Belmesthorpe Railway Station

Belmesthorpe railway station project was granted planning permission under Paragraph 80 of the NPPF demonstrating an exemplary level of design in alignment with planning policy.

Situated in Rutland, the former site of Belmesthorpe railway station was left abandoned following the disuse of this train line in favour of train routes to London via Stamford. After an unsuccessful attempt to gain planning permission for a house on the site by another firm of Architects, our clients employed Hayward McMullan Architects because of our speciality in paragraph 80 design. Like many projects of this type, the site presented a tricky context, but our experience in handling complex project briefs put us in the ideal position to take this on.

‍

‍

The original station masters house, waiting room and ticket office on the site were demolished in the 1960s, however substantial remnants of the platform remain, along with partial foundations of the original buildings.

We engaged with Design Midlands to undertake a rigorous design review panel process to demonstrate compliance with Paragraph 80, alongside continuous dialogue with the planning team at Rutland County council Planning Department. After a successful design review and a lengthy determination process, planning was granted. The approved design took inspiration from the former use of the site and existing platform structure. In essence, the architectural concept derived from a re-interpretation of the ticket office sitting beside a set of train carriages ready to depart. In this way the dwelling retained the symbolic presence of the site’s former industrial use.

‍

‍

A timber framed living and kitchen building is created by the charred larch clad ‘ticket office’ whilst the bedrooms are created with timber framed ‘carriage’ pods sitting on lightweight steel structures. Sustainable larch cladding features as the prominent materiality; making reference to the finish of the original waiting room structure. The living (‘ticket office’) section of the design also takes clear cues from the form of the original building.

Creating the bedroom areas as prefabricated sections created the opportunity for high performance and quality spaces, with a lower carbon footprint. Elevating these lightweight structures from ground level helped to evoke a sense of movement and transience that rooted the dwelling within both the historical and ecological setting of the site.

To breathe new life into this neglected site, a net gain in biodiversity is achieved with sustainable land management, creation of a wildlife corridor and planting of additional indigenous perennials and shrubs to support pollinators and birds. All this creates an idyllic setting for family life.

Our client was keen to make their own contribution towards promoting sustainable design and construction, an ambition which we fully supported. Therefore, the insulation values throughout the property were designed to be 15 higher than the building regulations requirement for a new dwelling, and all materials were to be sourced locally where possible. Alternative forms of heat and hot water generation were introduced, utilising a ground source heating system deployed along the length of the site. A mechanical vent and heat recovery system ensures a comfortable environment in the dwelling all year round, while ample light is captured in every space via full height, high performance glazing.

‍