Residents have moved into Lancaster’s first canalside custom build
16 August 2016
Contemporary in style, but with much attention paid to the historic setting, this string of stone and wood-clad homes is part of a revamp of the canalside in Lancaster city centre. In fact, you may recognise the Aldcliffe Yard project as it featured on BBC’s Panorama last year whilst under construction. Fast forward 12 months and the bespoke waterside development, in the heart of Lancaster, is now complete.
The 14 family homes include a mix of brand new three and four bedroom properties, as well as refurbished homes created out of the Grade 2-listed stone canal-buildings. Eight of the homes were completed on a custom build basis, where buyers purchased a plot outright and then controlled the home’s internal design and layout.
The development was masterminded by H2O Urban, a joint venture between private developer Bloc and the Canal & River Trust (CRT), from whom the site was obtained. “This site contains some wonderful historic buildings, which have been lying empty for a number of years,” says the CRT’s head of property development, James Lazarus. “It’s fantastic to see them transformed into family homes. Maintaining a 200-year-old canal network is clearly a constant challenge and its upkeep is supported by income generated by development schemes like this one.”
As the scheme is set within a conservation area, the local planning department was very specific about the materials that could be used to ensure the properties were in-keeping with the surroundings – these included slate roofs with natural stone walls and timber framed sash windows. H2O Urban installed the infrastructure to the site and the the plots were provided fully-serviced with gas, water, electricity and telecommunications.
The purchasers needed to show they were able to complete on their plot and finance the build process during a specific time frame. Purchasers then needed to work on the customisation of their home with H2O Urban’s project manager and team of consultants including architects, engineers, M&E consultants and the main contractor.
