5 Wellsway, Bath

5 Wellsway forms part of an unlisted mid to late Victorian terrace situated within the Bath conservation area and World Heritage Site. There are two existing Andrews units situated at 3 and 9 Wellsway, although we note that 3 Wellsway has been excluded from both the Existing and Proposed Elevations; we ask the LPA to seek clarification of the the continued use of 3 Wellsway. The existing business Rolfey’s, to which this application relates, occupies both 5 and 7 Wellsway; both commercial units are visually homogenous with regards to colour scheme, awnings, and window treatment, and fascia lettering is restricted to 7 Wellsway.

BPT resists illuminated signage in principle. Bath is recognised as a low-illuminated city in which the maintained low levels of lighting complement the historic character and appearance of the city, and create a distinctive evening and night-time atmosphere. We feel the proposed installation of trough lighting across a total of four fascia shop fronts would cumulatively over-clutter the terrace’s commercial ground floor and result in excessive light spill. Therefore, the use of illuminated signage would be of detriment to the special qualities of the World Heritage site, and would neither preserve nor enhance the appearance and character of the conservation area.

We additionally oppose the application of an aluminium tray fascia over what appear to be an existing timber fascia, which would obscure a positive shop front feature and result in visual harm to the established traditional shop front character of the conservation area and World Heritage Site. We maintain that “fascia signage should always be hardwood timber” (Guidance on Signs, Adverts, Banners, and Awnings) to ensure a high-quality, traditional appearance throughout the conservation area. Considering 5 & 7 Wellsway’s existing shop fronts, we are unsure as to why these cannot be retained and repainted.

The application of the Andrews name and logo across all four fascia boards would result in the over-cluttering of what is proposed to be a single-business shop frontage. We would therefore suggest that the fascia boards could be left blank, as currently demonstrated at 5 Wellsway, but are painted to match.

The principle of illuminated signage is contrary to Policies B1, B4, BD1, D8, and D9 of the Core Strategy and Placemaking Plan, and should therefore be refused or withdrawn.