We have been contacted by RR Environmental Communications, on behalf of Lafarge Tarmac, to inform us on The Waterford Wick development progress. Due to changes at Tarmac they are no longer in a position to take on the project, so are in the process of selling it to Heritage Estate Group.
HEG are based in Fore Street, Hertford, and have done many developments in and around London. In 2018 they won a Conservation Design Award for a development in Maldon, Essex. HEG will be looking to change the development layout of The Waterford Wick as part of their plans.
The previous development was for:
- 4 x 2 bedroom homes
- 2 x 3 bedroom homes
- 2 x 4 bedroom homes
The proposed development will be for:
- 6 x 3 bedroom houses (pdf layout)
- 2 x 4 bedroom houses (pdf layout)
There will also be some minor design changes too, such as gables and bay windows, as well as some changes to construction manterials. The original email and details can be found below.
As a result of some structural changes within Tarmac, the company is no longer in a position to develop the project itself. Following a detailed search for a suitable new partner, Tarmac is now in the process of selling the development to a local company called Heritage Estate Group. HEG is a small, boutique developer based in Hertford, with 40 years experience of creating high quality, bespoke developments in the southeast of the country. The company won a Conservation Design Award in 2018 for a development in Maldon, Essex. The award commendation referenced the “stylish homes, blending with traditional settings” – very much in tune with the Waterford ethos. The company and its directors are committed to delivering a sustainable development at the Waterford Wick, which incorporates the same level of environmental performance (Home Quality Mark 5*) as our original proposals.
HEG is proposing to deliver a development very similar to the one for which we already have planning consent. It would meet the same sustainability criteria as those outlined in the existing, valid, planning permission.
From a layout and design perspective, there would be one or two minor changes. The most significant is that the current plans include a change in house sizes. You may remember that the existing consent is for:
- 4 x 2 bedroom homes
- 2 x 3 bedroom homes
- 2 x 4 bedroom homes.
The proposed development would be for:
- 6 x 3 bedroom houses (each with 2 parking spaces)
- 2 x 4 bedroom houses (each with 3 parking spaces).
There would be no 2 bedroom houses in the new scheme.
These new plans involve some minor design changes, including introducing more traditional building features such as gables and bay windows. None of the houses would have garages, but provision would be made for at least 2 parking spaces for the 3 bedroom houses and at least 3 spaces for the 4 bedroom houses. Some visitor parking would also be provided.
We believe these changes would improve the overall quality of the development, providing greater emphasis on family homes. The extra bedrooms could provide opportunities for viable home-working spaces, which would further enhance the sustainability credentials of the overall development.
The original proposals for concrete sandwich panels have been replaced by Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) – which incorporate an insulating foam core sandwiched between two structural facings. The external facings would now be formed from brick slip panels that will look just the same as individual bricks – rather than the original concrete. The SIPs would be manufactured off site – under factory-controlled conditions – and can be fabricated to fit virtually any building design.
Vertex, the new architects have produced some visuals to show you what the SIPs would look like in situ. We have also produced some overlays of the new proposals, in the context of the existing planning permission. The attachments to this email should let you see for yourselves the minor layout differences which will have no impact on the existing openness of the site.
All the commitments of the existing planning permission would be maintained:
- agreement has been reached with the Council for the management of the footpath once it has been laid. The current proposal is to surface the footpath with crushed concrete planings – once they have been checked for quality
- we will update our sustainability report to demonstrate that the Homes Quality Mark 5* can still be achieved
- as per our current planning permission, one or two of the existing trees (including a non-native Sycamore) would need to be removed. These trees would be replaced with native species, such as Oak, as part of the overall planting scheme
- construction traffic would continue to arrive from the north.
We are not yet in a position to show you the final details of our revised application, but wanted to put you all in the picture as soon as possible.
We are in discussion with Fiona Dunning, the Planning Officer with whom we worked on the last planning application. Fiona is examining the most appropriate and efficient route to take in planning terms and has welcomed our continued engagement with you. We will advise you of the details once we know them. If you have any questions about our latest proposals, please let me know.
If all goes well – and the weather is kind to us – you may well start to see signs of activity on site in early to mid-September. We will need to carry out some further ecological surveys in September, as the 2017 survey now needs to be updated. Breaking up the concrete slab and removing it off site should be taking place shortly after that. The contractors working on the site will have signed up to the Considerate Contractors Scheme.