Bluepencil Designs were commissioned by Inland Homes to design and achieve a detailed planning consent for 39 new homes on this site in Tiptree. The site is surrounded by residential development and the challenge was to ensure that the proposed new development fitted seamlesly into the existing neighbourhood, whilst also creating a unique sense of place. Colchester Borough Council were keen to see all aspects of the Essex Design Guide applied to the design. The masterplan and individual dwellings were produced in Revit to meet planning policy and also building regulations, making the production of working drawings efficient and straight-forward for the client, with no further adjustments required. Consent was granted in February 2016.

The completed development is now a Case Study in the Essex Design Guide:

The urban design characteristics of the proposed development as recommended by the EDG take their references from the urban design characteristics of Traditional built form in the towns and villages of Essex. Key characteristics of the development in response to the EDG include:

• Providing a mix of house types and a range of tenures to meet the needs of a varied community.
• The architecture and material pallet reflects the character of the surrounding area, responding to the local context.
• Car parking is largely contained within private garages or small parking courts, preventing a car dominated street scene
• Greening the built environment and incorporating a ‘village green’ area creates and attractive environment that attracts wildlife, encouraging bio-diversity.
• Buildings either present their front or side elevations to the open space edge of the development, ensuring opportunities for surveillance over the public space.
• The shared surface street allows for natural traffic calming around the development placing pedestrians at higher priority and encourages the social interaction of street spaces.

Mark Gilpin

Design Director, Inland Homes