Date published: 2024-03-11 | Category: Housing, Delivering for local residents, Bath
Revised plans for much-needed accommodation for adults with learning disabilities on an ecologically sensitive site on Englishcombe Lane in Bath are on view from today (Monday 11 March).
Bath & North East Somerset Council has put forward proposals for 16 units on land to the rear of 89-123 Englishcombe Lane, which balance the need for community housing with protecting the ecology of the site.
The accommodation will enable people with a learning disability and/or autism to live as independently as possible, but with care and support as needed, reducing the need for out-of-area placements away from family and friends.
A face-to-face drop-in session will be held at St Luke’s Church Centre off Wellsway on Wednesday 13 March between 4pm and 8pm, giving residents an opportunity to study the plans, ask questions and give feedback. The public exhibition will also be live online for two weeks from 11 to 22 March.
The exhibition will incorporate information showing how the proposal responds to the landscape, the local ecology, flood, and drainage considerations and it will also provide an opportunity to raise awareness about the intended beneficiaries of the proposed scheme and their disparate needs.
The proposed development is designed to provide a calm and reassuring environment and meet the individual and collective needs of the residents and their carers. It includes 11 single-storey and 5 split level properties and a communal facility.
The design approach to the site has been landscape-led, using the Building with Nature (BwN) assessment criteria to inform the layout and ensure that the buildings and spaces incorporate natural elements and enhance the wellbeing of the occupants, while working within the ecological constraints of the site. The revised proposals include measures to protect the ecology of the area: a 10m buffer around the site; a bat corridor; and protective measure for badgers, reptiles and small mammals.
The proposed development seeks to maximise the Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) on site and the design team is continuing to look at opportunities to do so. If required, the team will rely on designated council sites to provide further BNG.
Councillor Deborah Collins, cabinet project lead for Leader and for Built Environment & Sustainable Development, said: “We have worked hard to develop a scheme that provides residential accommodation in a sensitive way while protecting the landscape. I am immensely proud of this scheme and I believe it will have a transformative effect on people’s lives. Feedback from previous engagement activity has fed into these proposals and I want to thank everybody, including residents and community groups, who has worked with us to develop this scheme. And I would encourage as many people as possible to visit the exhibition either in person or online and complete a feedback form telling us what aspects they like and what actions can be taken to change elements that concern them.”
In developing the proposals, the project team has gained insight from people with lived experience - frontline providers and others with personal understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorder - as well as a team member involved in the National Neurodiversity in Planning Network.
The drop-in session will be held at St Luke’s Church Centre, Hatfield Road, Bath, BA2 2 BD. The exhibition can be viewed online at: https://englishcombelanesupportedhousing.com.
A planning application will be submitted in the near future.
ENDS