Developer scopes out scheme for up to 12 houses at Batheaston

A developer is looking to build between nine and 12 houses on the former Poplar Nurseries site at Batheaston.

A pre-application request has gone in to Bath & North East Somerset Council asking whether an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) will be required for a proposed development at the overgrown 1.6-acre site at No. 7 The Batch.

The glass houses on the site are said to have been unused since 2008, with some panes broken. Only the frames remain of the polytunnels and the shop is said to be in a poor condition and boarded up.

The site also includes a house that was built in the 1950s.

The pre-application states that the site is located outside the settlement boundary and in the Green Belt and Cotswolds National Landscape, adding: “It is located outside the WHS [World Heritage Site] but within its setting on a protected hillside.”

A 5.5-metre-wide estate access road and two-metre footway would be constructed in place of the existing gravel access road. The derelict shop and glass houses would be demolished.

The scheme would likely be a mix of two and three-storey detached and semi-detached houses of four or five bedrooms, built from traditional materials with a contemporary design, and compliant with the council’s sustainable construction checklist.

Parking provision would also comply with council standards, with some additional spaces provided within the estate for use by local residents.

There would be a suitable sustainable drainage system, and the pre-application adds: “The proposed development would include soft landscaping in both shared spaces and private gardens, and designated BNG [biodiversity net gain] areas with retention of existing trees where possible.

“It is likely that only a limited number of trees would require removal due to construction and would be approved by a tree officer as part of the planning application and would form part of a landscape and visual impact assessment.”

There is a suggestion that some public open space would be provided which might include picnic benches, a patio, outdoor cooking areas and a pergola or covered area.

The developer suggests in the pre-application that an EIA would not be required. The council is due to make a decision by 15th September.