We were approached by a land owner to develop proposals for this site which forms part of a strategic allocated sites for new housing in the New Forest and to get agreement with the local authority on the proposals to allow the owner to sell the land at the best possible value. We worked with the local authority plannign and design team to arrive at a layout where the houses face out onto the countryside while the streets and parking are set behind the houses within central parking courts.

The southern part of the site is within the setting of listed farm buildings, and so the design evolved to present a more agricultural aesthetic and form. To prevent the impression of 2 farms side by side we avoided any buildings that could be interpreted as a farmhouse. The houses in the south are designed to appear as a variety of barns, stables and outbuildings, arranged around a central farmyard space.

The northern half of the layout outside the heritage setting proposed traditional urban forms arranged as well defined and contained streets with the emphasis on the relationship to the surrounding green spaces and give priority to pedestrian spaces.