The house is situated within the Green Belt and beautiful High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with long views to the east across farmland. The house had already been extended in the past which meant that any further additions would not meet local planning policy without demonstrating 'Very Special Circumstances'.

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The existing ground floor layout did not make the most of the fantastic views to the garden and beyond, and the circulation was convoluted, with the stair buried within the ground floor layout. Upstairs a 1980s loft conversion was cramped and did not make the most of the space. 

 

The client approached Fox-Groves Architecture to address these issues and we firstly explored what could be achieved under permitted development, gaining a Lawful Development Certificate for a rear single-storey extension which created sufficient space to provide an additional master bedroom, whilst also relocating the stair to maximise the utilisation of the existing loft space. 

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We subsequently developed a scheme which worked with the existing footprint, but installed a new raised roof structure to provide additional first floor space, as well as changing the hipped roof to a gable. This provided 3 good-sized bedrooms at first floor for their children, along with a master and guest bedroom at ground floor. The layout was also reconfigured to provide improved kitchen, dining and living spaces. We've explored different material options including contemporary interpretations of traditional materials found in the local area, such as hung tile and weatherboarding.   

 

Planning was approved in January 2024

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