Background
Hamilton Lodge, a large country house and former residential care facility, lies in extensive grounds nearby Great Bromley, UK. The proposed project involved redeveloping the derelict site to provide 79 residential dwellings in an extensive parkland setting.
SES’s involvement
The site demonstrates a thoroughly landscape-led approach to masterplanning and detailed design that celebrates the site’s most important built and natural assets. The design process included an extensive pre-application process with officers at Tendring district council, alongside engagement with the parish council and local community, including the Friends of Hamilton Lodge.
The project included
- RIBA Stages 0-1: strategic definition and brief
- RIBA Stages 2-3: concept and developed design
- RIBA Stage 4: technical design (phase 1 only)
- arboricultural surveys, impact assessment and method statement, CAVAT assessment and maintenance plan
- phase 1 and phase 2 ecological surveys, habitat regulations assessment, ecological mitigation and enhancement strategy, protected species licences and mitigation.
A landscape and visual appraisal accompanied the successful hybrid planning application. The early stages of the project were informed by a thorough assessment and understanding of landscape, heritage, ecological and arboricultural constraints and opportunities. Our work included a detailed landscape assessment, with extensive research into the history of the site from the 19th century up to the present day. The resulting landscape strategy was a key influence in the design process, identifying important green and built infrastructure and determining areas suitable for redevelopment.
Key aspects of the masterplan developed with the project team included retaining, reusing and altering important non-designated heritage assets, safeguarding significant parkland and veteran trees (including Tree Protection Orders), retaining and enhancing important habitats and protected species on site and providing significant areas of open space, including a new village green for the local community.
Detailed designs for phase 1 included a comprehensive and sympathetic scheme of hard and soft landscaping, including the village green. This featured the specification of surface materials, boundary treatments, street furniture and informal play with a strategy to record and sensitively reuse the memorial plaques present. Planting, including a scheme of advance planting to reinforce the site boundaries, is designed to complement the natural parkland setting with works to enhance the existing pond and habitats already present.