Author: Laura Andersen

The community development in Wimborne, Dorset, by McCarthy Stone has won Best Retirement Scheme at the Housebuilder Awards 2024.

Planning drawings have been submitted for the New Blendworth Centre in Horndean.

The application seeks to outline proposals for new modern facilities, much better suited to the Centre’s needs. The Centre is a day provision for those aged over 19 with varying degrees of learning difficulties. Within the Centre grounds there is a small nursery outlet with many polytunnels and potting sheds which facilitates the service users activities.

We are delighted to welcome Kathryn to the Re-Format team, who joins as a Senior Architect.

With a wide range of experience having worked in both public (local authority) and private practice, she has gained a broad knowledge base: from the implementation of large education projects and major capital programmes of work, to smaller residential projects including listed buildings and high-end projects. In addition to this, Kathryn has also returned to the University of Portsmouth as a guest assessor for the Degree Apprentice course end point assessment.  

We are very pleased to receive planning consent for a replacement dwelling on the River Itchen in Abbots Worthy, Hampshire.
Designed to Passivhaus principles for net zero operation and the aspiration for energy self-sufficiency, the home is arranged as a development of an established farmstead, by re-using some of the existing structures.

The South Downs National Park Authority have won ‘Best Plan’ at the RTPI Awards for their Design Guide. Re-Format are delighted to have assisted in the production of the design guide, preparing over 70 illustrations and diagrams to help articulate the guidance for the planning document. Congratulations to Mark Waller Guitterez and the planning team at the SDNPA for their hard work. Pleased to see our practice studio pictured on the front cover too!

New planning consent for an extension project near Hawkley in the South Downs National Park.

The site and main house date back to 1880s as the original dairy for the nearby farm. The proposals seek to demolish existing run down outbuildings and replace them with a series of linked spaces housing new bedrooms and living spaces.  The form, hierarchy and layout of the current outbuildings will be replicated and linked by lightweight contemporary glazed flat roofed structures providing an entrance lobby and garden room.

Construction of a new Retirement Community in Whitehill & Bordon has begun.

As part of the Prince Philip Park regeneration area, McCarthy Stone have begun the works in the new town centre location.  A large communal garden will provide a valuable amenity space for the residents but also a green hub for the local flora, fauna, insects and birds.

Planning consent has been received for the development of two 4 bedroom family homes in Dockenfield, Farnham. The application site was acquired by a consortium of local residents wishing to improve their village surroundings. 

The two dwellings have been designed as a mix of one and two storey elements which provides a suitable scale for the size of the plot. The placement of the houses on the sloping site utilises the site topography to set the ridge lines low in relation to the adjacent road level, ensuring the houses has a considered and minimal visual impact.

Last week the team took a trip Barcelona. With so much history and architecture to explore it was a busy weekend!

We visited the Basilica Santa Maria del Mar, Fossar de les Moreres, Mercat del Born, Mercat de Santa Caterina, MACBA, CCCB, Les Arenes, Barcelona Pavilion and CaizaForum.

With a big thanks to our guide Lorenzo Kárász.

Detailed planning consent has been granted for the development of a residential scheme at Wispers Estate near Midhurst.

With a Grade II listed house designed by Richard Norman Shaw on site, the proposals seek to remove the dilapidated 1960s school additions and return the house and its gardens to glory. Modern dwellings will be inserted into the revived site with reference to the site’s farmstead origins and with respect to the grand landscape that surrounds it.

Planning has been submitted for a new self build dwelling in Farnham. This low energy design is set adjacent to Farnham Park and responds sensitively to the town centre location, using a strong clay tiled roof form and dormers to mitigate massing and overlooking.

A modern family home is now complete in St Ives. This plot forms a part of a wider site development in the grounds of Treloyhan Manor Hotel. Overlooking the coast but in a woodland setting, this townhouse allows fabulous views out to sea and connects the internal spaces with the surrounding landscape.

We are very pleased to announce the recent new planning application made for a replacement family dwelling near West Harting in Hampshire.

The site constraints, principally of the site topography and visual prominence in the area, proximity to the designated Ancient Woodland and the perceived overbearing of the previous refused application have been instrumental in the development of the proposals.

The designs aspire to meet Passivhaus principles, conserve energy use through fabric first methods, and reduce embodied energy in construction.

We are delighted to have received planning and listed building consent for a local refurbishment and restoration project within the South Downs National Park.

