Salcombe Road

Description

The Code 5 Housing Scheme at Carryduff advocates principles of sustainable development and incorporates a high quality of design and landscaping in its layout, which takes into consideration the characteristics of its surroundings to determine the form of development and the design of the scheme reflects the pattern of development of the established residential area and approximately 24% of the overall development comprises public open space. The masterplan proposed a journey through the steep site around which a series of social housing clusters are arranged. The houses were designed to a specific client brief, and are layered into the landscape with private, semi-private and public open spaces. This aspires to support an ever-changing, sustainable community and cater for a variety of age groups who might occupy the development. The newly complete Phase 1 includes an extended junior play space set in wildflower meadow which is centred in the housing clusters, an amenity for residents and to promote connections with the wider community. An open village green to the 'apex' of the site is to follow in a future Phase 2 to complete the masterplan with landscaped edges in the form of wildflower meadow and potential allotment spaces.

Planning History

The scheme was to be the first Code Level 5 scheme in Northern Ireland and one of the largest in the U.K. Through the development of the project the design team and client wished to foster a better understanding of the issues surrounding the achievement and delivery of Code Level 5 Sustainable Housing, the planning authority were also very supportive of the principle of the first 'zero carbon' development in Northern Ireland. Early informal engagement at high-level at planning stage with choice housing and the completion committee led to further more formal pre-application (PAD) meetings in early 2011. Planning officers Dermot O'Kane and Grainne Rice amongst others became key members of the wider planning team to assist PDP London and the Choice Design team to take the design aspirations through the planning process along with Roads Service's and the PSD. The planning department's focus centred round established policy requirements and tended to concentrate on several key considerations that informed the design. The need for an appropriate density to respond to the local area drove the aspiration of numbers down from 70 to 65 as well as the parameters of placemaking that are set out in Creating Places. Overlooking and private open space was also a key consideration (Approximately 24% of the overall development comprises public open space) and this very much accorded with the Architects vision of a series of housing clusters addressing open space and amenity. The initial planning application (July 2011) granted consent for 65 dwellings on the green field suburban site. During the process of the consultation and neighbourhood liaison boundaries became slightly contentious. These were redefined and increased by adding additional client owned green space as part of a second application for the boundary treatment. This meant that private gardens to the west could be enhanced. (Applications 1 and 2 were granted March 2012). The exact requirements of the rerouting of NIE's HV Electrical cables could only be negotiated after the first consent was received and therefore the subsequently required way leaves generated a design that moved a number of the blocks. This generated a further application. The final application was consented on Feb 2014.