21st March 2024
PLANNING PERMISSION SECURED FOR ANGEL YARD.
21st March 2024
PLANNING PERMISSION SECURED FOR ANGEL YARD.
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On 21st March 2024, planning consent for Angel Yard Cohousing was secured from Norwich City Council.
TOWN, with Angel Yard Cohousing and Archio, submitted a proposal for 34-home community on a brownfield site in Norwich. The design features a range of homes from one-bedroom flats to three-bedroom houses, arranged in three blocks around a large communal garden.
The proposals include a Common House, located at the centre of the community, with a kitchen and dining area which provides space for celebrations and sharing meals with neighbours. Residents will also have use of communal laundry facilities, shared guest bedrooms and a ‘library of things’ including tools, equipment and household items.
A codesign workshop with Angel Yard Cohousing.
Angel Yard Cohousing formed in 2008 and now has 33 member households. The group acquired the site on Sussex Street in 2015, with the aim of developing a ‘diverse, multigenerational community founded on the principles of shared amenity, neighbourly support and environmental responsibility’. TOWN was appointed as Development Manager by the cohousing group.
Originally submitted in June 2022, the application scheme was modified in in response to feedback from Norwich Society and Historic England. The architecture sensitively acknowledges the historical ‘yards’ of Norwich that formerly occupied the site, and references the distinctive characteristics of neighbouring streets.
Ground floor plan
Sustainability is central to the proposals for Angel Yard, which will be built using low carbon materials to deliver homes that are highly energy-efficient and contribute to lower energy bills for residents. All homes have been designed with dual aspects to maximise natural light and ventilation, and renewable energy will be generated from air source heat pumps and solar photovoltaic panels.
The design evolved through a series of codesign workshops over a 10-month period, between TOWN, Archio, and Angel Yard members, ensuring that the development realises the group’s collective aspiration for a sustainable, multi-generational and mutually supportive community.
“This is truly an amazing milestone for the Angel Yard project. Norwich’s first cohousing community will provide high-quality, low-energy homes designed by and for future residents. The scheme provides renewable energy, is targeting Passivhaus certification and importantly, as a cohousing project the group can reduce in-use demand for space and resources with shared amenity and management. It’s fantastic working with a committed group of people, with a common vision for sustainable, neighbourly living.”
Gemma Holyoak, Development Manager at TOWN
