Westfields

Westfields is a small residential development for Broadacres on a rural exception site on the edge of the village of Osmotherley, in the North York Moors National Park. The scheme is the result of several years of endeavour by the housing association, architects, local councils and the community to address an acute shortage of affordable homes in the area.

Once agreement had been reached on the site, community consultation events were held in Osmotherley to inform and involve immediate neighbours and the wider community in the design process from the start. The site is a sensitive one right at the entrance to the village, offering the opportunity for a new gateway. The design comprises two apartments and ten houses arranged to form a strong ‘L’ shape at the site entrance and a courtyard behind.

The scale, massing and design is intended to reflect the historic village vernacular of residential and agricultural buildings, with formal ‘farmhouses’ standing over ‘converted barns’ constructed predominantly in etched stonework and clay pantiles, with brickwork, stone lintels and timber lintels, boarding and windows.

Westfields has been selected as one of the best examples in its sector by Inside Housing as one of the top 50 affordable housing developments of 2014 and has also won the award for Best New Dwelling at the North York Moors National Park Design Awards 2014.

Click here to hear Westfields' resident Ellen Cross talk about what the development has meant to her family.