Widemarsh Common.

Project Overview

Sitting within a Conservation Area that runs alongside one of the main routes into the city, this plot needed a sensitive approach. It’s also next to Widemarsh Common, an open playing field used for sports and a community park, and development proposals for the site have already been refused a number of times.

Our client wanted us to take a careful, detailed approach which would answer all the concerns of the local planning authority. We could see the development was acceptable, but there were several technical issues that we would need to overcome.

The key to success was to create the right scheme, responding to the history of the site and its surrounding area. So, we decided to get the conservation team involved with the design. This would help make our pre-planning application more worthwhile.

The concept we went with has a sports pavilion feel to it, which responds nicely to its setting. We thought carefully about its size and location to make sure there was an openness to the development, helping it blend into the surrounding park.

The shape and materials we chose were all influenced by nearby listed buildings, giving the wider development more of a historical context. We then designed the layout and orientation with noise and air pollution in mind, giving residents a quality of living.

We have submitted the scheme as a pre-planning application for just the design. By working together with the conservation team in these early stages, we can show that we have taken a suitable approach with the design before submitting it as a full application.