4 Southgate Street, City Centre

4 Southgate Street is an unlisted shop premises within the commercial core of the Bath conservation area and World Heritage Site. It forms part of the 2009-2010 Southgate development, utilising a distinctly Georgian-esque style of architectural design. Due to its centralised location within the city’s historic centre, shop frontage is expected to conform to relevant guidance regarding the appropriate use of materials, colours, and a lack of illuminated signage, in keeping with the wider historic character of the Bath conservation area and World Heritage Site.

There is a notable discrepancy within this application with regards to the proposed scale of the marketing poster. Whilst proposed to be A1 in size, the measurements proposed in the Application Form (1.716 x 1.245 x 0.005 metre(s)) are more in keeping with 2A0 proportions. The Trust is generally opposed to oversized posters and vinyls that can ‘deaden’ the shopfront’s contribution to the streetscape, particularly considering the presence of other posters in the windows of 4 Southgate Street, to which this application proposes a further addition. We therefore ask for clarity regarding the proposed poster size, and recommend that it should not be permitted to be larger than A1 in size to prevent being over-dominant in scale and appearance, to the detriment of the visual amenity value of the conservation area.