Housing Developments – Speculative Residential Homes – Architects & Planners
Our experience and capabilities provide a unique service for your housing development.
Hunter Architects & Planners have a wide range of experience in the speculative residential sector on a variety of housing development scales from the smallest single dwelling development, through mixed use urban apartment schemes to multi-phased housing developments of over 100 dwellings.
Our Team have constructed numerous speculative residential properties, including apartments, small and large family homes as well as speculative residential housing developments for property developers and house builders.
For more information on our unique experience and capabilities, please please see our dedicated page for Developers and Landowners or contact us on 0161 926 9039 or email hello@hunterarchitects.co.uk
Maximising site potential and negotiating the planning maze
Unpicking the guidance and using creative thinking to create modern family homes
Whether the site is for a single dwelling, a development of houses or a multi-storey block of apartments, developing a robust and appropriate strategy to maximise the site potential and understand the context are vital to the success of any project.
Constant tinkering and evolution of the planning system and planning polices create uncertainty for developers and as such it is vital to appoint an experienced and capable team with good relationships within the industry and relevant Local Authority to create an appropriate, implementable and robust planning approval.
Delivering Clear And Straight-Forward Advice to a Range of Clients
Our experience and capabilities provide a unique service for your housing development.
For housing developments our clients are usually either non professional developers (for example a home-owner looking to develop part of their existing garden or having purchased land or buildings to develop) or professional developers (including house builders, small builders, housing associations etc).
Working across different scales of housing developments
Hunter Architects & Planners have experience of housing developments from single dwellings to multi-phase developments of over 100 dwellings
Housing developments can range in size from a single new dwelling, to 2-5 houses on a brownfield, greenfield or infill plot, to major developments of 10 or more houses. The good news is that we can you help you gain planning permission for all housing developments regardless of their size! We have over 20 years of experience designing speculative housing for a range of clients.
At the smallest end of the scale are single dwellings, often on land at the side of a house or end of a garden (known as tandem or backland development). We work to ensure that privacy and overlooking distances can be achieved, vehicular access to the plot can be safely realized, and garden areas can be accommodated. Single or small housing developments may also replace existing houses or buildings. One common example is replacement dwellings, where an existing home is replaced by a new, usually larger dwelling on the same site. This type of development often has limitations and obstacles to overcome, particularly where the site is located in Green Belt. Please see our dedicated page for more information.
For minor developments, of up to ten dwellings, resolution of highways issues is often critical to the success of the scheme. Access for fire engines and bin lorries usually needs careful consideration, in addition to overlooking and privacy issues between the new dwellings and their neighbouring context.
Arboricultural and ecological issues will also need to be considered to ensure that the new dwellings sit comfortably in their existing context. Often these are brownfield sites, formerly commercial sites in or close to a residential area, or open space on the edge of a settlement boundary which is suitable for development for housing.
Major developments, of 10 dwellings or more, usually have greater requirements in terms of affordable housing provision, open space provision, and accessibility. Many local authorities do not have a 5-year housing land supply, which can provide an opportunity for developers to obtain planning approval.
Larger schemes often incorporate a range of dwelling types and sizes, including apartments, houses, and possibly some commercial elements. We always aim to maximise the potential of the site while ensuring that the site layout optimizes the building orientation and servicing.
Planning Permission for Housing Developments
Getting planning permission is a crucial step in any housing development project, large or small. We always endeavour to prepare a robust planning submission, which covers all of the relevant issues for the site to get the project off to a good start. This gives the local authority the confidence that the issues have all been considered, and that the scheme will result in a high quality development. A planning approval with minimal conditions is always our aim, and a great way to start your development.
Call us today to discuss your site!
Get Started
We want to understand what you’re looking for and what’s possible.
A conversation sets everything in motion. Call us on 0161 926 9039 or book a discussion today.