Rainbow Wood House, Widcombe Hill, Widcombe, Bath

Rainbow Wood House is a Grade II late 19th century country house situated within the Bath conservation area, World Heritage Site, Green Belt, and Cotswolds AONB. It forms the setting for a high number of Grade II listed buildings in the area, including the terraced Macaulay Buildings, and other detached houses including Macaulay House, Rood House, Fairstowe, and Beechwood. The wooded land associated with the house forms part of the dense mature planting within the streetscape as viewed from Macaulay Buildings and Widcombe Hill, with a perceived tree ‘belt’ running along and around the eastern side of Macaulay Buildings to the south. Planting in this area contributes towards the distinctive rural, wooded character and appearance of this character area within the conservation area. Private gardens are noted to form an integral aspect of the landscape as part of the historic plan form and design of the Widcombe Hill area. There has been a history of piecemeal tree removal on the site from 2016 onwards.

We appreciate the need for woodland maintenance and the removal of those trees suffering from dieback. However, we maintain the need to consider the cumulative impact of proposed works on how the tree belt is perceived in wider landscape and streetscape views. We emphasise the need for new and replacement planting of appropriate species to replace felled trees, where appropriate, to retain a visually unbroken canopy as perceived in short and mid-range views to the west, as well as in wider landscape views.