Channels Phases 3 & 5 celebrates win at Housing Design Awards 2021
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Channels Phases 3 & 5 celebrates win at Housing Design Awards 2021

Published on 18 November 2021

JTP is delighted that Channels Phases 3 and 5 for Ptarmigan Land, Home Group, Hill Group and Persona Homes in collaboration with Chelmsford City Council has been acknowledged as a Winner at the Housing Design Awards 2021. The project was also ‘Highly Commended’ with the judges praising the high-quality Design Code and Vision Document.

JTP was initially appointed to produce the Vision Document in 2010 which covered the wider Channels masterplan and were then appointed in 2016 by Home Group to deliver the detailed application for Phases 3 and 5. After the application was submitted in December 2016 and approval was granted in May 2017 from Chelmsford City Council, JTP was responsible for the technical delivery, collaborating with Hill Group to turn the planning application into a reality.

Following the Design Code context set out in the Vision Document, the masterplan responded to the context of the existing countryside creating a series of streets, lanes and courtyards. The simple forms of barns and farmsteads that represent the local context were influential in the architectural approach with homes being designed as a reinterpretation of the classic ‘Essex Barn vernacular’. Materials and details, such as timber and red brickwork, were incorporated in the design of the neighbourhood to reflect the charm and heritage of rural Essex.

JTP’s delivery of 240 homes forms part of the wider expansion of the area with the dwellings in a mix of tenures, sizes and typologies, ranging from one and two bedroom apartments to two to five bedroom family homes.

A bespoke set of house types benefit from full height glazing, open soffit ceilings and open plan living arrangements to increase natural light and ventilation throughout. Surrounded by a country park, more than 60% of homes have vistas onto green space, providing a strong connection between indoor and outdoor spaces.

Channels is proving to be a very special place and neighbourhood and we are very proud that it has been recognised by winning a Housing Design Award!