Bath could get its first major office development for more than 20 years if a scheme described as a “gamechanger” gets the go-ahead.
Plans for the 113,000 sq ft grade A office scheme have been submitted to Bath & North East Somerset Council by developer Edinburgh-based Ediston Real Estate and Europa Capital, the London-based real estate fund manager.
To be called Number 1 Pinesgate, the scheme would be built on a site on an island site on Lower Bristol Road close to the Sai
nsbury's superstore. The area is within Bath’s City of Ideas Enterprise Area.
Bath has suffered from a shortage of prime office space for at least two decades, leading in some cases to firms looking outside the city for expansion. Others have been forced to scatter their workforce around different buildings in the city.
Joint agents for the Pinesgate development are GVA and Hartnell Taylor Cook.
GVA office agency director Richard Kidd said the new space would be a “game-changer” for the hitherto constrained Bath office market.
“Bath has had no significant office development for more than two decades and the resultant lack of grade A space led to a number of Bath companies relocating to Bristol and beyond in order to secure suitable office premises as they grow their businesses,” he said. “In the meantime, occupiers from further afield, attracted by Bath’s unrivalled lifestyle and its highly-educated labour pool, have nevertheless had to look elsewhere.
“That is about to change. Number 1 Pinesgate offers a unique opportunity for occupiers to take a fresh look at Bath and to take advantage of the city’s phenomenal cultural, sporting and professional facilities. The city is only 90 minutes from central London with that journey time set to be reduced further with the electrification of the main railway line in 2018.” 
Number 1 Pinesgate has been designed by Bath architects Fielden Clegg Bradley Studios to address what the agents are calling the “chronic shortfall” of quality office space in the city. It will feature flexible open-plan space over four floors, with parking for 84 cars, cycle storage, showers, lockers and changing facilities.
Hartnell Taylor Cook partner in charge of offices, Chris Grazier, added: “This will be a high-quality, grade A development in a world-class heritage setting. The site falls within Bath’s City of Ideas Enterprise Area, and so the developers have been working closely with the Bath & North East Somerset to ensure that the new space will reinforce the strategic vision for the future of the city.”
A detailed planning application is being considered by the council with a decision is anticipated next month. The developers intend the building to be ready for occupation in mid-2016.
Pictured above, top, and below: Computer-generated images of how Number 1 Pinesgate will look. Above, how the site looks now
