Situated in rural West Sussex, close to the historic city of Chichester and just a few minutes from the sea, the village of Earnley is certainly one of the more calm and quiet villages of West Sussex. Known by the locals as ‘God’s Little Pocket’ it lies on acres of arable, pasture and marsh land in the ancient pre-Conquest division of Sussex known as the Rape of Chichester.

The site is approximately 9 acres. It contains a number of buildings.  Earnley Place is the ‘main house’ and is a georgian double gabled, two storey  brick building, with attic rooms under a plain tile roof. This house has attractive gardens including an orchard, lawns, ponds and a collection of non native tree species. The house has a walled garden to the north (facing the road) and the front elevation faces south. there are a number of small out- buildings associated with the house, including a tiny ‘Gardener’s Cottage’ which looks more like a folly or children’s play house.

The walled garden of Earnley Place provides the inspiration for the design of the proposed retirement village development.

The principle of containment, within which sit dwellings and  gardens provides the principle structure for the layout from which the north south, east west views are maximised.

The masterplan 3D sketch models show a series of courtyards with connections from east to west and a linear ‘spine’ running from north to south,