20 - 12 - 2022
BPTW secured a unanimous resolution to grant planning approval for the landmark Ham Close regeneration at Richmond Council’s Planning Committee last week. The housing-led masterplan in Ham, South-West London, for leading housebuilder The Hill Group and London housing provider RHP Group provides designs for 452 new homes, community facilities and vibrant public green spaces adjacent to Ham Green.
BPTW designed the ambitious masterplan, working with landscape Consultants LUC, and in collaboration with local architects WR-AP who designed the community centre.
Flythrough video created by BPTW, CGI by Arqui9
Every existing affordable tenant will be provided with a new home and there will also be a range of additional affordable and private sale homes. In total, 49% of the homes will be affordable and for rent and shared ownership, and 10% will be wheelchair accessible. With an emphasis on comfortable, healthy environments, the masterplan achieves an ambitious 83% dual and triple-aspect homes for maximum natural daylight and ventilation.
Inspired by the unique character and distinctive greenery of the Ham Close neighbourhood, BPTW and LUC placed landscaping at the heart of the design and shaped the masterplan around a Linear Park. The new, well-defined streets and public spaces seamlessly join the residential context to create a legible urban realm, including pedestrian-friendly mews streets and landscaped courtyards. The Linear Park will be a publicly accessible open space with opportunities for social interaction, children’s play and new pedestrian and cycle routes.
For the elevational designs, BPTW used visual cues from Ham’s rich architectural narrative to establish a contemporary interpretation. Two character typologies of ‘traditional’ and ‘modernist’ buildings define window proportions and detailing, complemented by locally inspired brick tones, window colours and white banding. All these elements are carefully composed to create eclectic street scenes and the ‘Village Feel’ synonymous with Ham.
Community and stakeholder engagement was fundamental to the design ethos, including resident workshops, in-person public consultations, visits to community events, online meetings and a website. BPTW led an extensive co-design process with Ham Close Residents to create bespoke homes tailored to their needs. Exemplar design, wellbeing and safety were core concerns, and the masterplan provides a safe, pleasant and accessible environment for all. BPTW achieved this with a commitment to the Building for a Healthy Life Guidance and close liaison with the fire consultants, Police, GLA, Planning Department, and Design Review Panel to guide the design.
BPTW’s holistic sustainability strategy benefits the neighbourhood across a spectrum of sustainable agendas, from promoting zero carbon targets and renewable energy to increasing ecology and sustainable transport and advancing health and wellbeing. The development uses a whole-life carbon and fabric-first approach and a commitment to recycling through the circular economy with a minimum 95% diversion from landscape fill construction and demolition waste. The new homes benefit from photovoltaic solar panels, air-source heat pumps, water use reduction and rainwater harvesting, and the new community centre is designed to BREEAM Excellent. With 120 new trees, the masterplan exceeds the Local Plan’s urban greening factor requirements, and the green corridors and innovative planting habits bring a 23.2% net biodiversity gain. Social Value initiatives also benefit the local economy with a £2m social impact fund alongside opportunities for apprenticeships and construction jobs for local people.
The approval of this transformational masterplan represents extensive collaboration and hard work by the design team, Hill, RHP, and the Ham Close community to create a sustainable, outstanding development that meets current and future housing needs.
Chris Bath, Partner at BPTW comments: “Our aim for Ham Close was always to place residents and community at the heart of the masterplan to create an integrated and attractive place to live. Well-designed homes are vital, but so are the other things that go into successful placemaking including welcoming community buildings, landscaping and community gardening spaces, and ensuring the development relates to its wider surroundings. We are delighted that approach has been supported with planning consent.”
Andy Hill, Group Chief Executive at The Hill Group said: “We are delighted to receive planning consent for the landmark regeneration project at Ham Close and we are looking forward to gaining final approval from the GLA in due course. We will be working with our partner RHP to finalise matters and move forward immediately to the construction stage. The vision for Ham Close is to create a vibrant and inclusive community for existing and future residents that incorporates sustainable, high-quality homes together with a range of new community facilities and impressive green spaces. We are looking forward to making that vision a reality.”
David Done – Chief Executive of RHP stated: “It is fantastic news that the council has approved our plans to transform Ham Close. The regeneration will create a better place for our customers and other people that will come to live there in the future. Our customers will massively benefit from moving into fully-modern new homes alongside state-of-the-art facilities and the regeneration will bring so many additional advantages for the local community. I’m particularly proud that issues that matter most to our Ham Close residents and the wider community, including making sure the project is sustainable and creates job opportunities for local people, have been taken into account. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of our partners who have worked with us and helping us reach this milestone.”
Sean Weston, Director of WR-AP said: “We are pleased to have worked on such a prominent scheme within our local community. When we established WR-AP it was important to us to work on and have an influence on projects within the practice community and with this approval, I’m glad to say we’ve started to see this come to fruition.”
Councillor Jim Millard, Spokesperson for Housing, Richmond Council adds: “The redevelopment of Ham Close will make a significant contribution towards meeting the need for affordable homes locally, so we are pleased the plans have been given the green light. This is a key development within the borough and offers a benchmark for sustainable development and quality living.”
