The scheme located in Bath, designed by architects Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, had been prepared, in part, to meet the identified need for additional flexible modern office space, as part of the Bath Enterprise Area. It consists of the redevelopment of the site to provide new office accommodation and a new teaching facility with student accommodation for Kaplan Language School.
Careful EIA Scoping for the Environmental Statement (ES) was undertaken which identified that assessment of likely significant impacts focussed on landscape, visual and heritage aspects.
Key environmental sensitivities included the visual relationship with the important green hillsides of the Bath World Heritage Site (WHS) and its setting, and the effects upon local listed buildings and local townscape character.
The VVMs, showing how the development sits within the townscape in both close and more distant viewpoints around the city, were considered crucial for the assessment of the scheme and in the decision making process.