerns and that the removal of the wall would spoil a highly visible entrance to one of Bath’s more attractive and interesting roads.
Planning officers agreed that the wall makes a contribution to the setting of the building and the character and appearance of this part of the Bath Conservation Area but that revised plans to keep the eastern pillar lessen the level of harm.
They said in their report this week: “The parking would be in very close proximity to the front and side of the building and would as such have a negative visual impact.”
“However, the harm to the unlisted building and conservation area would “lie within the less than substantial category, toward to the lower end”.
The officers added: “In this case, significant weight is given to the less than substantial harm caused. Significant weight is also however given to the benefits of EV charging.
“The public benefits are considered to outweigh the harm in this instance.”
