New plans to provide more ladies’ loos at the Theatre Royal Bath have been unveiled.
The Theatre Royal Bath in Sawclose | Photo © Nigel Jarvis / Shutterstock.com
Currently, the theatre has an under-provision of ladies’ toilets with only three on each level – Stalls, Royal Circle, Dress Circle and Grand Circle.
Planning permission and listed building consent is being sought to convert the Stalls bar vault and the Royal Circle kitchen area to provide additional toilets.
The planning application submitted to Bath & North East Somerset Council says the theatre underwent a significant refurbishment in 2010, with restoration of the main house, corridors and box office’ mobility-impaired provision was also provided via a platform lift, along with significant heating, ventilation and lighting upgrades.
But toilet facilities were only “cosmetically updated” as part of this refurbishment and have not been significantly altered since the 1980s.
Plans were approved a few years ago for six cubicles per floor and an accessible WC within the vaulted void at Stalls level but “budget constraints have dictated an alternative approach”, says a report.
This new application proposes increasing the number of ladies’ loos to achieve 10 cubicles at the Stalls level and seven at the Royal Circle level.
The scheme is described as a “more modest suite of works” but has been carefully developed to provide new facilities in existing spaces to supplement the existing provision.
The plans involve “under-used” areas close to the main house at two levels only – Stalls and Royal Circle.
The report says: “The location of these spaces is distinct from the existing WC areas which relieves the concentration of people waiting from the southside horseshoe corridor and main house gangways.”
These additional facilities will result in a small loss of historic fabric but it is the designers’ view that these will have a “negligible impact” on the overall significance of the listed theatre and that any harm would be outweighed by the public benefit of having more toilets.
The planning reference is 24/03015/FUL and comments should be submitted to the council by 13th September.
