ARCHITECTS INSIGHT

We were commissioned by our clients to develop a proposal for a new home on the land next to the former property, Royal Oak, which they had spent a number of years renovating. Their brief for the new house was to create a home which would allow them to cement their relationship within the local area, through both their personal connections and the physical built form.

The key principles of the brief were to provide the typical spaces expected within a typical family home but also to enable the continuation of key hobbies and interests through dedicated spaces. The driving principles for the design involved maximising the available views from the site to the Shropshire Hills to the south-west, whilst also being sensitive to potential views from the Wrekin to the north-east, minimising the impact to the site and its immediate surroundings through careful and responsive inclusion of the existing site features, consideration of sustainable systems to minimise the environmental impact of the scheme, providing flexibility within the layout to allow for living spaces at both ground and first floor alongside external outbuildings for hobby use and storage.

Due to the site’s location, the only available route to achieve a planning approval was to utilise Paragraph 80 of national planning policy. The policy is intended to ensure that any new homes within the countryside are of the highest quality, provide a significant landscape and ecological enhancement to the immediate site and its context, resulting in an exemplar piece of architecture that could be used to raise the standards for new dwellings at a national level. As such, these types of schemes are exceptionally rare, particularly in Shropshire, and subject to a rigorous design and review process by an independent panel of design experts. Following extensive research and design development, the design panel and local authority determined that the scheme reached the high bar required and planning approval was achieved in October 2022.

The building itself has been heavily influenced by its surroundings, both in layout and appearance. The external form and materiality reflect the agricultural nature of the surrounding area and have been carefully developed to ensure that they are applied with a contemporary and dynamic approach. The primary spaces being configured in such a way to enjoy views of the Shropshire Hills to the south-west, glimpses of the Wrekin to the north-east or develop new relationships with the tiered private garden to the rear of the house. Each key space, whether living room, kitchen, or bedrooms, have access to external spaces to ensure that the relationship between the building and the landscape is fully explored and incorporated.

A hybrid layout was developed to achieve the brief, with the building being partially sunken into the site to screen views from Pitchford Road without compromising the opportunity to take advantage of views towards Caer Caradoc and the Lawley. The landscape and approach to the house was developed in close liaison with a landscape architect to develop a scheme that was sensitive to the wider agricultural setting and the garden requirements of a new family home. The sinuous driveway provides opportunity for planting proposals to provide a method of informal screening and privacy, without compromising the dynamism of how the building is revealed as it is approached.

The scheme presents an opportunity to develop an exceptional and unique scheme that reflects the highest standards of architecture whilst, more importantly, providing a comfortable and considered lifetime home.’ https://www.basearchitecture.co.uk/royal-oak-paragraph-80-development-opportunity/

Agents notes: All measurements are approximate and for general guidance only and whilst every attempt has been made to ensure accuracy, they must not be relied on. The fixtures, fittings and appliances referred to have not been tested and therefore no guarantee can be given that they are in working order. Internal photographs are reproduced for general information and it must not be inferred that any item shown is included with the property. For a free valuation, contact the numbers listed on the brochure. Copyright ©