Larkfleet South West development scoops planning award

As an award-winning developer we’re always keen to add to the trophy cabinet. We had some great news last week. Our sister company Larkfleet Homes South West won Best New Housing Development in the Somerset Building Excellence Awards for its Churchinford Hills development.

Not only that. Its development at Creech St Michael was highly commended in the same category.

The Building Excellence Awards are run by the Somerset Building Control Partnership of which Sedgemoor District Council, the area in which Churchinford Hills is located, is a member.

Churchinford Hills will now go forward to the regional Local Authority Building Control (LABC) Awards to be held in Plymouth in April. It will come up against an array of other projects from across the whole of the South West of England.

The development won the award because the team at Larkfleet Homes South West was able to demonstrate building excellence by using traditional methods of construction, such as loose lay flint stone, hand laid thatch, natural slate and a variety of renders, combined with modern elements to ensure building regulation compliance.

The development is set deep within the Blackdown Hills, a designated area of outstanding natural beauty. Areas of outstanding natural beauty enjoy significant conservation protection and planning is strictly controlled, so it was vital that the development was sympathetic to the village and the surrounding countryside.

Head of construction at Larkfleet Homes South West, Shaune Hicks, said: “We have given great consideration to modern living within this rural location by introducing large open interior space, modern bathrooms and kitchens with LPG heating, but with exteriors that retain village charm.”

Churchinford Hills is an exclusive 20-property development of 2,3 and 4-bedroom detached and semi-detached homes, incorporating affordable housing, situated in a unique rural position. The development is enclosed and screened by existing hedgerows and trees on both the northern and western boundaries. The site also has magnificent views across the Blackdown Hills, a rare location that the architects and developers were keen to make the most of.

We’ll keep you posted with news of how we get on at the regional awards in Plymouth in April.