Property description

The project concerns renovating and extending an end of terrace cottage built of brick with a plain tiled roof. A row of three cottages lies adjacent to farm structures on a quiet country lane at the edge of a small village settlement.

The cottage is divided into three bays with two light casement windows with rubbed brick arches and a cottage style entrance door. Set to one side is a small projecting bay with flat roof. Accommodation consists of single depth rooms with connecting doors. At the rear of the cottage the roof slope has been extended down to form a long corridor that leads onto a narrow stair at the far end. Rather awkwardly a single storey kitchen and bathroom extension has been added to the gable end. An area of gravel drive provides off-street parking for two vehicles and access to an oil filled storage tank behind a detached double garage.

Each of the occupied properties are under separate ownership but subject to flying freehold agreements for subsequent development at the rear. A property situation where a part of the freehold property extends over or under a neighbouring property's land, such as a room or stair. This creates a horizontal division of property, and can cause issues with repair, access, and obtaining a mortgage, as the owner of the flying part doesn't own the land or building beneath it.

Historic / aesthetic / evidential / communal value

The cottages were likely to have been built during the Regency era and reflect the needs of agricultural labourers. With the passing of time each property has undergone considerable change, mainly internal, with some merged into one, but the properties retain their outward historical character and appearance. Beyond the ends of the gardens to the north is small spinney with a natural spring.

Proposal

Similar to other projects the main focus of the design was to satisfy the owners aspirations to reconfigure the layout to accommodate the needs of a young family and to improve the buildings energy efficiency. Secondary considerations were to provide a fourth master bedroom and to improve access to the first floor rooms. We proposed a series of three gables that would be sympathetic to the parent dwelling and not harm the character of the surrounding area. Whilst the extension would be visible from the public highway it was not considered to be visually obtrusive and an improvement to the existing built form.

Natural light is drawn down through the floors from a glazed lantern above the new circulation stair. A new open plan family orientated kitchen diner with master bedroom above look out over the extensive rear garden. The first floor was constructed of timber frame construction and finished with feather edged cladding to give a more handcrafted appearance in keeping with historical building practices.

Guidance consulted when approaching the retrofit design

National Planning Policy Framework

Planning Policy Statements

Supplementary planning guidance

Discoveries that caused the initial design to be revised

Site investigation revealed the existing cottages were built with negligible foundations and ground saturation from the natural spring made the building works more than challenging. Reducing the ground levels across the site would potentially lead to the undermining of the cottage and collapse. Integration of the extension where it abutted the existing structure resulted in a small storage room being created when the existing stair was removed and a residual space remained due to the flying freehold.