HD Awards 2025 - Shortlist Announced
Flora

Flora

Project

Shortlisted

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Number/street name:
Chelford Road

Address line 2:
Flora Garden Centre

City:
Henbury

Postcode:
SK11 9PG

Architect:
Ollier Smurthwaite Architects

Architect contact number:
01618830838


Developer:
Hall & Co.

Planning Authority:
Cheshire East Council

Planning consultant:
Broadgrove Planning & Development

Planning Reference:
21-0289M

Date of Completion:
06/2025

Schedule of Accommodation:
3 x 1 bed houses; 4 x 3 bed houses; 4 x 4 bed houses; 3 x 5 bed houses; community building containing co-working space and farm shop.

Tenure Mix:
70% private, 30% shared ownership

Total number of homes:
118


Site size (hectares):
0.97

Net Density (homes per hectare):
14

Size of principal unit (sq m):
118

Smallest Unit (sq m):
43

Largest unit (sq m):
147

No of parking spaces:
38

Scheme PDF Download



Planning History

Henbury is a small community and large number of that community attended the public consultation. Community engagement was key in this location as the scheme aims to provide the village with a new heart. Cheshire East Council had requested that pre-application are not submitted as they don't have capacity to consider them due to home working, Covid and increased applications. The planning application was submitted on 20th Jan 2021 and approved at committee on 14th September 2022 subject section 106 agreement. The section 106 agreement is to be agreed in March 2024.

The Design Process

Flora Henbury is a 2.5-acre development designed with sustainability at its heart. The existing site contains a garden centre and a large area of hard standing. The team has drawn inspiration from Henbury’s agricultural past, with the layout of the new homes and commercial ‘barn’ building shaped around the concept of a farmstead. The architecture is also derived from local farm and cottage typologies. The 14 new homes - a mix of one, three and four and five bedroom properties - will sit alongside FarmFolk; a unique, flexible workspace, with both private offices and co-working space. This unique workspace will be combined with a farm shop providing stalls for local, independent vendors, - an addition to Henbury welcomed by residents at the public consultation. Creating flexible workspaces next to rural housing can cut down considerably on vehicle journeys making a daily commute to an urban centre. The new homes feature boot rooms, generous built in bike stores, garden stores and log stores which cater for a new way of living where community, recreation and access to nature play a bigger role in people lives. The proposals include amenities to encourage self-sufficiency.. These include the on-site edible kitchen gardens and an orchard providing seasonal fruit for use by residents and the food hall. A carefully considered landscaping scheme has been key to the development, enabling not only on-site food production but also wild flower meadows, a village green, tree planting and rainwater swales to enhance the ecology of the site and improve local bio-diversity. With communal areas for socialising and recreation the scheme can set a new standard for how modern communities can live in harmony with nature.

Key Features

Sustained periods of lockdown have made home owners acutely aware of what they want from a new home. This site offers an opportunity to put a lot of fresh thinking into place. Generous communal gardens with shared food growing, orchards, wild flower meadows and a community green combined with a new local shop, cafe and flexible work space will provide opportunities for a better work/life balance.

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Scheme Information

Type

  • Detached
  • Semi-detached
  • Terrace

Size

  • Low density

Cost/ownership

  • Private Ownership
  • Shared Ownership

Planning

  • Community Consultation

Construction/Design

  • Brickwork
  • Traditional
  • Local Vernacular

Sustainability

  • Sustainable urban Drainage Systems
  • Low Energy in Use
  • Biodiversity/Building with Nature

Outdoor areas

  • Biodiversity
  • Garden

Surrounding Area

  • Landscape
  • Communal Spaces
  • Community Buildings
  • Public open space

Specialised

  • Community

Sustainability

These new homes are located within walking distance of Henry village and nearby bus stops, encouraging active lifestyles and the use of sustainable modes of transport. Electric vehicle charging is provided as standard across the development. Water recycling is provided through water butts placed within gardens. There will be a considerable reduction in hard standing and a significant increase in bio-diversity. There are a number of biodiversity enhancement measures including fruit trees, a kitchen garden and flowering pollinators with benefit to wildlife species, rich turf, wildflower turf, green roof to bin/bike stores, bird and bat boxes, and bee bricks. A fabric first approach has been taken with super insulated walls, very low air tightness and triple glazing, MHVR and air source heat pumps to ensure the development will exceed the current Building Regulation requirements for energy efficiency of new homes.
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