TEP has been working alongside PTE Architects on the design of a new residential development in High Barnet, on behalf of developer Hill Residential. The scheme will deliver 60 affordable and 90 market value properties along with significant areas of public open space.
The site has historic associations with renowned landscape architect Dame Sylvia Crowe, and the vision for the landscape design echoes her call for minimalism in design by adopting bold, clear lines of movement, areas of texture and colour, and a boldly structured planting plan. The design also draws on the picturesque open views of the traditional parkland landscape, bringing natural, slightly wild vegetation to the heart of the development.
The scheme delivers public access to 1.7 ha of previously inaccessible land, a mixture of doorstep and formal play, a woodland walk and a healing garden closely located to adjoining Barnet General Hospital. The influence of former land owner and artist Gwyneth Cowing also leaves its legacy through the creation of a new artists’ studio and specific provision for the local Beekeepers’ Association.
Existing vegetation on site is enhanced: existing ponds will be reshaped and planted with marginal and bog planting to improve the site’s diversity of species and habitat value. New plantings are designed to provide food and shelter for birds and small mammals and to attract a range of pollinators, particularly bees within the Beekeepers’ Garden. Existing characterful, mature trees will be supplemented with successional tree planting including specimens that create aesthetic focal points such as Gingko and Pine.
TEP has prepared a Landscape Management Plan and a Townscape and Visual Impact Assessment, including accurate visual representations (verified views), submitted alongside the planning application in July 2019.
