[Concerned residents gathered outside the entrance to the development they are not happy with]
Who would have thought it? Could leafy Bailbrook Lane – on the lower slopes of Solsbury Hill – be becoming the Beverly Hills of Bath?
Last night l joined around sixty local residents who met to plan a course of action in objecting to a massive and contemporary single-house development that dwarfs the 19th-century terraced cottages nearby – built to house workers employed in the local Robertson jam orchards.
This construction – with a long history of planning applications and owners – is being built on former nursery land. Originally, say the protestors, it was going to be a single-story house set in the hillside, but now it sits on top of the hill.
The developer is currently seeking retrospective planning permission for alterations to the original planning permission that had been granted.
The protestors argue it’s a case of build first and seek permission afterwards.
They are encouraging people to object on grounds of scale, bad access, increased flood risk and harm to the Conservation Area. It also sits right on the Green Belt boundary.
This is considered one of Bath’s largest single-house planning approvals.
Meanwhile, there is another large and contemporary single-house development just a little way further down the lane which has also come in for criticism. However, that is not the subject of this particular gathering and is a development that was granted planning permission.
Lambridge councillors Saskia Heijltjes and Joanna Wright were present at last night’s meeting, and I had a word with Cllr Wright.
Following their meeting with the planning officer handling this application, he has agreed to a small meeting with some of the community to discuss the application.
