Pitt House, 15 Johnstone Street, Bathwick

15 Johnstone Street forms part of a Grade I late Georgian residential terrace situated within the Bath conservation area and World Heritage site. Whilst any proposed external alterations should be considered in relation to preserving the uniformity and architectural merit of the appearance of a listed building, and the group value of the wider listed terrace, 15 Johnstone Street additionally contributes to the contextual setting of the Grade I Pulteney Bridge due to its high visibility from the Grand Parade.
BPT has no comments regarding proposed internal alterations.

However, we are concerned regarding the proposed insertion of glazed doors to the west elevation of the building overlooking Pulteney Bridge and the Grant Parade; 15 Johnstone Street’s rear elevation remains an important aspect of Bath’s wider townscape setting. We maintain that this increase in glazing and associated lightspill will be of detriment to the views visible from the Grand Parade, and will neither enhance nor conserve the historic or material character of the Bath conservation area and World Heritage site.

Furthermore, this drastic increase in dormer size will establish an unwelcome precedent across the rest of the Johnstone Street roofscape, which could result in further harm to the setting of multiple Grade I heritage assets and the conservation area. We feel that the increased size of the dormer glazing is top heavy and out of character with typical examples of Georgian fenestration in which rooflights remain small and recessive.

The application remains unclear regarding the replacement of the existing fourth floor dormers; both the Planning Statement and Heritage Statement assert that the dormers will be replaced with “full height opening glazed windows”. However, the proposed elevations and joinery details clearly state the dormer windows will be replaced with “new painted HW glazed doors”. We would strongly recommend that this inconsistent detail is clarified throughout this application, and would also suggest that north and south elevations and a proposed fourth floor plan are provided to enable the LPA to see the proposed depth of the new dormer doors.

This application does not preserve nor enhance the townscape setting of the Bath conservation area and World Heritage site, and is out of keeping with the traditional, uniform appearance of a Grade I Georgian terrace building, and could establish an inappropriate precedent within Bath’s historic city centre. This application is therefore contrary to the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, Section 16 of the NPPF, and Policies B1, B4, BD1, CP6, D1, D2, D3, D5, and HE1 of the Core Strategy and Placemaking Plan, and should be refused or withdrawn.