Great to see two sites we have worked on with Esh Group fully completed.
These sites represent both ends of the housing spectrum – affordable housing at Beech Hill, Halifax; and private development at Kilham, Driffield.
Beech Hill
This regeneration project won an award for incredible partnership – working between Calderdale Council, Calderdale Together Housing Investment Partnership (CTHIP), Esh Construction, Together Housing Group, and the design team including Alan Wood & Partners, JCA Limited – Arboricultural and Ecological Consultants, Stroma, with funding from Homes England and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. We participated in a series of productive design workshops with the development team, planning consultees and with valuable input from residents on the project board boosted community support and helped the team craft the scheme’s local identity.
Following a mini design competition, we then improved the design to secure planning approval for 106 affordable two, three, four, and five-bedroom homes to replace derelict high-rise tower blocks. Our cohesive scheme reflects the original masterplan’s aspirations, but we successfully refined the unit footprints whilst adhering to the Design Quality Standards and without compromising the approved architectural styles and elevational treatments. Public realm infrastructure was also greatly improved.
Kilham
Working in partnership with property development company Akkeri Developments Limited, 30 new homes were constructed in Kilham. We worked with the design team including Eastwood Consulting Engineers and FDA Landscape to help deliver this exemplary scheme. The site comprises a blend of two, three, and four-bedroom homes, ranging from two-bedroom bungalows to four-bedroom detached family houses for outright sale, and affordable properties also feature across the site. Located on the edge of the picturesque East Riding Village of Kilham, and only a few miles from the market town of Driffield, the site was ideally located to provide quality family homes in a rural location. Each dwelling incorporates a private secure rear garden designed to Secure by Design Standards with cycle storage provision. Many also incorporate garages, feature bay windows, and ecological enhancements such as bird & bat boxes and hedgehog highways through the site. The designs provide a variety of materials with different brick and roof palettes together with a mixture of white and grey coloured windows. The masterplan design also incorporates an existing footpath into the scheme to offer a safe overlooked route into the rural countryside.
