We were appointed by Erris Homes to design a development of 38 dwellings on the site of a former mill building and in the garden of the former mill owner’s house. However, our involvement with the site began 10 years prior to that. Over this period, we worked on, land disposal, land acquisition, planning permission, adapting existing designs and creating new ones and much more.
At Farrar Bamforth Architecture, we do love a long-term relationship with a client spanning many years and developments. However, on this occasion, the longevity is linked to the site.
At the start of our involvement, we worked with the original land owner to secure outline planning permission with access for 15 large houses in their garden, accessed via an adjacent site, which already had full planning permission.
We then introduced the sites to a select group of suitable developers interested in purchasing both of them from their respective owners. The preferred developer, Erris Homes, then asked us to assist them to work up the proposals to allow them to finalise their bid and, subsequently, complete the purchase of the sites, creating one single site.
The original designs for the site that had full planning permission were, by this stage, dated and below modern standards, so we redesigned them to make them more appropriate for contemporary living. We also secured building regulations for houses on both original sites, completed construction drawings, and liaised with the builders. We created legal plans for sale and land registry.
In amongst all this, the original land owner commissioned a bespoke home within the site, which we also designed.
The site is now home to 38 premium dwellings, including a custom designed, one-off home for the client, designed specifically to meet their requirements now and as they get older.
Accreditations: BSc (Hons) Architectural Technology, ICIOB – Incorporated Chartered Institute of Building, CIAT affiliate
Skills: Autodesk CAD, project management, specification writing, contract administration, principal designer, knowledge of building regulations, energy performance of buildings, designing for neurodiversity.
About Tony
Tony is the Big Dog of Farrar Bamforth Architecture. Starting his career here in 1999, he acquired the business and became Managing Director in 2018. Tony loves process driven buildings; creating buildings that can make a positive impact on business performance and people’s lives. Tony takes an intuitive approach to architecture and can often be found in buildings waving his hands around to indicate where rooms should go. He’s also a ‘fixer’; solving problems and dealing with the difficult issues others would rather delegate. Think ‘Mr Wolf’ in Pulp Fiction but with building regulations rather than dead bodies.
In his many years with the company, his favourite project so far has been Berendsen Laundry in Durham. A £5million build and £5million fit-out, Tony was involved from start to finish and enjoyed the perfect combination of interesting job, great client, and good team of contractors and consultants.
And finally…
Tony’s favourite toast topping is two rashers of bacon, brown sauce, and another slice of toast. That’s a sandwich Tony (there’s always one 🙄). When not standing in buildings waving his arms around, he can often be found at heavy metal or Adam Ant concerts, supporting Wakefield Trinity, playing touch rugby, or watching bad car chase movies. Though not, apparently, the Fast and the Furious (too bad).
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Accreditations: BSc (Hons) Architectural Technology, ACIAT
Skills: Adobe Photoshop, Autodesk CAD, BIM / Autodesk Revit, Computer Generated Images (CGI), SketchUp, Twinmotion
About Nathan
Joining us in 2023. Nathan is one of the freshest faces at Farrar Bamforth but he’s already making an impact. Nathan pursued a career in architecture due to a desire to create spaces that have a positive impact on both people and the environment and his favourite project so far was a residential development in Calderdale which made use of BIM to design a mix of dwellings on a multi-level site. He is also a regulation and policy enthusiast, and devoted to all the small details that help to keep us compliant. It was this attention to detail that helped secure him a promotion from Junior Architectural Technologist to Architectural Technologist in January 2024. See more here.
And finally…
Nathan’s favourite toast topping is… butter. In Nathan’s words “let’s make the world a butter place”. When not at work, Nathan enjoys baking cakes (more butter!) and then wondering where they’ve gone. We’re sure you feel ‘butter’ for knowing that 🙄
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Applying for and gaining the appropriate planning permission is a vital element of the architectural process; without it, you can’t proceed. Planning policy can be complex and, if not navigated correctly, can be time consuming and, sometimes, unsuccessful. We know planning. We understand the policies and the application requirements; in fact, we have a track history of securing planning permission on complex sites that initially seemed problematic.
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We can help to prepare proposals and obtain planning approval for a land owner so they can sell their site to interested parties. To make the site more marketable, we can create designs to widen appeal to a greater number of people. Due to our networks, we can also often introduce you to interested developers off-market, making the process simpler, faster, and more cost effective.
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A feasibility study allows you to comprehensively evaluate the viability of an architectural project before committing significant investments to it. Viability is assessed from architectural, financial, and environmental perspectives. As well as the functional aspects of the build, it also includes some preliminary designs, allowing you to start visualising the outcome. The process could include a pre-application submission to the planning department for their opinion prior to a formal application. Conducting a detailed feasibility study protects you against the, often costly, ‘surprises’ that can come from not anticipating and taking steps to avoid the pitfalls that come from not being suitably prepared.
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Where you locate your development is as important as what you put on it. It needs to be the right location, the right price, the right size, have appropriate access, and plenty of other considerations. We can use our industry knowledge and networks to investigate and source options for land that will work for your brief. Just as we can assist with land disposal, we can also support you to find the right site for your project. This can include introducing you to land owners (often enabling you to buy off-market), and conducting feasibility studies. In terms of planning, we can put your house types onto site to vary any existing planning permissions in place.
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There is a much-used phrase that applies to all design but was specifically coined for architecture: ‘form follows function’ and it’s something that we live by. Primarily, buildings and interios have to work so we listen to our clients when they tell us what the structure needs to do for them. For our commercial and industrial clients, this is often 95% of the brief. For residential projects, whether a housing development or a bespoke high-end dwelling, functionality and aesthetic appeal need to be finely balanced. We are equally skilled in both approaches and always client-led.
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Building regulations are simultaneously the rules that keep us safe and the requirements that give architects and builders headaches as they strive for compliance with ever-evolving specifications. Not a problem for us though, as several members of the team live for the minutiae and details of regulations, and standards so we’re all over them. That not only means that your development complies with (and often, exceeds) building regs but that we also know the strategies for working with regulations in ways that don’t compromise creativity, function, or budgets.
×To see other examples of contemporary developments we have been involved with, see our Yorkshire Country Properties case study. Alternatively, contact Eliot at eliot@farrarbamforth.co.uk or anyone else on the team to discuss what we can do for you on 01484 424008.
