Kings Meadow, Fradley

Type/size: 63 residential dwellings

Location: Fradley, Lichfield

Status: On site, completion due 2021

Contract Value: £8.4 Million

Construction Type: MMC- OSM Timber panelised system (Eco 100 & 200 by Local Homes)

Client: Accord Housing Association (In-house scheme)

Scheme Overview:

Kings Meadow is a mixed tenure residential housing scheme which comprises of 63 houses with a mixture of 2, 3 & 4 bedroom dwellings.

The site is located with the village of Fradley in Staffordshire which is 5 miles north-east of the city of Lichfield. The site was part of Bridge Farm previously used for agricultural land and before that formed part of the RAF Lichfield Air Base during the Second World War. The site has been split into two sections with the west part accommodating private housing and the east part accommodating a Dementia Care centre which is also being built out by Accord in association with Engie and Staffordshire County Council. Both developments were submitted as a joint application to the Local Authority.

Key site constraints include an existing gas easement to the northern boundary, proximity to neighbouring properties and the accessibility in and across the site and the impact on the surrounding road network. The above constraints have influenced the highway network, levels and drainage strategies across the site and provided opportunities for us to create focal features within the confines of the site.

As the development is classed as a ‘Strategic Project’ we were invited to attend a Project Team Meeting (PTM) with the local authority and present our outline proposals to the Strategic Project Team. This was attended by representatives from the planning department, local councillors and senior management. We discussed the proposals to provide both private for sale housing and a 90 bed residential care home with a connecting area of public open space in the middle which both typologies address.

Following the pre-application process the project brief and unit numbers were finalised as follows:
• 63 x private for sale houses (To be developed/designed/constructed by Accord Housing Associations and sold to the open market) consisting of 27x 2 beds, 28x 3 bed and 8x 4 bed houses.

The houses are configured in a series of terraces and semi-detached units with a small number of larger detached 4 beds. All are two storeys in height and of a domestic scale/appearance.
All houses front onto either adoptable or private sections of highway with dual frontages to address corners as opposed to having a blank gable. The majority of units have 2 parking spaces with generous sized rear gardens with front to rear access for refuse storage/collection. Houses have been placed so they conform to the local authority’s guidelines in relation to separation distances, garden size and parking ratio.

The housing will be constructed using a timber frame panelised system made in Accord Housing Associations factory- Local Homes. The timber frame will be clad in brickwork or render in-keeping with the surrounding architectural vernacular.

In terms of massing the proposals are all 2 storey in height and of domestic appearance with pitched roofs and brick facades. Ridge and eaves height are similar throughout the development with strong dominant gable ends which are fenestrated with either windows or front doors.

The streetscape has been created within a hierarchy with conventional highway leading to smaller private driveways and shared surfaces. These are broken up with proposed street landscaping and pockets of public open space. The main access road from Baker Drive is 5.5m wide with 2m wide pavement on either side. This leads to a central square feature in block paving which leads to secondary sections of highway. The road alignment has been staggered to provide a chicane effect to slow down traffic supported by narrowing of the highway and traffic calming build outs with tree planting. Pedestrian cross over points are also indicated to allow for the safe navigation of pedestrians across the site.

Sections of private highway are proposed to serve no more than 5 dwellings using a shared surface arrangement, with flush kerbs and subtle road demarcations. These will be demarcated in a different colour tarmac with a block paved access strip at the entrances. The entrance off Worthington Road leads to a private car park for the Care Home only. We are currently proposing that the main sections of highway detailed above will be offered for adoption and the smaller private driveways will be maintained by the Accord. Surface materials have been carefully considered in terms of their carbon footprint, maintenance, aesthetics and their contribution to sustainable urban drainage (SUDS). All private parking bays will be paved using permeable block paving to support the drainage strategy with small feature areas such as the central square in block paving also. Adoptable highway will be constructed to adoptable standard with a tarmac finish and areas of private driveway will be surfaced in a contrasting coloured tarmac.

Tree planting will be used in public areas to provide some relief to the hard surfaces together with shrub planting beds etc. Lighting will be used in the form of up lighting and bollards to highlight path areas at low level rather than uniform overhead lights.

The elevations for the houses have large full height windows with box bay window and juliette balcony features to provide visual relief across the street scene with a modern but domestic feel. As the site is relatively enclosed from the surrounding area it can stand alone with its own identity with subtle connections to the surrounding local vernacular- such as the use of red multi toned brickwork and chimneys to reflect the neighbouring housing estate.

The character of the site proposals naturally breaks down into a series of smaller areas which allow for a range of landscape identities to be formed and reinforced through the use of different planting regimes. Front gardens will be turfed with shrub planting and hedgerow proposed on vulnerable boundaries to define ownership and enhance security. Semi-mature trees are proposed along the street scene and within the pockets of public open space along with amenity planting consisting of a mix of low maintenance shrubs and perennial planting. The placement of trees and planting build outs is important to soften the street scape but also to provide a low maintenance but green environment for future residents.

The central public open space (The Village Green) will be turfed and have a children’s play area to encourage resident interactive which will be formed using natural materials such as timber logs, large boulders and tree stumps etc.

With quality facing materials, generous gardens and high quality public realm and boundary treatments we hope that this development will be a welcome addition to the village of Fradley.