Fire Damaged Premises, 44 Lower Bristol Road, Westmoreland

The proposed site of development is situated at 44 Lower Bristol Road within the boundary of Bath’s World Heritage site. It is situated within the setting of the Grade II Newark Works, a mid-19th century engineering works. The proposed development was originally permitted in 2017 (see 16/02527/FUL) and is now described as “substantially built”.

This application would benefit from further clarification as to the progress of works, particularly regarding the ground floor as the subject of the proposed change of use. Regarding Policy H3 of the Core Strategy and Placemaking Plan, the sub-division of “existing buildings” for residential use is permissible unless this would prejudice the “continued commercial use of ground/lower floors”. We trust the case officer will assess this application with regards as to whether at present it fulfils the necessary criteria to be considered of “continued commercial use”, in which case this application would be contrary to local policy.