Following successful planning approval on Phase A, CDS were appointed to prepare & submit the Reserved Matters application on Phase B, situated in the northwestern area of the major mixed-use development at Berwick Green, with outline approval for 1000 new dwellings, care home, local centre, primary school & a range of community, public open space & sporting facilities.

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Proposals provide for 126no. new mixed tenure homes, comprising of 1-5 bedroom dwellings in the form of apartments, terraced, semi-detached & detached houses. As with the previous phase, the site required a careful & considered design approach to ensure compliance with the prescriptive design principles & parameters of the outline approval & approved Design Code. House type styles vary depending on their location & range from contemporary with simple detailing to traditional rural homes with more varied details & material palette on the rural edges of development. Several bespoke house types were designed specifically for the site to provide the required urban design response & to deal with the steep topography.

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The sloping nature of the site was a significant challenge but presented an opportunity to deliver a customised design approach which optimised usability of outdoors & indoor space whilst ensuring longevity & low levels of future user maintenance. To overcome the very steep topography in the southern area of the site, dwellings along the southern edge were specially designed to be semi-retained with accommodation over three storeys & rear gardens retained behind a high retaining wall. Main habitable rooms are located on the first and second floors, with bridges provided at the first-floor level within the rear elevation to allow direct access to the elevated private rear garden amenity space. These bridges have been designed to allow for the space to be utilised as a patio area and incorporate metal railings/ timber fencing to prevent falls.