A decision is set to be made tomorrow on whether a Bath couple can build two “unashamedly modern” homes on the site of a historic cottage on the edge of the city after a two-and-a-half-year planning row..

Jeremy and Sarah Flavell’s planning application for the Charlcombe Way site will go before Bath and North East Somerset Council ’s planning committee on Wednesday, 28th June.

The Flavell's own Three Point Design, the architectural design firm working on the design of the homes. A design and access statement submitted with the application by the firm said that the plan will “create two new family homes with green credentials,” which have been designed to reduce embodied carbon emissions.

The statement said: “We feel these proposed residences will provide a beautiful and exquisitely detailed design, which is sensitive and well considered.”

But others have disagreed. Charlcombe Parish Council stated: “This ill conceived proposal amounts to architectural vandalism, and we urge a rethink.”

Waterworks cottage overlooks Chalcombe Valley and dates back to the 1850s when it was probably built as worker’s accommodation for the workers at the nearby waterworks. Although it is not listed, it has been a non-designated heritage asset locally since 2017.

It has already been ruled that the cottage can be demolished without the need to seek prior approval, and the planning application states: “The demolition is now in the process of being actioned.”

Charlcombe Parish Council said: “It’s a tragedy that the original perfectly habitable historic cottage has been approved for demolition, and this proposal builds on that tragedy by replacing it with two excessively large and oversized box dwellings, totally inappropriate for the setting.”

The Bath and Counties Archaeological Society added: “The removal of the cottage will be a significant and irreplaceable loss to the local heritage.”

Concerns have also been raised about the impact on the local amphibian population by Charlcombe Toad Rescue. The house sits in the area of the annual Charlcombe toad and frog migration, as they head from the hills to their breeding grounds in the Charlcombe Valley lake.

The Falvell’s environmental consultants Quantock Ecology state that construction should not begin until after their breeding season, and amphibian fencing should be placed on the site.

The council’s planning officers are recommending councillors approve the development. Planning officers are responsible for making recommendations to the planning committee about what would be in line with the council’s policies.

Their report states: “Whilst the harm is considered to be substantial, it is harm that cannot be resisted.”

The final say will rest with councillors on the planning committee when they meet on Wednesday.

The Flavell’s originally planned to build three homes on the site back in November 2020, but the plans have been repeatedly scaled back as the planning row has dragged on.

The current application, submitted in March 2023, is for two three-bedroom homes. It has received 60 objections on Bath and North East Somerset Council’s online planning portal, two neutral comments, and seven supporting comments.

LDRS, John Wimperis