Plans unveiled for new farmstead-style community in Macclesfield
Cheshire family-run property developer, Hall & Co, has revealed plans for a new village community in Henbury, Macclesfield, shaping a new model for sustainable community living in a post-COVID world.
Flora Henbury is a 2.5-acre development designed with sustainability at its heart.
The team drew inspiration from Henbury’s agricultural past, with the layout of the new homes and commercial ‘barn’ building shaped around the concept of a farmstead. The architecture is also derived from local farm and cottage typologies.
The 14 new homes – a mix of one-, three-, four- and five-bedroom properties – will sit alongside FarmFolk, unique, flexible workspace including co-working areas.
FarmFolk will also include a food hall, providing stalls for local, independent vendors, along with community dining – a feature that was particularly welcomed by residents at December’s public consultation.
The new homes feature boot rooms and generous built-in bike storage, plus garden and log stores, catering for a new way of living where community, recreation and access to nature plays a bigger role in people lives.
The proposals also include amenities to encourage self-sufficiency with the aim of being carbon neutral by 2038.
These include the on-site edible kitchen gardens and an orchard, providing seasonal fruit for use by residents and the food hall.
The carefully considered landscaping scheme is a central feature, enabling not only on-site food production, but also wild flower meadows, a village green, tree planting and rainwater swales – a shady spot, or a sunken or marshy place – to enhance the ecology of the site and improve local bio-diversity.
With communal areas for socialising and recreation, the scheme can set a new standard for how modern communities can live in harmony with nature.
Jamie Hall, projects director at Hall & Co, said: “Flora Henbury is a completely new concept in sustainable living, with home, workspace and community space co-existing within a tranquil countryside setting.
“It offers a very desirable, unique way of living and working that we know is particularly appealing to the younger generations who are keen to live in closer harmony with nature and are very conscious of their individual impact on the environment.”
The development has been designed by Ollier Smurthwaite Architects. Matt Ollier said: “Sustained periods of lockdown have made homeowners acutely aware of what they want from a new home.
“This site offers an opportunity to put a lot of fresh thinking into place. Generous communal gardens with shared food growing, orchards, wild flower meadows and a community green, combined with a new local shop, café and flexible workspace, will provide opportunities for a better work/life balance.”
The Hall & Co team, based in Alderley Edge, recently announced its second project in central Stockport, following the renovation of the Grade II-listed Bank Chambers, now home to its successful co-working brand, ProFolk.
The developer is currently working on the redevelopment of a number of sites in Stockport’s historic Underbanks area, delivering a mix of homes, workspace and start-up units, underpinning the wider regeneration of what is an historically significant part of the town centre.
