Our proposals for a new office building at Combe Hay near Bath show how careful planning and sensitive design can deliver sustainable development within a highly constrained setting.
Working together, our planning and architecture teams secured planning permission from Bath & North East Somerset Council for a new office building to replace a series of disused stables. The development will provide a new home for an existing local business while enhancing the appearance and environmental quality of the site.
The context
Located within the Green Belt and the Cotswolds National Landscape, and on the approach to the Combe Hay Conservation Area, the site presented a number of planning and design challenges.
The existing stables were in a poor state of repair and no longer suitable for modern use. Any replacement development needed to show it would preserve the openness of the Green Belt, respond sensitively to its rural setting and respect the character of the surrounding landscape.
Achieving planning permission also required careful consideration of local and national planning policy, together with specialist input to address ecological and transport matters.
Our approach
Our planning consultants undertook a detailed assessment of national and local planning policy to establish the principle of replacing the existing buildings with a new office for an established local business.
Working closely with our architecture team, we developed proposals for a single-storey, L-shaped building inspired by the simple form and character of traditional agricultural buildings. The new office occupies a footprint around 26% smaller than the existing stables, reducing the impact of the development on the openness of the Green Belt while allowing it to sit comfortably within the surrounding landscape.
We also coordinated specialist ecology and highways consultants to support the planning application. The proposals enhance the previously developed site through new habitats and hedgerow planting, delivering biodiversity net gain while ensuring appropriate access and transport arrangements.
The outcome
Planning permission has been secured for a sensitively designed rural office development that supports the continued growth of a local business while respecting its highly sensitive setting. By replacing redundant buildings with a smaller, carefully considered design, the scheme enhances the site, improves biodiversity and shows how development within the Green Belt can successfully respond to both planning policy and landscape character.