Live bands playing at a popular Bath nightclub/venue could be a thing of the past, if plans to convert it into a pub are successful.

Plans submitte for The Nest at 7 Bladud Buildings say the change would make the venue “less intensive” and the application would allow significant improvements to be made to the Grade II-listed building. No. 7 Bladud Buildings dates from the mid-1700s.

There is currently a bar and nightclub at the ground floor and lower ground floor levels and self-contained flats on the first, second and third floors, which would be unaffected by the proposed changes.

Max Johnson, who has owned The Nest with his brother Rod for seven years, said: “I’ve owned and run nightclubs in Bath for 32 years and witnessed the changes that have occurred. Pubs now have much later licences, so the need to go to nightclubs has dwindled. We are just trying to adapt to the tempo of what’s called for in Bath.

We are very fortunate to have a large, adaptable building with a large garden, which we are hoping to utilise. Nothing is going to change for the foreseeable future – we are just putting the application in to see if we can change things.”

The plans state: “The proposals offer the following planning and amenity benefits:

• A less intensive use of the premises in terms of numbers of customers present at the same time.

• Reduced noise levels from the premises due to no dance music or live bands.

• Removal of the unsightly rear extensions, and enhanced exterior landscaping.”

The proposed development includes construction of a new balcony with a canopy over it and the lower terrace, and the addition of stairs to all garden levels and timber planting boxes.

If approved, there will be a new opening in the rear wall of the venue to let in more daylight and open up views “across the city to the wooded hills surrounding Bath to the east”.

Male and female toilets would be added, but there would not be any wheelchair-accessible facilities – disabled access to the venue cannot be added without compromising the fabric of the listed building. The level access from the Paragon would be retained. The pub would employ six full-time staff and six people working part-time.

The brothers’ plans claim the changes will provide a significant improvement to the setting of the listed buildings in the Paragon.

Bath & North East Somerset Council will decide the fate of the application, which supersedes a previous bid to build a cafe/restaurant in the rear garden that was approved in 2016.

Stephen Sumner