Our clients’ family owned a small traditional cottage in a sensitive costal location. They wished to move to live there and bring up their own family. The existing cottage was far too small and it was unviable to extend further as previous unsympathetic conversions had rendered parts of the cottage unstable. The LPA were approached and pre-application discussions were instigated. A replacement dwelling was advocated and the design team produced a proposal that was both contemporary and sympathetic to the sites’ setting in the countryside.

The application was finally approved as a replacement dwelling with all Design and Housing policies being complied with. However the site was formerly in the hands of the National Trust, who had to approve the design. They have not, and we are now in negotiation with the Trust to find an acceptable compromise.