Lea Way, York

The scheme will provide a mix of 2 and 4 bed dwellings with associated garages and off-street parking serviced directly from Lea Way. Vincent & Partners were appointed to produce and submit a full planning application following feasibility studies.

Initial proposals and site layout included in earlier iterations of the planning submission and application raised concerns from Planning Officers and Consultees with regards to proximity to existing TPO trees on site, access/manoeuvring within the site and the overall mass of the development, Vincent & Partners and the applicant have worked collaboratively and positively with the Local Authority to produce a balanced scheme creating high-quality dwellings with good external amenity. The development of the site layout and positions of the plots has been informed partially by a small cluster of TPO trees located within the site to the northern boundary and as such the site layout has been designed to respond to and remove the impact to the Root Protection Areas of these trees to be retained within the scheme. Vincent and Brown worked closely with a number of consultants including Landscaping Consultant and Transportation Consultants.

The design of the plots are sympathetic to the nature of the street scene with the ridge line of the plots stepping up from 1.5-storey as you move away from the street allowing for larger 2-storey houses at the rear of the site so that to avoid an overbearing approach seen from the public highway. The orientation creates an interesting effect as one enters the site, creating a series of gables that march along the length of the site, terminating in the two properties at the end of the site. The mass of the proposals correlates to that of the surrounding properties and recent developments with the choice of materials proposed, including a contemporary mix of brick and timber, which will ensure the proposals fit in with the current appearance of the area and therefore reducing the impact of the development. In addition, the access road will be bounded by a wildflower meadow area beneath the canopies of the protected trees and enclosed by estate fencing to create a visually attractive habitat to benefit future residents and ecological habitats as well as each new dwelling benefitting from wraparound garden amenity space.

The scheme was recently approved at committee meeting and the client is keen to move on to the next stages.