Member Article

£11m walled garden redevelopment

Work will soon begin on an £11 million project to create 14 contemporary, executive homes within a unique walled garden setting.

All Saints Developments has unveiled the designs of the ambitious project, which includes houses with sedum (grass) and zinc roofs. These features are designed to mimic the appearance of the garden centre and aquatics outlet that formerly occupied the site - adjacent to Newcastle Racecourse in Gosforth.

The four and five bedroomed properties will be carefully set within the four acre site which originally served the 18th Century Brandling Estate. The sale of the site for redevelopment has supported the much vaunted improvement programme at the racecourse.

Director for All Saints Developments (NE) Ltd. Keith McDougall, said: “In an area renowned for its landscaping and wildlife, we will be building homes which are sympathetic to their surroundings. The modern design of the properties will maximise natural light, with large south facing windows as a key feature in the eight, four bedroomed properties in the northern part of the garden.

“To retain the natural look of the site when viewed from a distance, these homes will also have sedum roofs, while the six, five bedroomed properties in the southern garden will have zinc roofs – resembling those of greenhouses.”

Construction of the luxury properties, which will result in up to 40 people being employed on the site and many more in the supply chain, is expected to begin early next year and take approximately 15 months.

Meanwhile, wildlife protection initiatives have already been carried out at the site, including traps to discover whether great crested newts migrate across the garden. So far ten have been discovered and released into a more suitable habitat. In addition, a bat house will be built for the pipistrelles which are believed to live in a crack in one of the garden walls – some of which are to be carefully restored during the project.

All Saints Developments has carried out a string of successful development projects in Scotland – where it was awarded Best Renovation title in the 2015 BUILD Real Estate and Property Awards – and Yorkshire, before launching operations in the North East.

Here it has completed Ashcroft Mews, a development of eight homes in a private and enclosed setting in Seaham and the sensitive refurbishments of the former Burn Brea medical centre in Hexham and an 18th century pub and outbuildings in Rennington, Northumberland. Work is also underway on 26 new homes on the site of a former care home in Belmont, near Durham.

Based in Newcastle, the All Saints companies are part of The High Street Group, which was established by successful entrepreneur Gary Forrest in 2004 and has grown to become a leading financial and property group. It employs over 50 people and activities include property development, developer finance and financial claims.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Paul Dobbie .