A’Bear & Ball Architects has been the lead architect for a range of projects that received planning permission in recent months.

One included a new hotel in Oxford, which was granted planning consent at appeal, and another involved a significant residential refurbishment and extension to a unique property in Newbury.

A new 38-bedroom hotel in Oxford

We are delighted to share that Planning Consent, by way of Appeal, has been granted for the erection of our scheme for a new 38-bedroom, three-storey hotel on the Abingdon Road in Oxford – ‘The Edge Hotel’.

In the words of the appeal inspector: “The development proposed would make more efficient use of a sustainable brownfield site with the development of a highly sustainable new building to provide much needed short stay accommodation."

Key to the success at appeal was a careful re-configuration of the site to provide a coherent building frontage on the Abingdon Road whilst also making provision for minimising of the impact of the development on the occupiers of the neighbouring properties.

The appeal inspector agreed, commenting that: “The elevation shows how the scale and mass of the building seeks a careful balance between a building having character but also respecting the wider street scene” and “The proposal has also taken into account the potential impacts on neighbouring occupier in terms of privacy, living conditions and light”.

Several other factors also influenced the development of the design, including its location in Flood Zone 3, proximity to Listed Buildings and Oxford City Councils requirement for the scheme to meet BREEAM ‘Excellent’.

The consent is a fantastic opportunity to transform a dilapidated site and to make a valuable contribution to the local economy. We look forward to assisting our client with the detail design and seeing this sizeable scheme built out in the near future.

A significant residential refurbishment and extension in Newbury

We’re also very pleased to share that Planning Permission has recently been granted by West Berkshire District Council for our scheme of significant refurbishment and extension works to a circa 1850 large semi-detached Italian style villa in the Donnington Square Conservation Area in Newbury.

The unusual property (featuring an imposing 5 storey tower!) will benefit from a scheme of sympathetic repairs to preserve the existing building fabric and provide generous extensions at three levels, including a new open plan kitchen/dining space, extra bedroom accommodation and a basement gym. A scheme of landscaping works incorporating a new external swimming pool completes the works.

Whilst the property is not listed, key to the success of the application scheme was careful consideration of the prominence of the property and its important historical features, to ensure the extension proposals were appropriate for the special character of the building and the wider Conservation Area. To achieve this, we worked closely alongside a Conservation Consultant, JP Heritage, from the outset of the project.

In the closing stages of the lengthy planning application process in March 2022, Natural England implemented the ‘Nutrient Neutrality’ policy. As the site is situated within the protected Lambourn River Basin the application was put on hold until the Council had agreed it’s approach to such schemes.

We were later able to provide additional information to demonstrate that the proposed development would not negatively impact the River Basin and the application was allowed to proceed to approval.

The granted Planning Permission is a fantastic opportunity for our client to renovate the property and transform it into a truly exceptional family home. With detailed design information already prepared, we look forward to overseeing the construction stage, which is due to commence in the next few weeks. Look out for progress updates soon!

Visit our online portfolio to see more of our recent projects. And please get in touch if you’d like to discuss working together on a residential or commercial property development.