Extra care housing
Number/street name:
Extra Care Housing, Windmill Court, Weale Road
Address line 2:
Chingford
City:
London
Postcode:
E4 6JL
Architect:
PRP Architects
Architect contact number:
Developer:
Circle 33 Housing Trust.
Contractor:
Higgins
Planning Authority:
London Borough of Waltham Forest
Planning Reference:
121582
Date of Completion:
Schedule of Accommodation:
38 x 1Bed flats (including 4 x Wheel chair
Apartments), 6 x 2 Bed flats
Tenure Mix:
100% Affordable
Total number of homes:
Site size (hectares):
0.42
Net Density (homes per hectare):
104
Size of principal unit (sq m):
54
Smallest Unit (sq m):
54
Largest unit (sq m):
78
No of parking spaces:
8
Scheme PDF DownloadPlanning History
London Borough of Waltham Forest was supportive of the proposals to replace two out-of-date existing community centres with extra care apartments and ancillary facilities. Full consultation with planning, highways, conservation, housing, adult care services and urban planning took place and the design modified to ensure support. As the site is in close proximity to Friday Hill House, a Grade II Listed
Building, the design, height and massing was discussed in detail. The planning application was submitted in December 2012 and received approval in March 2013.
The Design Process
Connections: The scheme is well connected within a residential area
and community interaction is reinforced by the provision of large flexible
activity spaces. Weale Road has been sensitively designed to respect the
historic Friday Hill House, which is adjacent to the site.
Facilities and Services: The scheme offers a number of facilities including
a hairdresser, therapy room, laundry, pamper bathroom, multipurpose
room, guest room and quiet lounge. Local amenities are 750m from the
site and include a convenience store and pharmacy. Chingford centre with
extensive shops and facilities is easily accessible by bus.
Public transport: Car dependency is minimal. The nearest bus stops are
only 200m walk. Other bus stops are located between a 400-600m from
the site. Buses run every 10 minutes with regular buses to Chingford,
Whipps Cross Hospital and Salisbury Hall Sainsbury’s.
Meeting local housing requirements: 100% of the apartments are
affordable and designed to contribute to target numbers established in LB
Waltham Forest’s Older Persons Housing Strategy.
Character: Weale Road offers a high quality addition to a residential
street in Chingford that previously lacked architectural interest. The
scheme reinforces the street frontage with a strong rhythm to the facade.
The building is predominantly three storeys but has a set-back top floor
which gives the appearance of two storeys from the street. Buff and
grey bricks are used to relate to both the London stock brick of the local
housing and the historic brick of historic Friday Hill House nearby.
Working with the site: The site orientation allowed a majority of south
facing dwellings. All dwellings are dual aspect, accessed via an open
deck and have a generous recessed balcony with winter garden. The
design responds cleverly to the steeply sloping site. Large mature trees
to the back of the site are retained and celebrated as a focus of the
resident’s garden.
Creating well defined streets and spaces: Weale Road is designed to
reinforce the street frontage with a clear and welcoming entrance at the
centre of the elevation. New boundary walls and railings along with street
trees and clipped hedges clearly define the public/ semi-public areas and
provide an attractive public realm.
Easy to find your way around: The building has a very simple logical
plan which makes way-finding easy. Circulation is via colonnades and
external walkways which offer connection to the gardens, opportunity for
interaction and natural surveillance of the site.
Car Parking: Eight parking spaces (incl. four wheelchair spaces) are
located to the rear of the building where they will not dominate the street.
A timber pergola over the parking bays improves views across the parking
court from upper floors and neighbouring properties. Sheltered cycle
spaces and buggy storage/ charging are provided within a secure room
accessed from the parking court.
Public and private spaces: Public and private spaces are clearly
defined. Residents have private self-contained apartments and balconies
but share the gardens and a variety of communal facilities. Security and
privacy to the residential areas is ensured beyond the communal spaces
via fobbed access. Shared spaces are monitored by two staff offices
located adjacent to the entrance with views into the foyer space.
External storage and amenity spaces: Refuse is collected from a store on
the street frontage to ensuring it doesn’t compromise the security of the site.
