Plans to provide more ladies’ loos at Bath’s Grade II* listed Theatre Royal have been approved.
The Theatre Royal Bath in Sawclose | Photo © Nigel Jarvis / Shutterstock.com
The theatre currently has an under-provision of ladies’ toilets with only three on each level – Stalls, Royal Circle, Dress Circle and Grand Circle.
The theatre underwent a significant refurbishment in 2010, with the restoration of the main house, corridors and box office. Mobility-impaired provision was also provided via a platform lift and there were heating, ventilation and lighting upgrades.
But toilet facilities were only “cosmetically updated” as part of the 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 a vaulted space at Stalls level but were not carried out due to “budget constraints”.
Now Bath & North East Somerset Council has granted planning permission and listed building consent to a new scheme to convert the Stalls bar vault and the Royal Circle kitchen area to provide additional toilets.
Seven new loos at Stalls level and four at Royal Circle level have been approved, bringing the total up to 10 at Stalls level and seven for the Royal Circle.
Council planning officers said that overall, the work will cause a “very low level of harm” to the significance of the listed theatre and will be “decisively outweighed” by the public benefits.
Meanwhile, as we reported in August, the council is currently deciding on a separate application for a new community venue at the Theatre Royal Bath.
‘Venue 4’ will be created by re-organising internal space to provide a capacity for around 40 people.
