Mixed-use scheme combines retirement apartments with retail units
Ayre Chamberlain Gaunt has drawn up £13m proposals for a mixed-use development in Newbury town centre that combines 61 apartments for older people with ground-floor retail units.
The scheme, created for Eden Retirement Living, is delivered in a series of three- and four-storey blocks arranged in a “C” shape around a courtyard and also features a residents’ lounge, arts and crafts studio and a fitness suite.
Practice director David Ayre said the proposals, which are now lodged with West Berkshire council, used a simple palette of red brick and bronze that was enriched by a variety of textures and details.
“We have drawn inspiration from the neighbouring 19th-century Georgian buildings and courtyard spaces to design a contemporary scheme that responds sensitively to the local context and provides an attractive backdrop for the grade I-listed St Nicholas Church,” he said.
“The scheme will regenerate an under-utilised site to provide additional amenities for the community and contemporary, aspirational homes for later living.”
West Berkshire planners are looking to determine the proposals before the end of February next year.
Ayre Chamberlain Gaunt, which has its main office in Basingstoke, Hampshire, is BD’s Young Architect of the Year 2017.
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