7 Marlborough Lane, Kingsmead

7 Marlborough Lane is an unlisted late 19th century villa situated within the Bath conservation area and World Heritage site. Marlborough Lane runs adjacent to the Lower Common allotment gardens, a significant green space within the city, and leads towards the highly sensitive Grade I Royal Crescent terrace. Therefore, this building is situated within a highly sensitive region of the Bath conservation area that formulates a crucial ancillary context to exceptional examples of Bath’s Georgian architecture that contribute towards the city’s “outstanding universal value”.

Consequently, BPT encourages appropriate, sustainable retrofits to this building’s frontage to enhance the appearance of the building and its visual contribution to its historic context. The use of like-for-like materials such as white-painted timber window frames ensures a consistent aesthetic uniformity with neighbouring buildings. Double glazing will additionally improve 7 Marlborough Street’s energy performance and reduce carbon emissions in line with recent concerns motivating a Climate Emergency.

However, the Trust has some suggestions for the improvement of this application:
Whilst double glazing is an appropriate functional option, there has been no indication that the possibility of using slimline glazing has been considered in this application. We feel that slimline glazing would be more suitable due to its visual similarity to single glazing and the lack of a ‘double reflection’ associated with double glazing. For these reasons, slimline would lessen this application’s visual impact on the conservation area; we would request that the potential for the use of slimline be demonstratively assessed before this application progresses.

We also feel that the opportunity to reinstate a consistent window design and style has been missed. The combination of sash, casement, and fixed windows has degraded the harmonious architectural appearance of the building’s elevations, and the reinstatement of traditional single-pane Victorian sash windows would not only restore the building’s historic aesthetic, but match the existing window styles of its neighbours and enhance this portion of Bath’s conservation area.

Therefore, whilst BPT supports the principle of this application, we strongly recommend that above amendments to window design and glazing type are implemented in accordance with the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Area) Act 1990, Section 16 of the NPPF, and Core Strategy and Placemaking Plan Policies B1, B4, BD1, CP1, CP6, D1, D2, D3, D5, and HE1.