3 St Mary’s Buildings, Lyncombe, Bath

Proposed works are for the removal of nine trees from the rear garden of 3 St Mary’s Buildings, part of a Grade II early 19th century terrace situated within the Bath City-Wider Conservation Area and World Heritage Site. The Bear Flat & Oldfield Park Character Appraisal outlines the visual contributions made to the wider character of the area by trees and planting within private gardens, as well as public open spaces. St Mary’s Buildings is set within a well-established tree belt along Wells Road with narrow strip garden plots set back above the road to the south. Whilst of varied character (with later additions of garages, etc.), the gardens are generally perceived to add to the overall, cumulative green qualities and appearance of the local area.

We acknowledge the justification of works that the garden is too small to support this number of large-scale trees, and the trees proposed for felling would be “replaced with more appropriately sized and placed bushes, hedges and small trees as part of re-landscaping of the garden.” The loss of trees would have a visual impact on the overall green appearance of the area, and we therefore encourage opportunities for suitable mitigation work to sustain the attractive qualities of the tree canopy in this area. There is a question as to whether it would be possible to retain any of the existing trees whilst allowing for garden re-landscaping works, particularly where the existing trees are of greater ecological value as established habitat and carbon sinks.