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It was therefore essential that, while Nissen Richards Studio updated the planning consent to a more ambitious scheme, they also “retained the approved building footprints and agricultural forms,” Richards explains. Their revised scheme was submitted and approved in November 2021, ahead of an extended period of pre-commencement work that included archaeology, ecology and environmental investigations. Planning consent included 25 conditions, of which 12 had to be discharged before works could commence, “covering archaeology, ecology, environmental matters and extensive ground investigations,” Richards says. “There was a considerable amount of work before construction could begin.” The existing consent had already
identifi ed which buildings should be retained and that the smaller, newer buildings should be demolished, which Nissen Richards Studio decided to leave unchanged. “We agreed with the approach because the larger barns were the buildings that gave the farmstead its identity,” Richards says.
“By selectively removing secondary lean-tos and ancillary buildings we were able to open up a generous central courtyard, improve circulation across the site and reveal long views into the
surrounding Wealden landscape,” he adds ometimes the most signifi cant architectural intervention is deciding what not to keep.”
Serving as both developer and main contractor meant Q New Homes had a “high level of control throughout the construction process.” As well as leading the architectural design, Nissen Richards Studio coordinated the consultant team including structural, landscape, environmental, ecology and whole-life carbon specialists.
The number of homes remained unchanged from the original consent, which had been established based on what could “comfortably” be accommodated within the AONB and Green Belt setting. Creating quality homes was always the ambition, rather than squeezing as many units on to the site as possible. “The generous spacing between buildings, the relationship between architecture and landscape and the character of the original farmstead were all fundamental to the success of the project,” says Richards. The homes range from three bedrooms up to six, with the largest approximately 6,500 ft2
. To avoid visual
repetition, each property is unique in the way it responds to its “inherited form, orientation and surrounding landscape,” explains Richards.
NISSEN RICHARDS DEVELOPED THE EXISTING CONSENTED SCHEME INTO A “MORE AMBITIOUS ARCHITECTURAL PROPOSAL”
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