Twerton Mill, Lower Bristol Road, Westmoreland, Bath

The proposed site of development is the section of pavement outside of the contemporary Twerton Mill student development, situated within the Bath conservation area and the World Heritage Site. Based on the measurements provided within this application, the pavement is estimated to be approx. 1.91m in width, and is situated along the main arterial thoroughfare into and out of Bath city centre. The proposals also include the adjacent pavement up against the side of the Grade II Twerton Viaduct, although this pavement is largely dominated by on-street parking.

We note that no design details for the proposed bus shelter have been provided as part of this application. We trust that the design would accord with existing examples of bus stops along the route and the Bath Pattern Book.

We also have some concerns regarding the impact of a bus shelter on pedestrian amenity and access. The pavement is relatively constrained and situated along a very busy road with no capacity for pedestrians to ‘step off’ to pass one another. We therefore note that whilst the application highlights that it fulfils the minimum 500mm clearance of the kerb, the addition of a shelter would result in a notable obstruction of the pavement where it is generally recommended that a minimum unobstructed pavement width of 1200mm is retained for ease of access and to ensure appropriate levels of pedestrian amenity.

In contrast, we note that on the adjacent pavement, it is proposed that an RTI is to be installed “as a result of lack of footway to accommodate a bus shelter.”