Snow Hill House, Snow Hill

Snow Hill House is part of the Snow Hill Estate within the Bath conservation area and World Heritage site. It was built in 1952-1968, and is situated off London Road within an area characterised by 19th century terraced, residential properties.

BPT has previously voiced its pre-application support for the re-roofing of Snow Hill flats in 2016 (see application 16/03479/FUL). We continue to understand the need to replace defective roof structures to ensure their effective function and the comfort of residents, and do not view the existing copper roofs to be a positive contribution to the Bath conservation area or World Heritage site.

Therefore, we see this reroofing scheme to be a positive opportunity to replace the existing green, oxidised copper roofs with an aesthetically neutral substitute that blends with the established Bath palette of materials and colours. The use of dark grey zinc seamed roofing is suitable, and matches an established precedent of remedial works within the Snow Hill estate.

However, we feel that this is a missed opportunity to integrate suitable energy efficient measures into the repairs through the use of micro-renewable solutions to existing carbon emissions and energy consumption. We would argue that the size and position of the development site lends itself to the installation of non-reflective, integrated PV panels in accordance with Policy SCR2 of the Core Strategy and Placemaking Plan.