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PROJECT REPORT: RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS
a virtue at Carclaze, helping the scheme blend with the local vernacular: “The landscape and topography of the garden village is varied and steep, which requires careful design of the streets and buildings to create accessible, varied and appropriate environments,” Devine explains. Consideration was also given to what Devine describes as the “smaller elements in the public realm that add to the physical distinctiveness of Cornwall.” This includes open granite ‘kennels’ (water channels running along streets) that help with storm water drainage, large granite steps, bridges over gullies, benches and large granite kerbs. As well as adding typical Cornish elements to the development, these features – built using local materials – also complement the wider water management strategy via surface water drainage and small water courses.
LOCALISM
“Cornish hedges, walls and green lanes stitch together landscapes and settlements,” says Devine, explaining local features which have been emulated in the scheme
year, with a potential £4,000 a year net benefi t to owners.
When it came to landscape design, the guiding principle was a “connected green infrastructure matrix,” Devine says. This includes the parks, open spaces, allotments, play areas, lakes, walking routes, sports fi elds, “ecological mitigation areas,” general planting, and sustainable drainage features such as swales and attenuation ponds. The scheme incorporates a number of ‘green lanes’ – streets with green verges or hedge banks and no footpath or kerb – traditionally a typical feature of Cornish settlements. “These form a range of functions such as movement corridors, wildlife and ecology links, visual and physical buffers and landmarks to aid legibility,” Devine explains. They reinforce the existing landscape and form links through the development to surrounding landscape, and create attractive green routes through higher density areas. Hedges and walls also feature as boundary markers throughout the site, providing a tie-in with traditional villages in the region: “Cornish hedges, walls and green lanes stitch together landscapes and settlements,” says Devine. “Boundaries are normally colonised by vegetation, so they sit seamlessly within the landscape.” Other typical Cornish features include elevated footpaths, a result of the steep hillsides, with buildings and paths on the upper side of streets elevated to provide level access as well as decrease the need for retaining structures. Tackling these often challenging gradients was made into
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Construction & reception Following the years of design development, construction for the fi rst phase of the project began in 2020, completing in 2023 having continued throughout the Covid pandemic. The second phase has since begun – approximately 50% of the homes are complete and some are already sold. During this second phase, some “alternative construction” methods have been used, explains Devine, “following ongoing research either for programme, cost or material performance benefi ts.” The phasing is inline with the enabling works, such as Housing Infrastructure Fund supported access and condition discharges tied to the outline consent.
The residents living in homes completed during phase one have given good feedback about life in West Carclaze so far. “They talk about community spirit, quiet sunlit streets and the appeal of lakes and trails,” Devine says. He adds that they are getting used to the properties’ smart systems; it’s a “natural period of adaptation” while they learn how to best use the systems. Devine says they have made other “constructive points” – such as batteries and export settings – which LHC welcomes and which are being “worked through in operation.” However, the overall consensus – particularly from the sustainability point of view – is satisfyingly positive, Devine says. “Homeowners are embracing the carbon-positive lifestyle and the benefi ts in cost and comfort that the strategy delivers.”
ADF MARCH 2026
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