Hill Top, Little Solsbury Lane, Batheaston

Hill Top is an unlisted 19th century cottage situated within the Green Belt, Cotswolds AONB, and the indicative landscape setting of the World Heritage Site. The cottage is present from the 1840s, having been the subject of numerous extensions along the north, east, and west elevations by the early 20th century. The building is set in a solitary position at the top of the east-west slope overlooking Bathampton and the Larkhall area of Bath.

As part of proposals for a first floor extension to the west elevation, this would extend the roof ridge and the external wall of the core building, resulting in the further erosion of its readability. Should the principle of the extension be considered acceptable, we strongly recommend that it is appropriately recessed back from the external wall and set down slightly below the established roof line to allow it to read as a secondary extension to the original form and footprint of the main building. This would also allow for the retention of the existing roof coping where this delineates the mid-19th century form of the building.

We have some concerns regarding the proposed canopy and how this would interact with the south elevation. This appears to be the principal façade of the building which would be somewhat obscured by the cumulative addition of an open canopy and an enclosed extension of the eastern wing. The style of the canopy appears to be overly ‘polite’ in comparison to the building’s rural appearance and character. It is also proposed to remove of the existing porch, although it has not been clarified as to whether this is original to, or has a historic contribution to, the main building as part of this application.