43 Stall Street, City Centre

43 Stall Street is an unlisted 20th century terraced shop with accommodation on the upper floors, situated within the city core of the Bath conservation area and World Heritage Site. It forms part of Arlington House, a 1959-1961 development replacing the late 19th century Grand Pump Room Hotel. The development ties in with the established architectural style of Bath Street, implementing a colonnaded walkway with matching Ionic capitals, mimicking the earlier footprint of the Grand Pump Room hotel. It is located adjacent to multiple Grade II buildings at 1-3 Stall Street and the Grade I Grand Pump Room.

The commercial shopfront character and appearance of the core of the Bath conservation area and World Heritage Site is enhanced by its retained vernacular appearance, use of traditional materials and construction methods, and bespoke design approach. Consequently, shop frontages are 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 city conservation area and World Heritage Site.

The repainting of the fascia in ‘pure white’ (RAL 9010) is not appropriate in this context. This colour would be too bright and would clash with the more recessive, honey tones of the Bath stone ashlar frontage of the building and the wider material vernacular of the conservation area and its historic building stock. We therefore suggest that an off-white or cream colour is selected to ensure a more neutral and complementary appearance. We encourage the use of a matte finish to prevent an overly glossy or shiny appearance within the conservation area.

We emphasise our preference for hand-painted signage within the Bath’s historic commercial centre. The use of pinned acrylic lettering is not appropriate, and we discourage the use of overtly modern and low-maintenance materials in favour of a more traditional and bespoke approach.

We oppose the proposed design of the hanging sign in powder coated metal and acrylic. One of the identified features of the commercial appearance and character of the conservation area is the use of traditional hand-painted timber or stove enamelled metal hanging signage. We therefore maintain that the use of acrylic signage within Bath’s historic centre, regardless of the contemporary age of the shop front, would be inappropriate and would not preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the conservation area, and would strongly recommend that a more traditional approach is considered.

Therefore, this proposal fails to preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the conservation area and would harm the visual amenity value of the area. It would be of detriment to the distinctive shop front vernacular of the conservation area and World Heritage Site, and would be contrary to the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, Section 16 of the NPPF, and Policies B1, BD1, CP6, D1, D2, D3, D9, and HE1 of the Core Strategy and Placemaking Plan and should be withdrawn or refused.