New apartment blocks with a contemporary "mansion house" look could shortly be constructed on the historic Bath Press site along Bath's Lower Bristol Road.
Work started on flats behind the iconic frontage on the eastern portion of the former printing facility in March, following City & Country's acquisition of the site last year.
The developer has now lodged a separate planning proposal to "enhance and replace" the original plans for the western section, which remains unbuilt.
City & Country seeks to build 220 homes with a distinctive design on the western portion of the site. The fresh planning submission said: The scheme introduces a series of contemporary mansion houses, varying in height and architectural detailing, to create a dynamic and visually engaging frontage along Lower Bristol Road and Brook Road."
The planning consent awarded for the entire Bath Press development in 2016 would have featured terraced housing and apartment blocks across the western section. Instead, the latest application proposes six Superman shield-shaped buildings arranged around two courtyards.
A separate row of affordable accommodation would be positioned along Brook Road.
The courtyards will be positioned diagonally to the roadway to "maximise solar efficiency."
The planning documentation said: "These sheltered, green amenity spaces provide high-quality communal areas for residents, supporting both wellbeing and social interaction within the development.
"Bath Press West has been carefully designed to act as a sensitive transition between the emerging developments along Lower Bristol Road and the established residential character of Oldfield Park to the south."
The site's redevelopment marks a long-anticipated chapter in its extensive history. The location was first home to a phonetic institute opened by Sir Isaac Pitman, the inventor of Pitman shorthand, in 1889.
This later became Pitman Press and subsequently Bath Press. The building underwent numerous transformations, with the art deco facade being constructed in stages until 1926.
Bath Press ceased operations in 2007, and the structure was demolished a decade later, leaving only the facade and chimney intact.
Today, this section of Lower Bristol Road is among Bath's most rapidly evolving areas. Alongside the Bath Press development, new student accommodation and the Bath Western Riverside are under construction across the road.
