Dear Sir, At the Bath & North East Somerset Planning Committee on Wednesday 28th August, councillors were equally divided about whether or not to give permission to a new development at 1-4 Wells Road in Bath. The committee ultimately agreed to the proposals and in doing so, disregarded several of the primary policies and strategies of the council.
The committee’s narrow majority support is for a development with accommodation which does not meet minimum space standards. The rental price of living in the block is expected to be £1,335 per person. Although this is theoretically all inclusive, it means it will still be more expensive to live here than in larger one-bedroom flats elsewhere in the city.
Some councillors and objectors expressed that the housing would not be affordable and would do nothing to reduce housing costs in the city. Increasing the availability of accommodation at above average prices will increases the rental costs in Bath. A person working full time on the Real Living Wage would have only £330 left after this rental cost – for bills, food, travel, clothes, toiletries and healthcare.
The building will be built on land which has light industrial and retail units on it, which are currently occupied. The change of use does not adhere to the commitments in the Economic Strategy adopted earlier this year, which aimed to safeguard infrastructure and provide affordable housing. Bath already has a weaker economy than Bristol, Swindon, Exeter and Oxford and losing more economic space to high-cost, unaffordable housing will exacerbate the issue.
The building which will house the accommodation is five storeys tall. It is more than double the height of any of its neighbours, taller than any building previously built on the site and will extend the length of the high-rise buildings on Lower Bristol Road.
Bath has a council-written Building Heights Strategy which aims to stop over-sized inappropriate buildings and is a material consideration for planning. According to the strategy, this building is 5.5 metres taller than it should be in this location.
Bath has a housing emergency, a crisis, which needs urgent action – the right houses at the right price in the right location. This development does none of those things. The developer wants to build co-living accommodation, which is a brilliant option for many young people wanting affordable housing. But the cost in this location is prohibitive, and more expensive than average rental prices in Bath. And what is really worrying is that the Planning Committee is not upholding B&NES Council policies and strategies, which sets a dangerous precedent.
Alex Sherman, CEO of Bath Preservation Trust attended the Committee