The Conservation Officer noted that the scheme mended a gap in the historic street scene.
Brief
To convert the ground floor of the existing building into a wine bar restaurant with a self-contained flat above. for local clients with established experience in the sector. Required some opening up of original small internal rooms to achieve minimum number of covers. In response to client requests we also achieved new French doors onto south facing terraced garden area, for outdoor drinking/dining, plus rear garden.
A later element of the brief was to design a two-bedroom detached townhouse, set back from the frontage. The scheme also included the replacement of the decrepit garaging buildings with a detached cottage, in the style of an original coach-house. The scheme, completed in 2011, seemed to provide the catalyst for the regeneration of many historic properties on West Borough, which now thrives with numerous individual bars and ‘eateries’.
The listed status of the building shaped our design decisions.
Project Challenges
The over-riding constraint on the project design was the listed status of the property. However, we established the confidence of the Conservation Officer from an early stage, who was pragmatic and recognised the benefit of enabling a heritage asset to be returned sustainable use, after many decades of declining condition. Despite its listed status, the use of Slimlite double glazing was accepted for the refurbished windows on the front elevation. Given that West Borough is very noisy street, it was acknowledged that for the flat above, this was a necessity.
At an early stage, Japanese knotweed was identified as a major impediment to progressing the detached cottage. It was removed at great expense, however, not only in terms of its disposal but the additional foundation costs incurred as a result of the quantity of ground that had to be removed.
On completion of the project, there was significant local praise for the outcome, with the Conservation Officer particularly delighted, claiming that the scheme had mended the gap in the historic street scene! The successful outcome led WLA to be instructed on several other heritage-sensitive projects in Wimborne.
