CASE STUDY 17 stage was the demolition of a 19th Century
farmhouse, which saw “considerable local opposition.” The developers were keen to assuage
any issues the locals had, however. They recycled stone from the farmhouse where possible, created and maintained breeding and living habitats for wildlife, and added additional “healthy” tree species back into the development – all moves which “resonated well with the neighbours,” says Gay. While waiting for planning approval, CHI decided to add additional floor to ceiling windows spanning two floors to two of the houses in order to maximise the elevated position of the site. This additional approval then took the planning period up to nine months, incur- ring additional planning consultancy fees. A further planning pre-commencement condition approval for SuDS was “severely” delayed, says Gay, and ultimately the team had to install the SuDs scheme and windows at risk – to do otherwise would have potentially led to major cashflow issues at the end of what was a protracted build.
Obtaining planning was also hampered due to Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) issues. Sites in the local authority attract CIL once planning is received, and on here a CIL assessment had already taken place for the previous approval, but the local authority refused to take this into account, which further delayed demolition.
BREAKING GROUND With planning finally assented, the team broke ground on a frosty January day in 2020. Once things got moving, CHI progressed quickly to foundations during February and March, and the timber frame was erected over the summer months.
Despite being a well drained site, the
build soon faced issues with parking, but this was solved by a helpful local resident lending workers a field to park in. With the site accessed via a single narrow lane, the team had to halt work during bad weather in April and May and install a temporary road, putting things back “a week or two.”
CHI also experienced problems with utilities at this time: “One of the electric- ity joints failed locally in the street, which stopped any access to our site for 10 days whilst the road was being dug up” – as a result, all second fix trades had to carry their tools by hand onto site each day. Included in the scheme was the construction of a dilapidated dry stone wall to provide a breeding ground for Great Crested Newts, as well as help to increase local support, presenting further
A WILDLIFE HAVEN Another factor that slowed construction considerably was the careful treatment of the ecology the site came with. Located directly in the middle of a wildlife haven, among fields untouched for many years, the site had a thriving bat, slow worm, dormouse and Great Crested Newt populations. As well as carrying out extensive surveys at specific times of the year before demolition of the farmhouse could commence, CHI were required to separate the site from the surrounding area with amphibian fencing as the newts are a protected species. An onsite ecologist conducted a search before groundworks began, and ecologists visited daily for a month to move the newts.
Beyond this, CHI incorporated a pond
practical challenges. It was reconstructed using recycled stone from the farmhouse and locally quarried stone. The wall stretching 50 metres, proved complex, taking a dry stone walling expert nearly ten months to complete.
Despite the myriad of challenges, by November 2020 the first plot was completed and staged as a show home. The remaining three plots are reportedly advancing well, and are anticipated to complete by the end of March 2021.
COVID CONCERNS While the construction process appears relatively quick in hindsight despite the issues, Alli says multiple delays occurred throughout thanks to the pandemic. “There was inevitable disruption,” says Alli, “though thankfully our site has remained safe and open.”
She says it was in fact the “biggest challenge” overall as it slowed both progress and the resultant sales. Consistently procuring even basic materials like plaster and timber was threatened by Covid throughout the build. The team was also challenged by large developers coming back online in April and attracting subcontractors away using what she says were “inflated” day rates to ensure their projects completed. Addressing the materials challenge in particular, Alli says the team worked extensive extra hours, showing “large amounts of resilience” in sourcing materi- als from all over the UK, even “sometimes driving miles to collect them.” She continues: “During the early days of Covid, the banks became quite twitchy, and at one point we were under threat of our finance being pulled mid project.” Following some “difficult and strained” conversations however, the lenders were assured that CHI would be carrying on despite the difficulties faced.
THE HOMES COME WITH FULL-WIDTH BIFOLDS AND A SEPARATE SET OF FRENCH DOORS
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