Good to see B&NES presenting itself with a planning application to ‘include remedial works to the roofs of the Guildhall and Market Hall, including installation of new roof coverings and associated leadwork repairs.
The works also include the replacement of roof lights to the Market Hall and refurbishment of the existing glazed domes at the Guildhall as new bird deterrent measures and improved thermal upgrade and ventilation to the roofs.’
That will certainly please the market traders who, in time, will be able to dispense with the buckets they have been using to catch rainwater dripping through leaking skylights.
Also, while there’s not much to see exterior-wise of work getting underway to transform the old Grade 2 * listed Mineral Water Hospital building into a five-star 160-bedroom hotel, a couple of planning applications show there is plenty of activity within the heritage building.
A couple of applications.
One concerns replastering, insulation, and soundproofing measures, and the other, which interests me more, revolves around the fate of a section of Roman mosaic currently installed in a building in the grounds of the former hospital, known as The Lodge.
The application concerns:
‘A fragment of Roman Mosaic, which may be third or fourth century, similar to a section in the basement; it is sited within a niche on the east wall of the ground floor of a garden annexe (The Lodge), building to the south of the main hospital.’
I think these tiled sections of flooring were discovered during original building work at the site, and they will be carefully removed and stored.
Following conservation, they are due to be displayed in the hotel’s main reception area.
In another section of the application, it states: ‘In the West Wing basement there is a mosaic, currently under protective measures, that will be cleaned and restored in situ as part of the final hotel development.’
It’s good to know that this is the intention of the owners, who happen to be The Fragrance Group of Singapore, which already has a portfolio of hotels in the country.
I lie awake at night wondering what name they will choose for what will be our second 5-star hotel.
