Birchwood, North Devon
Leisure and Residential Development
Services: Landscape Masterplanning, Landscape Design & Planning, Graphics
The Landmark Practice is working on behalf of Habitat First Group to deliver a sustainable vacation home community at Birchwood to the south of Barnstaple in North Devon. In 2017 outline planning consent was granted for 158 holiday homes with associated leisure and recreational facilities within a 63 acre disused quarry site. Aggregate Industries stopped quarry works in 2006 and landscape restoration in accordance with the approved ROMP has now been completed.
Landmark’s landscape architects have been involved with Birchwood from its inception providing landscape planning and design services including a Landscape Visual Impact Assessment as part of an EIA report and an Illustrative Landscape Masterplan.
The steep-sided sandstone quarry has brought new challenges for the design team whose experience has been with the relatively flat gravel and sand quarry sites of Lower Mill and Silverlake. Time has been taken to deliver safe quarry slopes and deal with acid runoff from areas of exposed rock face.
As with Silverlake a landscape character plan with nine distinctive character areas identified. These areas have been informed by the existing array of ecologically rich natural habitats on-site Along with existing natural habitats there are areas of archaeological interest and the popular Tarka Trail walking route runs east to west across the site. Landmark is currently providing landscape design services for the full planning application for Phase 1, consisting of a proposed area of 17 holiday homes with associated leisure and recreational facilities nestled in amongst existing woodland.
Client Benefits
Landmark is proud to be part of a long-standing design team that delivers projects for Habitat First Group, and as landscape architects, the opportunity to create acres of new and enhanced natural landscapes is a real privilege. Our experience and knowledge in this type of development allows us to respond quickly and effectively to the brief, provide creative design solutions and give sound landscape planning and design advice.
Architects: Willmore Iles Architects
Civil Engineer: Stantec
Hydrology: Dr Nick Haycock
Planning Consultant: Savills
Ecology: Dr Phoebe Carter at Habitat First Group
Contractor: Conservation Builders
