37 Gay Street, City Centre

37 Gay Street forms part of a Grade II mid-18th century terrace of townhouses, now with commercial ground floors, situated within the Bath conservation area and World Heritage Site. It forms the indicative setting of a high concentration of Grade I and Grade II segments of 18th century terrace up Gay Street. It remains a significant aspect of Bath’s monumental architecture and Georgian Town Planning OUV that provides direct views between the Grade I The Circus and the Grade I Queen Square. Whilst still largely residential in character, the ground floors of Gay Street have been increasingly converted to commercial use; shop fronts and signage have continued to accord with traditional materials and finishes important to the retained, harmonious appearance and character of the conservation area. In contrast, the ground floor of 37 Gay Street remains typically residential in its appearance with a lack of signage.

Considering the existing use of hanging signs at ground floor level along Gay Street, we do not oppose the principle of a hanging sign so long as this would utilise existing fixing holes in the stonework and is of an appropriate size and design.

However, we note that no further details have been incorporated such as the design of the sign, colour palette, or sign materials. Considering the proposed alterations to the frontage of a Grade II building within a sensitive region of the conservation area, we feel these details should be included as part of this application for consideration by the LPA, rather than a separate AR application.