Maddox Planning, working with Dowen Farmer Architects, has won planning permission for 11 homes at Weston Hall in Weston Longville, Norfolk. The client is Serruys Ltd.
The site is located within the grounds of the grade-II listed Weston Hall estate and alongside the River Wensum. Dowen Farmer’s design seeks to balance sustainable development with the preservation of the historic and natural environment.
To meet nutrient neutrality requirements - a legal obligation to prevent pollution in protected waterways - the scheme incorporates a treatment plant designed to reduce nutrient pollution levels.
James Maddox, founder of Maddox Planning, commented: “When our client first approached us, this site had a challenging and complicated planning history, and they were unsure how to move forward.
“We teamed up with Tom Farmer and James Dowen to craft a stunning vision for the site, transforming it into 11 luxurious new homes set in an incredible location along the River Wensum… This is what great collaboration achieves.”
Dowen Farmer Architects has adopted a design strategy that seeks to blend contemporary architectural elements with the site’s historical and natural context. The listed stables on the estate are set to be sensitively refurbished, with glazing carefully introduced to frame views of the River Wensum.
The development was submitted under Paragraph 80 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which allows new homes in rural areas if they meet exceptional design quality standards.
The design team’s landscape-driven approach seeks to integrate the new homes with the surrounding woodland and the estate’s natural topography.
The existing walled garden, while not a listed feature, has informed Dowen Farmer’s design strategy. Contemporary low-rise dwellings with green roofs are planned within this space, with traditional boundary walls defining private garden areas. Parts of the walled garden will also be opened to create visual links to the surrounding landscape, including the nearby woodland, river, and fisheries.
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