Centenary Development, Haig Housing Trust, Morden Estate

London Borough of Merton, SM4

Our Centenary Development project for Haig Housing Trust on their Morden Estate was formally opened by Her Majesty The Queen on 11th October 2019. A news story about the ceremony can be viewed here.

Haines Phillips Architects were appointed by Haig Housing Trust 
in January 2015 to carry out a Feasibility Study to explore the development potential of their existing estate at Morden for new residential accommodation using Grant Funding from the Ministry of Defence through the Veterans Accommodation Fund.

Based on our detailed Masterplan and following pre-application consultation with the London Borough of Merton the client decided to proceed with design development and a planning application for the largest of the identified sites, two currently isolated areas on the southern part of the estate, Rhodes Moorhouse Court Gardens and Hill Top Court.

Our proposals consisted of 68 high quality, sustainable, contemporary residential units, comprising a mix of 1, 2 and 3 bed flats, and 3-4 bed family houses. These residential units are arranged in to symmetrical, rectilinear arrangements around landscaped courts that respond to the scale and character of the existing Estate.

The court buildings are designed to be read as a collection of groups in the spirit of the existing formal groups on the Estate and respond to the surrounding buildings both within the Estate and to those in the surrounding streets.

The larger of the building groups is arranged as a three-sided court around a formal landscaped space. The other smaller groups relate to shared and semi-private amenity space and relaxed, shared surface access roads that replicate the pattern of one of the most attractive existing features of the Estate.

The buildings are designed as a contemporary interpretation of the Classical Domestic Style typically found on the estate with principal elevations arranged formally and symmetrically and rear and flank elevations addressing the particular conditions of each location, for example neighbouring occupiers and adjacent boundary conditions.

A limited palette of materials is proposed, comprising brickwork, horizontal metal cladding and concrete interlocking roof tiles. The new accommodation will feature large window and door openings and high standards of energy efficiency and fabric performance.

The full planning application for the selected sites was submitted in April 2016 and received consent in December 2016.

Commemorative openings were held in June and July 2019 for the first completed parts of the development. The first block was dedicated to Ghurka Victoria Cross hero Kulbir Thapa and the second in memory of local councilor Maxi Martin.

Haines Phillips Architects have a long standing relationship with the Haig Housing Trust having carried out a number of projects on their Morden estate.

Among these was a development of 8 one bedroom dwellings for single ex-servicemen for which we obtained planning consent in 2014 and which was completed in spring 2018. Further details of this project can be found on its dedicated project page here.

Client: Haig Housing Trust

Planning Consultants: Bell Cornwell

Heritage Consultant: David Lewis Associates

Contractor: United Living

Photography: AcutePix

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Our services included:

Concept & Feasibility Design

Planning & Listed Building Applications