Stylish new chapter for city’s historic canalside

A STUNNING £2.4m waterside family housing development in the heart of Lancaster has been completed by a leading North West building group.
 
Construction Partnership UK (CPUK Group) has transformed a disused historic canal wharf in the centre of the historic city into a stylish new community.
 
And its sympathetic conversion of the Grade lI-listed Packet Boat House and blacksmith’s shop at Aldcliffe Yard has also brought those historic buildings back to life as three, four and five-bedroom properties.
 
The development, which overlooks the Lancaster Canal, is in a conservation area and the design and delivery has been sympathetic to its heritage setting – while also enhancing the local community.
 
CPUK Group was appointed by H20 Urban – a national joint venture company between the Canal & River Trust (formerly British Waterways) and property development company Bloc.
 
A total of 14 new homes have been designed by Manchester-based PRP Architects at Aldcliffe Yard, with some enjoying spectacular canalside views.
 
Eight are contemporary new build properties and six further homes have been created from sensitive conversions heritage stone canal buildings.  
 
The historic buildings have been carefully refurbished to maintain their architectural quality – while taking full advantage of their generous spatial quality. New properties line the historic wharf, with views of the Packet Boat House from the basin bridge.
 
The development also gave some buyers the ability to build their own homes using ‘custom build’ process.
 
They bought their own plot of land and contracted directly with CPUK to build their homes once the design had been customised to suit their needs.
 
By working with custom build specialist Plot, the scheme has delivered the first commercial custom-built terraced scheme in the UK.
 
The BBC Panorama programme filmed at Aldcliffe Yard citing it as an example of how ‘custom build’ could contribute to solving the current housing crisis.
 
West Lancashire-based CPUK Group’s refurbishment work on the disused buildings on the site included structural and roof repairs.
 
The company also carried out alterations to the existing highway. Landscaping and creating new car parking were part of the construction project.
 
The composition of the H2O Urban partnership allows a part of the profits from the development to be re-invested in the canal network for the public’s benefit.
 
Steve Burke, managing director of CPUK Group, said: “This is a very attractive residential scheme in the historic heart of Lancaster which has delivered new contemporary homes to a heritage waterside setting.
 
“The design fully acknowledged the history and heritage of the site along with its setting and one of the new homes we have built even includes a small historic cargo crane in its back garden.”
 
During the construction phase CPUK Group and development company H2O joined forces to support Lancaster’s Friends of the Triangle group in their efforts to restore the nearby Aldcliffe Road Triangle.
 
They donated £2,000 each to the project, supplying the materials and workers needed to renovate the site’s walls. The work for the Friends was part of CPUK Group’s commitment to the Considerate Constructors’ scheme.
 
Aldcliffe Road Triangle is a small triangular shaped piece of land between Aldcliffe Rd and the Lancaster Canal, on the south side of Lancaster city centre.