ASHDOWN FOREST HOUSE
Set in East Sussex, within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) near Pooh Bear’s 100 acre wood forest, our client found a perfect site for development. The land already has a house on it, albeit in derelict condition as well as a number of out houses also completely derelict. This allows for a new home to be constructed in the area and one on which VAT will be exempted on a large portion of the work.
Working with local planning consultants, we are designing a scheme that utilises the area of the footprint of the existing buildings and adds the maximum allowable amount which results in a good sized family home.
Our client has a wonderful family history spanning hundreds of years with many very colourful characters and we have worked with him to weave these stories through the narrative of the house and all of its details.
In addition to the main house, our client also requires an annexe home for his elderly mother, one where she can have her own autonomy and privacy with room for a carer, so it needs to be connected but separate from the main house. We have achieved this by splitting the house with the steps which divide the house but have a connecting internal passage behind the steps between the two buildings.
To enhance privacy, a new road will provide a discreet approach to the house, which will be relocated to a more secluded part of the site, distancing it from neighbouring properties
Two pleasure lakes that had been used in the recent past in the site’s previous life as a camping holiday site are proposed to be combined to a more sizeable lake which the house can have a better relationship with.
An outdoor heated swimming pool is proposed outside the house, so that one can easily go from swimming back to the house and enjoy the pool throughout the year.
A natural palette of local stone and timber is proposed - Wealden sandstone and blackened timber - Charred Wood/Shou Sugi Ban using native Sweet Chestnut timber which will provide a low ecological footprint and allow the house to quietly blend with its surroundings.
