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A new build home in Lancashire

Our clients, Bill and Tracey, asked us to design them a new home on an old quarry site near their house in Lancashire.

The design

They wanted a beautiful house that was sustainable, comfortable and easy to live in as they get closer to retirement.

Working with Bill and Tracey, we developed a home that could be lived in on one floor, offering fantastic views and plenty of natural light. The structure is a simple form in order to limit its visual impact on the surrounding area. The site itself is tricky as it’s on the edge of a settlement, with a very small footprint at road level and is visible across open countryside.

We developed a proposal with a ground floor garage/workshop and entrance with a stair (and potential future lift) up to what is essentially a single storey dwelling above. This lifts the living accommodation above the quarry to access the stunning landscape views and some solar gain.

The clients were keen to use a palette of local stone and burnt timber. These materials work well with this organisation of building – a stone plinth with an upper floor in timber. Moreover, in the longer landscape views, the dark timber works well to set the building back.

Internally, the house is organised with sleeping accommodation to the north side and living accommodation to the south. This makes for the best use of the building’s orientation and clearly separates the public and private spaces.

The planning process

Working with JR Planning we submitted a planning application for the house in early 2019. Unfortunately, the local authority refused the application. However, we and our clients believed the house was an appropriate and positive addition to the site and context. Led by JR Planning and supported with a landscape and visual impact assessment by PWP Design we submitted the appeal in May.

Next steps

Last week we received planning approval. As a result, we are absolutely delighted. The result is a testament to the team effort and our client’s faith in us to deliver their dream home.

We are looking forward to concentrating on developing construction plans to get Bill and Tracey’s home built.