At Hurst Farm, near Petersfield, it is proposed to restore the Grade II listed building to one family home and construct a new glazed link to connect the main house to a newly converted outbuilding.

Re-Format has received planning consent for 6 replacement dwellings in Oxford.

Due to the poor condition of the existing structure, it was recommended for replacement or demolition. This created an opportunity to redefine the appearance and use of the site.

Renovation works at HSDC engineering department are now complete. The works included a complete refurbishment of the machinery workshop, creation of new fit for purpose classrooms and social spaces, and installation new lighting and ventilation services.

As part of our charity work, Re-Format provided design services pro bono for a new clubhouse for the Petersfield Town Juniors campus.
The proposal is for a much needed changing facility and clubhouse for the youth football teams playing at Penns Place in Petersfield. It will provide an outstanding community facility in support of the operation to provide revenue to support football activities for all in Petersfield and the surrounding areas.

Our project for Alitex is now complete. Based just outside of Petersfield, Hampshire, the new structure provides a welcome building to their site where they design and manufacture glass greenhouses.

We are delighted to welcome three new members to the Re-Format Team.

Claire Howard as Financial Assistant, and Dom Allen and Alan Clarke as Architectural Designers.

We are pleased to share Prince’s Mead School extension has been shortlisted for the South Downs National Park Design Awards.

St Luke’s Chapel has commenced on site in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. We are excited to see the lightweight installations take shape alongside the original chapel features to create a modern home.

We are pleased to announce that 4 of our projects have been shortlisted for the 2024 Housing Design Awards.

Brewery House, Southsea, completed in September 2023, has been shortlisted for the completed category. The project is a retrofit of a former bottling store to provide new residential apartments.

Three projects have been shortlisted for the projects category; Harrier Way, Tews Engineering Site and Harts Yard. Harrier Way is a new retirement community for McCarthy Stone based on the outskirts of Petersfield. Tews Engineering Site is located in the centre of Petersfield and proposes a mixed use infill scheme for 33 apartments alongside a new co-working hub. Harts Yard proposals insert a collection of 8 contemporary homes into the heart of the Farnham conservation area.

We’re thrilled to announce that Brewery House has been shortlisted for an AJ Retrofit Award 2024 in the Adaptive Reuse category. The previous beer bottling plant now provides 17 apartments in a central Southsea location.

Planning has been submitted for a new contemporary dwelling with spectacular views to the surrounding landscape of the South Down National Park.

The dwelling is based upon a farmstead vernacular and is broken down into a collection of single and two storey pitched roof forms, linked by a single storey ‘planted’ flat roof element.

New planning approval for a single storey, 2 bedroom home on a challenging site in Hindhead, Surrey.

The site came with two previous planning appeal refusals before Re-Format became involved. Planning permission was gained by adopting a unique contextual response based around the large existing trees on site.

Congratulations to Chanida Barrett for passing her part 3 exams to qualify as an architect.

Chanida has worked tirelessly towards her final qualifications and has grown immensely in confidence and experience during the long process towards becoming an architect.

Well done Chanida!

Planning has been submitted for a 56 dwelling McCarthy Stone retirement living scheme along with 10 affordable apartments as part of the Prince Phillip Park regeneration project at Whitehill & Bordon. The scheme is being put forward as a Reserved Matters Application under the hybrid approval and design code. In accordance with the Design Code, the design of the new buildings is intended to be modern, uncluttered, and simple, with a balanced mix of materials and textures and clear lines.

A Reserved Matters Application has been submitted to the South Downs National Park for 51,000 sq. feet (4730sq. metres) of employment floor space at Buckmore Farm North.

From the outset a Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS) was central to the overall layout. This was designed to manage the stormwater close to its source, to mimic natural drainage and encourage its infiltration and attenuation.

The team has developed the appearance of the buildings to reference the local rural vernacular whilst introducing contemporary design and materials to provide an simple and restrained response.

Re-Format is delighted that planning permission has been granted for our 50 apartment Retirement Living development for McCarthy Stone in Haywards Heath, West Sussex. From the outset the design team have developed a scheme that is generated by its unique location and responds to the local urban fabric of mixed use development.

We have applied for permission to construct three high-quality, sustainable, homes on an unused brownfield site in the town of Liphook, Hampshire. Our design is sensitive to the local context, whilst also being contemporary and distinct.

