The client, Colten Developments, gave a brief for a development that would offer a high quality urban environment and strong sense of place. The site lies on the western edge of Lymington, a beautiful harbour town in the New Forest. The site was allocated as a strategic site for development by the local authority. As the site will form the new edge to the town we focused on giving the development a strong rural edge character, with informal streets and lanes that reduce down to footpaths as they lead out into the countryside. We paid a lot of attention to older established rural edges in Lymington and the wider New Forest as we established our key design principles.

WLA worked with the highways engineers to produce a sequence of streets and spaces that have a distinct quality and where car and refuse lorry do not dominate. We worked closely with the planning department through the design development process to arrive at a design that has been well received by all parties. The development provides 54 new homes including 50% affordable homes in a mix of social rent, affordable rent and shared ownership, ensuring a diverse community.