The Doddington Estate and Assael Architecture have successfully won the appeal to develop multiple rural housing sites around the Grade I listed Doddington Hall in Nantwich, Chesire.
The outline consent, which has taken 13 years to secure, includes 112 new homes, distributed over 12 separate sites. The development will help secure the economically sustainable future of the Grade I listed Doddington Hall, designed in 1776 by Samuel Wyatt, by offsetting some of the considerable costs associated with its refurbishment.
Assael’s designs for the conversion of the Hall into a 120-room hotel were granted consent in 2016 and comprise a sensitively designed new-build annex with spa facilities and a glazed covered walkway that connects the Hall with new guest suites within the converted stable block. The plans also include the refurbishment of the Grade II listed park and gardens bring together the multiple built elements, both old and new, into a re-imagined and cohesive whole.
This design of the enabling residential development across the estate is sympathetic to the locality with the new homes sitting within the rural context of fields and hedgerows with the use of primarily traditional red Cheshire brick.
The planning inspectorate opted to approve the residential scheme, saying its benefits outweighed any harm it would cause, paving the way for work on the hotel scheme to start.
The team includes J10 Planning as planning consultant; Iceni Projects as heritage consultant; Clayton Property as client representative and surveyor; Ellis and Moore as structural engineer; EDC as services engineer; Paul Mew Associates as highways consultant; RPS as archeological consultant; Barnes Walker as landscape architects; Kingdom Ecology as ecology consultant; Tree Solutions as arboricultural consultant; Aaron & Partners as solicitors; and Rees Mellish as project and construction manager.
John Assael, Chairman and Co-founder of Assael Architecture, said:
“The Doddington Estate buildings and surrounding lands are a heritage asset of exceptional importance, and for many years Assael has contributed to the long-running efforts of the estate’s owners to stabilise and reverse a decline in the estate.”
“After a long but ultimately successful journey, this positive result will help secure the long term future of the historically important Grade I listed Doddington Hall and its associated heritage assets that also include Grade II* listed stables, a Star Barn and model farm, an imposing pele tower, and even a cage that once housed a pet Himalayan bear.”
Lady Rona Delves Broughton, owner of Doddington Hall, said:
“I am grateful to the inspector for upholding the appeal and to my fantastic team for the hard work done over many years.”
“It is with considerable relief that this decision means that the hall and associated heritage buildings can now be restored and put to use.”