Rotork Controls Ltd, Rotork House, Brassmill Lane, Newbridge

This application concerns the Rotork Controls site, previously the subject of application 17/00479/FUL which remains valid following the demolition of the former Eriks Building. The site is located just outside of the boundary of the Bath conservation area, but remains within the World Heritage Site, and forms part of Bath’s Enterprise Zone along the River Avon adjacent to the Brassmill Lane Trading Estate. The Rotork Company was founded in the 1940s in Bristol, moving to Bath in the late 1950s, and is therefore an example of a surviving industry with historic, local origins.

The Trust is therefore supportive of the proposed on-site works to facilitate its utility and functionality. We are encouraged to see this proposal as a temporary retainer of the industrial use of the site whilst progress is made on Rotork’s wider expansion strategy. We would emphasise the Trust’s interest in maintaining involvement throughout the ongoing process of application 17/00479/FUL.

However, we would encourage this application to make better use of the opportunity to incorporate further green landscaping elements into the scheme to increasingly soften the car park’s appearance from both Brassmill Lane as well as the River Avon public footpath, as well as within the car park itself to provide shading and visually break up what would otherwise be a large area of homogenous hard landscaping. The Trust additionally feels that in conjunction with the proposed provision of EV charging spaces, there is some potential for the implementation of solar canopies, given the ongoing Climate Emergency, to provide shading and generate green energy for the benefit of car park users.