Hollis

Working with Watkin Property Ventures the private property company of the Watkin Jones family, Longacre and Watkin PV purchased the former Hollis building on the Lower Bristol Road, Bath.

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After a protracted planning process Longacre secured planning consent for 120 student beds on the upper floors and a ground floor warehouse. Longacre assembled a professional team of local and national consultants and after an initial planning refusal for the first application was successful via delegated authority on the subsequent application. The ground floor is being used by the existing tenant Mercy in Action a key local and nationwide charity and the tenant will be retained as part of the development.

 

The former engineering factory was in a semi-derelict state with no green infrastructure or energy efficiency. The application was successful because the scheme will deliver significant enhancements in green infrastructure including an increase in landscaping to the site. In addition, there will be a bio-diverse green roof and green walling to the river frontage together with significant light spill mitigation measures. As a result, there will be negligible lighting impact on the river surface minimising the effect on bat foraging routes.

 

All these measures combined provide a significant biodiversity net gain over the existing building and its environment as well as maintaining employment on the ground floor via new and efficient warehousing space for Mercy in Action to continue to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk.