The Old Laboratory

A development transforming a dilapidated laboratory site into contemporary family homes on the shores of the beautiful River Yealm.

History

The Newton Ferrers site was undeveloped until the building of a small quay and accompanying buildings in the mid-twentieth century. The buildings present today were constructed in 1947, initially as a Scout facility, but then extended and converted into a marine paint research and testing laboratory. In 2011 the occupiers relocated to more modern premises and the buildings have since remained empty, falling into a state of disrepair. As well as the buildings, there is also at present a garage and quay on the site with access to the river via a slipway.

Our Vision

Our plan for The Old Laboratory development is to demolish the existing dilapidated buildings and replace them with three new four-storey, three-bed family homes on the shores of the River Yealm. We will create one detached and two semi-detached properties with incredible views of both the River and surrounding landscape. Each home will enjoy outdoor amenity space, two external parking spaces, and private boat parking. The floor layouts are modern, with open-plan kitchen, living, and dining spaces, designed to maximise the living experience of the future residents while remaining seamlessly blended with the local landscape and character.

The proposed homes have been meticulously designed to ensure that they are in keeping with their surroundings. They will appear as single-storey buildings from their access on Yealm Road, making them compatible with neighbouring plots and maintaining the existing building line against the hillside. The lower parts of the buildings will be constructed with stone showing on the elevations, to naturally blend the buildings into the rocky landscape of the shoreline. Parts of the upper storeys will also display white render, complimenting the façade of other local properties.

The development therefore makes valuable use of a site which has stood vacant for many years, offering a more sustainable alternative to its previous uses while remaining sympathetic to local character and the waterfront setting.  

Progress

This project has not yet started but will hopefully get underway early next year, watch this space for coming updates and announcements.

Project Team

James Brent Pension Scheme

Grainge Architects

X Consulting Engineers

Foot Anstey LLP

Knight Frank

Design Foundry

PCL Planning