First Floor Flat, 248 High Street, Batheaston
248 High Street is a Grade II early-mid 19th century house, formerly with a commercial ground floor, situated along the main thoroughfare of the Batheaston conservation area, and the indicative landscape setting of the World Heritage Site. It contributes to the traditional vernacular palette of Batheaston in its use of Bath stone ashlar and retention of traditional timber frame single glazed sash windows along its front elevation, albeit with some variety in scale.
The Trust is supportive of the proposed removal and replacement of the existing, poor quality modern secondary glazing and draftproofing. In principle, we support the use of secondary glazing to improve the thermal performance of the building without compromising on its historic features. The installation through all windows on the first and second floor would ensure a largely uniform, homogenous appearance which would not detract from the appearance of the retained historic windows. We note that the ground floor window is distinctly different in design and age, and therefore is visually discordant anyway, regardless of its exclusion from this application. We maintain the use of magnetically-fixed secondary glazing as a minimally invasive and easily reversible addition to improve the energy efficiency and residential comfort of a historic building and ensure its long-term, sustainable use.
However, we recommend that existing and proposed window sections are provided by the LPA to clearly outline the degree of proposed change to the windows, and any resulting change in appearance and associated potential impact. We additionally suggest that joinery details of the proposed shutters are submitted to the LPA for assessment.
The proposed installation of PV panels on the inner roof slope would have a negligible visual impact on the listed building. However, we would recommend that the design and finish proposed are compliant with Policy SCR2 of the Core Strategy and Placemaking Plan, and in particular would recommend a matt finish.