Work proposed as trees cause subsidence at Bath secondary school

An application has been submitted to Bath & North East Somerset Council to chop down trees which are causing subsidence damage at a school.

St Marks’ School from above | Photo © Colin Peachey / Shutterstock.com

Monitoring of cracks has been taking place at Orchard Lodge at St Mark’s CofE School in Fairfield Park.

The two-storey detached building at Bay Tree Road is used as a resource base for the school.

Structural engineers visited last year and said the movement could be due to prolonged dry weather over the summer affecting the moisture content of the soil strata. They recommended further monitoring.

Then last month a subsidence damage investigation was carried out by arboriculture consultants acting on instructions from insurers to assess the potential role of vegetation in the damage.

The report says: “Damage was noted throughout the property.”

It adds: “Based on the information currently available, engineering opinion and our own site assessment, we conclude there is damage consistent with shrinkage of the clay subsoil exacerbated by the soil drying effects of vegetation.”

It is their opinion that four trees – three poplars and a cherry – are the principal cause of, or are contributing to, the current building movement and damage.

None of the trees are covered by Tree Preservation Orders, but the poplars are in a conservation area, so the council needs to be notified about the proposed works.

The cherry is not included in the application for tree works as it falls outside of the conservation area.

The application says the tree stumps will be treated to stop regrowth.

The council is due to decide on whether to permit the felling by 17th August.