CW Studio has designed a landscape masterplan for a sustainable development.
Developer Hall & Co has submitted planning application for Flora, in Henbury, near Macclesfield. They plan to extend its current garden and home furnishings centre to build a new food hall. It will have 14 residential properties with residential, shared and commercial growing gardens.
CW Studio has worked with Ollier Smurthwaite to create the landscape masterplan . This will go before Cheshire East Council’s planning committee.
The masterplan takes in five distinct areas. These are the communal green, orchard and meadow, edible garden, private gardens and a commercial unit called FarmFolk.
The development aims to create a new model for sustainable living. It takes inspiration from the village’s agricultural past.
The residential part of the development has been inspired by farmsteads. There are shared orchards, wildflower meadows and allotments.
The developer wants to appeal to people who put sustainability first and want to live in harmony with nature.
The central community hub has a feature flexible workspace, a farm shop, a food hall for communal dining and stalls for local vendors. It’s the heart of the new housing development designed to encourage communal living.
CW Studio and the details
Carolyn Willitts, director of CW Studio, said,
“The landscape masterplan seeks to bring together contemporary living with sustainability for those who want to live closer to nature.
“The allotments, orchards and communal gardens will create a strong community. The planting palette and landscaping have year-round interest and ecological benefits.
“There is a very strong focus on increasing biodiversity throughout the whole scheme.
“This is such a beautiful part of the Cheshire countryside. It’s exciting to see Flora grow its offering and set up the food hall, with associated edible garden.”
Matt Ollier, director of Ollier Smurthwhaite, said,
“Sustained periods of lockdown have made homeowners aware of what they want from a new home. This site offers an opportunity to put a lot of fresh thinking into place.
“Generous communal gardens with shared food growing, orchards, wildflower meadows and a community green, combined with a new local shop, café and flexible workspace, will provide opportunities for a better work/life balance.
Jamie Hall, projects director at Hall & Co, said:
“Flora Henbury is a completely new concept in sustainable living, with home, workspace and community space co-existing within a tranquil countryside setting.
“It offers a very desirable, unique way of living and working that we know is particularly appealing to the younger generations who are keen to live in closer harmony with nature and are very conscious of their individual impact on the environment.”
Communal areas
The communal green sits in the middle of the residential development. Mature trees and colourful swathes of seasonal bulbs and wildflowers surround it.
Planted swales to store surface water. Native hedges will be planted to add further biodiversity and provide boundaries.
An edible garden based upon the practice of permaculture, will sit next to the café. It will be the supply of fruit, herbs and vegetables throughout the year.
To the north of the site, a small orchard is proposed within a meadow of mown paths. It also includes a circular path for residents to stroll round.
Further native hedgerows will be established along the boundary to the surrounding farmland with hedgerow trees connecting to existing trees. Understorey layers will be retained as part of the development.
Fruit trees includes plums and damsons, pears, cherries and apples. The hedgerow will contain a range of native woody species such as hawthorn, blackthorn, field maple, hazel, spindle, wayfaring tree and wild service tree.
