Planning permission granted for new rural contemporary home.

In 2011 Montague Architects were asked to assess the potential of a rural site, in the village of Windley with a view to building a new home. The site, which was previously a saw mill, was owned by a local businessman who was using it as a timber yard. Existing buildings on the site were of utilitarian design, of timber, concrete and steel construction; decaying and not particularly attractive. The plan was to demolished these and build a one-off contemporary home in this fabulous location.

Securing planning for this ambitious home was not going to be easy. The land is situated outside of the village and as a result outside of the development boundary, so it was considered countryside. Although, previously developed this was for commercial use (B8) not for residential.

A pre-application was submitted in 2011 and planning officers from Amber Valley Borough Council embraced the concept of a one-off, exceptional, contemporary designed home on the site.

A full planning application was submitted in 2012. The proposed home was designed to blend in with its countryside setting. The building has curved external retaining walls at both ends and a curved green roof with wildflower covering.

The house was treated as being of exceptional design and planning approval was granted under PPS 7. PPS 7, states that “very occasionally the exceptional quality and innovative nature of the design of a proposed, isolated new house may provide this special justification for granting planning permission. Such a design should be truly outstanding and ground-breaking.”

When planning was secured the site was put up for sale, in 2017 it was purchased by the current owner. At the end of 2017 when Montague Architects merged with Matthew Montague Architects the project once again began to gather steam and work commenced on site.

The new home is a 5 bedroom, 6 bathroom contemporary upside down house. It is largely of open plan design with a grand entrance hall with feature floating staircase.

The staircase leads to an open plan kitchen, living and dining area with curved roof and large full height curtain wall openings. The upper floor benefits from a wraparound terrace which affords breath taking views of the countryside.

On the ground floor there is a gym, sauna, changing room, large playroom and state-of-the-art media/cinema room. The house also benefits from a double garage which also has a green roof built into the bank.

Work is currently progressing; the groundworks and foundations are now complete. Watch this space for updates and images as the build progresses.