Creating a low-carbon housing development in rural Cumbria

What we did

This project saw 75 new affordable homes and five self-build homes proposed for a 10-acre site at Brampton on land known locally as Warren Fields.

Our planning team worked closely with a range of experienced consultants to facilitate a scheme that would provide new affordable housing options for local people, delivered in a sustainable way.

The homes were designed to achieve low carbon outcomes through features like heat pumps and solar panels, significantly bettering the energy efficiency standards of current building regulations.

The project presented a number of planning challenges, including finding a solution to overcome nutrient neutrality concerns because of the development’s proposed location in within the River Eden Special Area of Conservation.

Designed by architects Levitt Bernstein, the development would feature ‘The Garth’ a large open communal space in the centre of the development to support better wellbeing outcomes.

Key members of the project team included Civic Projects advising on affordable homes delivery, Dynamic Transport Planning providing highways advice, TRP providing drainage and engineering services, and Water Environment providing advice on the nutrient neutrality solution.