76 St John’s Road, Bathwick, Bath

Currently the garden setting of the detached dwelling at 76 St John’s Road, the proposed site of tree works formerly made up part of the 19th century churchyard setting of St John the Baptist’s Bathwick Church and its associated vicarage, now Brompton House. The line of the driveway follows an historic pathway along the south-easterly line of what was the vicarage boundary towards the mortuary chapel. Where the streetscape and its backland have become increasingly built-up throughout the 20th century, the localised character of the area remains overtly verdant and well planted with mature trees where the shared setting of the mortuary chapel and St John the Baptist’s has been retained. It is therefore evident that the garden setting of No. 76 remains interlinked with its original churchyard context, and the tree cover along the boundary line continues to contribute to the green and secluded character of the adjoining site.

It is unclear as to whether any of the trees on the site have any historic associations with the churchyard prior to the development of No. 72. Considering the proposed felling of at least 6 trees (not including the two groups of trees/shrubs to be removed), we encourage careful consideration of how the proposed tree works and prospective landscaping works can be balanced against sustaining the character and appearance of the adjoining churchyard. We continue to encourage mitigatory tree planting where appropriate.