Caple Street

The site owners of an existing open paddock had unfortunately received a refusal at planning and a failed appeal for an outlined planning application on their site for 40 dwellings.

Due to this, the site owners were looking for a new Architect that would promote a scheme with a more subtle approach because the site now had a planning history.

Urban & Rural were appointed to analyse the reasons for refusal which Dover District Council had for the previous design, as well as the feedback from the Sectary of State through the appeal process.

We carried out a detailed assessment of the site, as well as a full appraisal of the village of Capel-le-Ferne.

The scheme had to be a sensitive approach due to the location next to an AONB, building on an open paddock with a number of existing ecological considerations, including two badger setts.

The previous scheme had created a lot of negativity amongst the local residents and as such, before any design work started, Urban & Rural met with the Parish Council and discussed the process, we thought we should take. A public presentation was arranged in the local village hall to start the discussion on an open brief for developing the site for housing. This allowed the residents of Capel to have an input as to what type of scheme they would like to see on the site.

Important local knowledge was established during the consultation process on two key issues. One issue was that rainwater runoff from the site was causing issues with the existing road and number two was traffic movement during the school drop off and pick up times.

Based on the above, new specialist consultants were brought into the design team and a detailed design brief was formed.

The new design for a development of 34 new homes on the site has gone through a formal pre-application process, concluding with support from the Planning Department for this new approach.

The design has been developed and a formal planning application is live and running with Dover District Council’s Planning Department.