Planning approval granted for MAX Architects’ 136-home development on disused Kent gasholder site.
A disused Sevenoaks gasholder site is set for regeneration after planning consent for a 136-home development was achieved earlier this month.
The approved decision by Sevenoaks Town Council will see redundant brownfield land on Crampton Road transformed into much-needed housing for the south-east. It will involve the site’s former gasholder structures being referenced in the design of this unique site to provide a range of studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom homes.
This project is a partnership between site owner SGN Place, development company Common Projects and designers MAX Architects.
The gasholder structures have dominated the Sevenoaks skyline for over a century, and the importance of retaining the site’s industrial heritage has been considered in the redevelopment plans. A cylindrical rotunda on the footprint of one of the decommissioned structures will be complemented by a neighbouring four-storey stepped block of apartments and terraced townhouses.
In addition, the development will include a new shared garden and improve connectivity by upgrading a public footpath leading to the Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve.
Steve Sanham, Co-founder of Common Projects, said: “All over the country we have pockets of post-industrial brownfield land with great potential for housing. Our ethos is to find these ‘uncut gems’ of sites and put the effort that’s deserved into giving them a new purpose.”
“We’ve worked on this design in Sevenoaks for over three years, refining it to create a development that’s viable, the right density, and with contributions to the area of new gardens and better public access.”
As the development’s masterplanner, lead designer and principal designer MAX Architects have a proven track record in delivering large scale regeneration projects, alongside mixed-use development and retrofit schemes across the UK. We have worked with SGN Place to unlock around a dozen of their redundant gas holder sites, mainly via residential-led placemaking schemes which celebrate and reflect the important heritage significance of these once landmark industrial locations, maximise value on these complex sites, and minimise embodied carbon.
MAX Architects Founder Max Titchmarsh commented: “We’ve developed a specialism in successfully regenerating brownfield industrial sites. The fantastic permission achieved at Sevenoaks is an exciting validation of our approach which seeks to celebrate the important industrial heritage of these sites, while providing much-needed sustainable housing density in town centre locations that can take pressure off valuable greenbelt land.”
“This is a scheme we are proud of and we were fortunate to work with a great design team, a patient landowner in SGN Place and a brilliant client in Common Projects whose creative and sustainable regeneration goals align with our own.”
Architect/Masterplanner: MAX Architects
Planning Consultant: Stantec
Landscape Designer: Churchman Thornhill Finch
Structure/Civils: Whitby Wood
Services/Sustainability: Skelly & Couch
Transportation: SLR Consulting
Quantity Surveyor: Equals
Fire: Joule Group
Acoustics: Sound Matters
Building Control: Bureau Veritas
Community Engagement: Kaizen Partnership
