Client Heritage Developments Limited
Project Residential Development
Location Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
Services Lead Consultant, Architectural Design
An inventive development of 96 waterfront homes which unleashes the housing potential of a brownfield site in East Anglia has been given unanimous go-ahead by planners.
The distinctive curving complex of homes is to be built on an industrial site regarded as an eyesore for many years on the northern side of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk. The development has been given unanimous backing by Great Yarmouth Borough Council.
The development on the 1.08 hectare site will consist of 6 four-bedroom townhouses, 22 four-bedroom duplex flats, 10 three-bedroom houses and 58 two-bedroom flats, in a sequence of blocks which curve to form an inverted ‘s’ shape giving a total floor space of 7,872m2 ( 84,554 ft2 ) ex. circulation areas. The blocks vary in height from 2 to 7 storeys at the highest point and each has a distinctive pitched roof. Each block is linked by individual stairwells and lift shafts. The lifts serve only two apartments at each level, avoiding the security problems associated with long balconies serving multiple houses. Dedicated parking spaces will be available for each home.
This development is seen as a major gateway site, designed to play an important part in the regeneration of the area. It will provide a range of high specification housing in well-landscaped, informal surroundings.
The design is based on a wedge-shaped footprint which can be repeated on this corner site. The contemporary design is fairly new to Great Yarmouth and sets a benchmark for future regeneration areas.
The scheme exploits the accessibility of the site which has good road and rail links into the centre of Great Yarmouth, to Norwich and to London. Another advantage of the site that has been exploited by the design is the long river frontage at the eastern end of the development as well as views onto Breydon Water, a special protection area (SPA) at the mouth of the River Yare for residents on the western side of the scheme.
The challenges which have been successfully overcome to develop the 1.08 hectare site include the risk of flooding which we have achieved by designating ground floor rooms as garages or utility spaces. Concerns raised by the Environment Agency about industrial contamination have been met by an agreement to treat the land to an appropriate depth. Given the restricted size of the site which is bordered by elevated roads, the architects have managed to design a scheme for a significant number of houses through the use of an inventive ‘s’ shaped design based upon a series of blocks reaching up to 7 storeys in height where the road is at its highest.
