Design & Planning

The proposed shop is sited to the north-east of the village hall. Its orientation aligns with the current pattern of the village hall development, following front and rear building lines. It is located a significant distance from the surrounding boundary trees and no trees are within falling distance of the proposed development. The vehicle access track to the far north east of the site will remain unobstructed providing access to the rear playing field.

Front View
The new shop is designed to respect to the adjacent hall without challenging its architectural importance. The form of the new shop takes reference from the adjacent village hall design; It is rectangular in plan with a steeply pitched gable roof. The scale is more modest than the village hall itself; it is single storey in nature. Its primary entrance faces onto the already sizable and well established current car park for the village hall, along the same plane as the entrance to the village hall to preserve site legibility.

Rear View
The rear elevation faces into the sports field behind. The seating area of the café will benefit from direct views onto the playing field and into the children’s play area beyond. Internally, the facilities provided are simple; an open plan flexible retail space, a small stock area and an accessible WC.

Sustainable
Timber Cladding
The proposed building will be constructed as a timber frame building with vertical timber cladding. Sustainable timber is essential for lowering carbon emissions. This is because timber absorbs and stores carbon dioxide – sequestering up to one tonne per cubic metre – and displacing carbon intensive materials.
Using responsibly-sourced timber products also helps preserve forests – as a key driver of sustainable forest management, with multiple trees planted for every one harvested – and produces critical biodiversity benefits. There are significant elements of timber cladding on the existing village hall itself, visually stitching the buildings together and cementing the new shop in its location.

structural
Integrated Panels System
The building will be constructed using a structural integrated panels system. The panels consist of an insulating foam core sandwiched between two structural facings. We plan to provide heating and possibly cooling using an air source heat pump, which, combined with the PV panels and possibly battery storage, would create an extremely efficient sustainable building.

Landscaping
Biodiversity
We will include landscaping in the design of the surroundings, to complement planting round the village hall and increase the biodiversity of the site.
Prior to the commencement of any works at the site, a Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) for biodiversity will be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority to protect habitats of importance to biodiversity conservation.