Bloomfield House, 146 Bloomfield Road, Bloomfield, Bath

146 Bloomfield Road is a Grade II 1800 house situated within the Bath City-Wide Conservation Area and World Heritage Site. The property is set back from the road on a north-south axis within the surviving fragment of its original historic garden setting, which has been eroded through the later 20th century due to the addition of a series of villa-style demi-detached buildings along Bloomfield Road.

The application does not currently provide sufficient information on the existing age and appearance of the lightwell staircase to be replaced, and we recommend that further information is provided to enable further assessment to ensure there would be no unjustified loss of historic fabric.

There is currently insufficient information provided regarding the visual impact of the proposed gas meter box, and how these would integrate themselves into the appearance of the principal elevation of a listed building. As yet there does not appear to be a proposed contextual elevation which show the gas meter box in situ and how this would relate to the main access into the building. The existing gas meters appear to be lacking from the existing elevations; it would be useful to clarify the scale and appearance of the existing meters to better assess whether the gas box as proposed is proportional in its size. We further emphasise that any cover should seek to minimise the appearance of the meter and should therefore be appropriately recessive in its size, colour, and material finish. Should the use of timber vents be considered acceptable, it is recommended that a naturally weathering timber is used where this could fade to a light grey colour, and would be more coherent with the Bath stone palette of the building. Alternatively, there is a question as to whether the existing gas meters could be repainted in a buff colour to blend in against the stonework, should these be of a small and unobtrusive size, though this remains to be clarified.