PROPERTY
Balancing heritage and sustainability in a World Heritage City by Haydn Smith
With more than 5,000 listed buildings, heritage is big business in Bath which draws over six million visitors annually.
Conscious of protecting their main source of income and scarred by memories of the‘ Sack of Bath’ in the 1960s and 70s, when large areas of the city’ s artisanal and industrial properties were demolished in a post-war push for modernisation, there has been an understandable resistance amongst the local population to further dramatic change of Bath’ s built environment.
This means that despite a flurry of activity along the River Avon in recent years to accommodate the continually expanding student population and burgeoning tech and creative industries, Bath still primarily consists of Georgian, Victorian and mid-20th century development with the planning authority and local charitable organisations fiercely scrutinising any new planning proposals.
However, despite Bath’ s traditional resistance to change, it might soon be forced upon the city in the form of dramatic improvements in energy performance requirements.
Following the introduction of legislation in 2015, landlords are already required to meet minimum energy efficiency standards( MEES) in order to let their properties. In line with the UK’ s commitment to achieve net zero by 2050, the Government’ s intention is now to raise the minimum Energy Performance Certificate( EPC) rating for residential and commercial properties from E to C by 2030.
With such a concentration of historic properties in the city, how will these proposals impact Bath? To put this into a local context, a traditionally constructed Georgian terraced house would fail to meet these new targets and would likely only achieve an EPC rating of E. Whilst some exemptions for listed buildings do currently exist, the direction of change is clear and Bath’ s stock of beautiful, but drafty and energy-intensive properties will require significant investment over the next five years if there is any hope of meeting these new targets.
It will also be interesting to see what impact this has on sales values as buyers begin to factor in the additional time, expense and disruption required to upgrade their properties to meet ever more stringent energy performance requirements.
The increasingly pertinent question now facing property owners and built-environment professionals working in the city is how to preserve Bath’ s worldfamous architecture( and the substantial tourist revenue and capital values that historically derive from it) while meeting demands for high quality, energy-efficient and affordable properties.
By now, you well might be thinking that this all sounds like far too much effort and that it might be time to reconsider your purchase of a period property and opt for an easy new-build instead.
Before taking such a drastic step please do take a moment to pause and reconsider as, despite some commonly held misconceptions, it is possible to make meaningful alterations to period and listed buildings, including dramatically enhancing their energy performance. A recent technical study undertaken by HS Chartered Surveyors and Energy Saving Experts Ltd demonstrated, for example, that it would be possible( subject to consents) to achieve an EPC rating of B on a typical Bath townhouse.
Just because a building is listed does not necessarily mean that listed building consent and / or planning permission will not be granted, it just might require a little more thought to get the design right first.
Photovoltaic cells, for example, could be incorporated in the form of solar slates on outer-facing roof slopes or be located to screen them from view. Similarly, it is possible to upgrade the insulation levels in a period building, but rather than using synthetic options you might have to use natural materials such as Glapor RFG, cork or sheep’ s wool instead to allow the building to breathe. More sympathetic draft-proofing and secondary glazing systems are also becoming available and conservation officers are increasingly willing to consider replacement of windows with slimline double-glazed options where appropriate.
With careful design it might even be possible to incorporate modern heating and ventilation systems such as air source heat pumps and mechanical heat recovery units.
The key point is that any proposed interventions are more likely to obtain consent and improve functional performance if they are carefully designed by suitably experienced professionals. Plenty of further information related to this topic is now available online. To help you get started Bath Preservation Trust has recently published further guidance including‘ Warmer Bath – A Guide to Improving the Energy Efficiency of Traditional Homes in the City of Bath’, which is available to download from their website.
Haydn Smith, BA( Hons), PG Dip, MA, MRICS is an experienced Chartered Building Surveyor working in Bath, specialised in the repair and conservation of historic buildings. To find out more visit: www. hsmitharch. com.
For more info: www. bath-preservation-trust. org. uk / wp-content / uploads / 2022 / 09 / Warmer-Bath. pdf
www. energy-saving-experts. com
“... despite Bath’ s traditional resistance to change, it might soon be forced upon the city in the form of dramatic improvements in energy performance requirements.”
16 www. tbebathandsomerset. co. uk