Court Farm, Clevedon
Residential Development
Client: P. Yates Limited
Services: Ecological Survey and Assessment, Protected Species Licencing, LVIA and Landscape Design
The Landmark Practice was commissioned in spring of 2017 to undertake Landscape and Visual Assessment and Ecological Assessment to inform a planning application for refurbishment and conversion / extension existing traditional buildings and construction of six new dwellings at Court Farm, Clevedon for residential purposes.
The site at Court Farm offered a fantastic location for high quality residential development, on the eastern edge of the town of Clevedon near to the Clevedon Court Estate. The site was predominantly classed as ‘brownfield,’ consisting of a farmyard with outbuildings and hardstanding which abuts a sheer rock cliff face along its eastern boundary. With nearby Listed Buildings, and the eastern boundary abutting the Clevedon Court Estate, the layout was carefully considered to respond to his sensitive setting, with advice from both Heritage specialists and Landmark’s Landscape Architects.
The site was located within a ‘consultation band’ for the North Somerset and Mendip Bats Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and offered supporting habitat for bats associated with this site. Bat surveys identified bat roosts within the buildings and in the absence of mitigation, the development had the potential to impact on populations of lesser and greater horseshoe bats (European Protected Species) during construction and operation of the development. A detailed mitigation strategy was prepared by Landmark’s ecologists to satisfy the Local Planning Authority that adverse effects on bats roosting and using the site would be avoided. Hybrid planning consent was granted subject to planning conditions and Reserved Matters.
Landmark was subsequently commissioned by P.Yates Ltd in 2019 to update the surveys undertaken in 2017, collect the data needed to inform a European Protected Species Licence and prepare reporting to discharge planning conditions/inform Reserved Matters applications to allow the development to proceed. A bat licence application was prepared alongside other pre-commencement tasks including preparation of a Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP), a Landscape and Ecology Management Plan (LEMP) and Ecological Constraints Plan, a Reptile Mitigation Strategy and a Landscape Softworks Plan.
Client Benefits
Landmark worked closely with our client, the project architects and planners, to respond to a complex set of Reserved Maters and planning condition requirements within a strict timeline. A licencing and mitigation strategy was proposed by Landmark’s ecologists to enable safeguarding bat roosts within the buildings and approval of the hybrid planning application, without compromising the aspirations of our client or their architects. The development was granted planning permission in January 2018 (ref. 17/P/2435/O); full planning permission for the proposed barn conversions, and outline permission for Several new build dwellings.
Working with
Planning : Alder King
Architects: Oxford Architects
Transport and Access: Curtins
‘We would thoroughly recommend The Landmark Practice who are very professional with a style of communication that means they are a pleasure to work with. All of the work which has been produced on our scheme is of a high quality, that is consistently thorough, and clear for all parties concerned.’
