Lovedon Fields

Working closely with BD Landscape and Peach Ecology, the scheme manifests developer HAB’s belief that housing should be specific to its context and not just be about houses, but about landscape, ecology, culture and community.

5 hectares of the 7 hectares site were laid as wildflower meadow and gifted to the village as an extension of the park. A network of paths weave through the development and meadow creating new connections with the village and wider landscape. 

Native hedges create biodiverse boundaries to gardens; new trees and an orchard reinforce these green edges ensuring the development will gradually meld with the existing green village edge. Rain and drought tolerant planting works with a site wide strategy to manage stormwater run-off. Buildings incorporate nests for birds, bats and insects and a swift house in the meadow broadcasts swift song to welcome new inhabitants.

From a distance, roofs are often the most visible marker of built form in the countryside. Dark heather roof tiles marry with flush photovoltaic panels to create a silhouette that is at once rural and productive. A brick blend was created to mimic the flinty chalk soil of the surrounding fields and sits alongside weathered grey timber cladding. Moss grey window frames and chimney caps complete a palette of materials designed to age harmoniously with the surrounding countryside.

“An exemplar of how planning for housing on the edge of an existing settlement should be delivered”

2017 Landscape Institute Awards