Rather than repeating the same elevation, we have created a triptych composition, with a variety of appearances, read as an ensemble to add visual interest to the street scene.

​We are so grateful for the incredible work and ​dedication ​of our clients, consultants, and contractors throughout ​this past year.
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We wish you all a happy and successful 2023 ​and ​look ​forward to continued collaboration ​i​n the year ahead. 

We are very pleased to have submitted plans to the Isle of Wight Planning Authority for the restoration and conversion of the grade II listed East Dene House, Ventnor into a boutique hotel.
In addition to the sensitive conversion of the listed house, the proposals include 16 luxury guest lodges, which are delicately positioned within existing tree clearings throughout the woodland, and a new guest pavilion with communal pool terrace overlooking the Solent.

Work is to commence on our new independence hub for Brockenhurst College in the New Forest.

The building will incorporate a special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) “independence hub” and house its existing foundation studies department.

Re-Format are working with project managers Peter Marsh Consulting, contractor Ascia, and structural engineers Paul Basham Associates on this exciting addition for the college.

We have undertaken a refresh of our website and added more recent projects for you to explore.

We are very pleased to have submitted plans to the South Downs National Park Authority for a mixed urban infill scheme for 33 apartments alongside a new co-working hub for our clients 6a Vision Homes Ltd.

Re-Format enjoyed their time in Lisbon on this year’s study trip. A really beautiful city with so much to see! We visited the Santa Justa Lift, Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, EDP Headquarters, Castello de S Jorge, Jose Saramago Museum, and the MAAT Museum. We offset our carbon footprint with a donation to The Woodland Trust.
A big thanks to our guide Nelson.

We are delighted to have been granted detailed planning permission for a substantial 8,000 sq. ft. replacement dwelling in the South Downs National Park.
Through careful visual impact studies, we were able to demonstrate that an increase of 3 times the size of the original house was contextually appropriate. The house has been laid out as a cluster of forms around a central courtyard, this creates a pleasing architectural composition whilst referencing the precedent of local farmsteads.

Works are nearing completion on site for our contemporary dwelling set in a woodland clearing site within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

We are delighted to have been granted planning permission in April for our masterplan in Tenterden, Kent, following appeal inquiry. The proposals comprise 141 homes together with a new country park, sports pitches and pavilion set in a series of landscaped greenways for our client Wates Developments.

We are delighted to have won outline consent for an innovative self-build development for the Petersfield Community Land Trust, in our home town.

Permission involved extensive and collaborative dialogue with the South Downs National Park, in particular our case officer Rafa Grosso Macpherson to deal with complex ecology, drainage, highways, and landscape issues.

We very much look forward to developing the reserved matters applications to bring forward these new self-build homes to our locality.

Detailed planning approval granted for Re-Format’s contemporary ‘Retirement Community’ of 36 retirement living appartments for McCarthy Stone. Responding to its ‘transitional zone’ location, the design sensitivity acknowledges the height and density of the adjacent urban fabric.

We’re delighted Guildford Baptist Church has been recognised as 2022 Civic Trust Awards Regional Finalist, congratulations to the whole team!

The Civic Trust Awards, est. in 1959, celebrate excellent architecture, planning & design. Winners will be announced in January.

Re-Format are pleased to be finalists in two categories at the Housebuilder Awards 2021 with our Green Haven scheme for McCarthy Stone for best retirement scheme and for our collection of contemporary dwellings at Wingate Meadow Long Sutton for best housing design (below 4 stories). Looking forward to the ceremony on 24th November.

Planning consent has been granted for our adaptable, low energy dwelling in Dockenfield.

The proposed single storey house replaces a collection of outbuildings within the grounds of a large Edwardian home.

Planning was agreed despite the location being outside of settlement an in an area of countryside beyond the Greenbelt.

Detailed Planning Approval has been granted by the South Downs National Park for 10 new homes in the Meon Valley for Metis Homes. Alongside much-needed housing, including four affordable homes, the plans feature a number of local benefits such as significant landscaping and footpath links.

Exciting proposals for a new country dwelling in the heart of the South Downs. The project used rammed chalk to create a series of monolithic forms.

Lovely to see the café and terrace at Guildford Baptist Church being enjoyed while the sun’s still out!

Our cluster house scheme in East Hampshire develops the theme of communal farmstead courtyard.