Residential designin Bath

The Georgian terraces and crescents of the centre, the Regency and Victorian villas of Lansdown, Bathwick and Widcombe, the stone cottages of Combe Down and the hillside houses of Lyncombe and Bear Flat. Almost all of it is built from Bath stone, and the city's setting in its green hills is itself protected.

This means that new work is judged not only on how it looks from the garden, but on how it reads in long views across the valley. Roof extensions, large areas of glass and bright materials receive particular scrutiny.

Bath and North East Somerset Council is the planning authority. For listed buildings, listed building consent is needed for any works that affect character, inside or out. The council has a dedicated conservation team and offers pre-application advice, which we recommend for anything beyond minor work.

Successful extensions in Bath tend to be subordinate in scale, clearly of their time, and made from a restrained palette: stone, bronze, timber, lead and zinc. We prepare thorough heritage statements that explain the significance of the house and why the proposal protects it.

Many Bath houses are tall and narrow, with kitchens in basements that see little sun. Our work often reorganises the house vertically: bringing the kitchen up to garden level, or opening the basement to a sunken terrace. Retrofit is approached carefully, with breathable insulation, lime plasters and secondary glazing that protect historic fabric.

Vaults beneath the pavement, shared rear lanes and steep terraced gardens are typical of the city. Each brings questions of ownership, access and structure that are best resolved before design is fixed. Bath stone itself needs care: repairs should use matching stone and lime mortars, never cement, which traps moisture and accelerates decay.