The site itself was located on the side of a valley overlooking the Greenbooth Reservoir, providing a spectacular backdrop for the whole development. It posed a number of challenges due to the steep topography and the existing mill buildings, which had been cut into the hillside.

The brief required us to provide a masterplan for a  contemporary hamlet, using traditional materials, but with a modern spin. Therefore we attempted to give the scheme the character of a typical English village using traditional materials and the local vernacular to main frontage of the houses with the rear elevations designed as contemporary infills into a traditional shell.

Included within the development are a number of public open spaces creating places for children to play and public amenity such as walks and links into the wider public footpath network.

This innovative solution provided a distinctive selling point for the housing in the development.