Hortsley

A diverse range of amenity spaces are provided such as; a modest public space on the High Street that provides a moment of pause; a secret garden which forms a key part of the arrival sequence providing a calm space in contrast to the busy High Street that residents can appropriate for use from the communal lounge; a generous courtyard in the form of a lawn with sheltered space around its edges; the generous gallery that provides a winter garden to provide amenity space that combines circulation and social space with the landscape for year round use.

Planning History

Compared the previous proposals we had to demonstrate that a scheme that was 1 storey taller and 40% denser could better contribute to the setting through good urban and architectural design. The proposals were strongly supported by planning officers in recognition of housing need and design quality. Ward councillors felt that retirement living developments should be located on more peripheral sites and had reservations regarding bringing a retirement living development into a town centre site. The planning application was refused on 23rd December 2014. Confident that our proposals should have been approved we appealed and through a public hearing the application was allowed on 6th October 2015.