During the course of a four-week period between the end of September and end of October brp architects are pleased to announce that three separate schemes have been completed for the Futures Housing Group, providing a series of high quality new homes in Alfreton, Derbyshire and both Barby and Crick, Northamptonshire.
The first of these was a conversion of a stunning Victorian residential property in the town centre of Alfreton that up until 2007 had been used as offices by the Local Authority. Although the building retained a whole host of period features, the previous conversion to commercial use did little to maximise the potential of the original layout and structure. As a result the principal intention of the scheme was to create individual self-contained dwellings that worked with the generous proportions of the existing property, as opposed to trying to carve the building up into smaller units and generate a higher density. Providing a total of 4no. one-bedroom apartments for local people with learning difficulties, each of the units offers a greater level of space than would ordinarily be associated with an affordable property. Based on the end user group this was considered to be of paramount importance to ensure that the quality of the internal environment was set at a high standard to improve the quality of life for the residents.
In addition to Alfreton, two further schemes at Barby and Crick were completed in October. These formed the concluding part of a wider redevelopment of five separate sites across the Daventry district that had been previously occupied by pre-fabricated Airey houses dating from the post-war period. Demolishing and replacing these poorly-constructed properties allowed the opportunity to increase density and provide a greater number of new-build affordable dwellings for local people within the respective villages. Each property offers a highly insulated building fabric, with additional environmental design features to ensure full compliance with Code Level 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes. However, more importantly, both schemes enable young families to establish homes within the villages and remain part of the local community they grew up in.
New build residential development, Crick, Northamptonshire
