Watchhill, Canonbie – Residential

Design, Planning Approval and Building Warrant for New Detached House

Initial Survey 2018; Ongoing on Site 2023

Our client, a self-builder, purchased a plot with outline approval and appointed Aditus to design a bespoke family home.  Design work commenced in 2018 and planning approval and a building warrant were obtained in 2019.  Our clients have been working on the construction as commitments allow since 2020.

Canonbie site (original site)

The house follows both the traditional Scottish long house and  one-and-a-half storey approach, and maximises the internal space created on a site where there were restrictions on overall height and footprint, following the earlier grant of planning in principle to the original site vendors.

Proposed Elevations

Aditus successfully negotiated with the planners a change from the bungalow originally envisaged by the approval in principle, into this large family house whilst maintaining a traditional flavour to the design to ensure it sat comfortably withing the surrounding village context.

Canonbie – Site progress

Penton – Residential and Commercial

Alterations & Extension to an Existing Barn Conversion; Addition of Agricultural Buildings

Original Survey – Late Summer 2017 – Works Ongoing.

Our clients own a former farm near Penton, north Cumbria, and have diversified the business and provide holiday accommodation for private guests and fields for agricultural tenants.
Our clients live in one of a series of barn conversions on the farm and wished to improve upon the living accommodation that was the result of several previous architects’ schemes. On the first floor, there was significant wasted space and also wasted opportunities for exploiting some great views out over open countryside and our brief was to review the layout, add bathroom facilities and devise a way of giving the main bedroom access to the views and an external terrace.

Original rear elevation

Our design achieved this by adding in a new, glazed gable to the side elevation that led directly out onto a partly covered terrace with the option of a short flight of steps down to the existing raised garden. A generous-sized shower room was added to the first floor and the storage and circulation rationalised. In addition, a new enclosed porch was added to the main entrance and the circulation tweaked to provide improved pedestrian access with further scope for wheelchair access at a later date.

Nearing completion

A second project applied for in parallel on the property was to obtain planning approval for a decent agricultural building for storage and maintenance of machinery used in association with the management of the client’s land. This was also designed in a way that allows future conversion to cottage industry uses should the client wish to diversify further and was tucked away in the landscape so as to be unobtrusive to both neighbours and guests staying in the holiday accommodation.

Penrith – Residential

Remodeling and Extension of a Bungalow

Initial Survey – Spring 2018; Completion – Spring 2020.

Our client wished to remodel their existing two-bedroomed detached house to add a further bedroom and create a new, lighter, airier kitchen/ dining area, with vaulted ceilings and a glazed screen giving view towards the Lake District fells.  In addition, the existing front door was tucked away on a side elevation and the client was keen to make it more prominent and create a porch.

Before images

The scheme required the demolition of an existing attached garage, re-working of the external spaces and parking to give room for the extension that contained the kitchen/ diner, a larger entrance hall, external storage and a utility room.  The existing kitchen was re-purposed as a new bedroom with the addition of an en-suite shower room and a large opening was created between the existing living room and new kitchen/diner to create a large, well-lit open plan living area.

The unique topography of the property allowed for the creation of a spacious terrace accessed by sliding/folding screens from the kitchen that gave tremendous views and allowed indoor/outdoor living. 

After images