Specialist waterfront developer H2O Urban has gained a prestigious accolade at the Planning Awards. Aldcliffe Yard, a development on a sensitive heritage site in Lancaster, was awarded the title of Best Housing Scheme (for fewer than 500 homes).
The ground-breaking development was commended for its sensitivity to the historic site in which it is situated, and for the innovative development structure that allowed homeowners who wished to customise their houses to suit their own individual requirements.
The project is situated alongside the Lancaster Canal within a conservation area. The homes sit on a site covering approximately two acres; ten new build homes and four homes created out of Grade 2-listed, stone canal buildings.
The project featured a number of custom build homes, and was one of the first of its kind to be completed in the UK, setting a high standard for this new way to create high quality, bespoke homes that has been successful across Europe for decades. Buyers bought their plot outright and controlled the design and internal layout, and then the homes were constructed by the development project’s professional builders – a less daunting version of ‘self- build’, offering potential savings on the final market value.
H2O Urban is a joint partnership between specialist development company bloc and the Canal & River Trust, which owns the canalside site.
