Member Article

Altin Homes submits plans for Allostock site

Privately-owned property development company, Altin Homes, has submitted a planning application to Cheshire West for the redevelopment of a former garden centre on the A50 at Allostock (between Holmes Chapel and Knutsford).

The now derelict garden centre has become an eyesore and the team at Altin Homes is keen to bring their vision for a biodiverse, ecologically-friendly site to life. The design team is proposing a low-density site with only 22 homes, set out around an open meadow area.

Working with Calderpeel Architects, Altin Homes has planned a range of properties from bungalows to large 4-bedroom barn-style homes. In order to maintain an open countryside feel to the development, all garages and driveways are hidden behind the properties to maintain the open views from the homes.

With the need to create flexible accommodation that can be adapted during an owner’s lifetime in the properties, ground floor master suites have been created in the majority of homes.

In putting the scheme together Altin was keen to keep the site open. They have been working with a biodiversity specialist to design the landscaped area as a natural wildflower meadow with mown paths.

A key feature will be the introduction of a pond to the site. Not only will this natural feature enhance the site’s eco credentials, providing significant wildlife benefit and a habitat for amphibians, it will also allow Altin Homes to adopt a sustainable urban drainage system on site – all rainwater from the roofs of the properties will drain into the pond, filtered through a natural reed bed.

Speaking about this, Graham Workman of Whistling Bee Ecological Consultants said, “The scheme we have developed will provide a haven for wildlife and the residents alike whilst creating a significant biodiversity uplift.

“Special attention is also being given to the planting scheme. There are currently a number of ornamental trees on site and these will be replaced with native specifies and we will also be creating fruit-bearing hedges.”

Design director of Altin Homes, Yousef Mousavi said, “We are very excited about the scheme we have submitted to Cheshire West. Our vision is to create beautiful homes in a natural landscape. For this reason, our proposals are low-density, versatile in type-form and functionality, designed around this area of open meadow which is appropriate for the site’s location in Allostock.”

The contemporary-designed homes proposed for the site take inspiration from rural and agricultural architecture and will incorporate the latest green technologies for reduced carbon emissions and energy consumption.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Charlotte Gribbin .