Nelson Road, Diss

Ingleton Wood were instructed to prepare a full planning application for a 76-bedroom care home, on a vacant site in Diss, Norfolk. The Architectural and Planning teams worked closely together to produce a scheme which met the specific operational requirements of the client, whilst also overcoming a variety of issues, including the site’s allocation within the adopted planning policy for an ‘employment’ use, the proximity of the site to a potentially noisy grain drying facility, and the need to provide an appropriate level of parking.

Working in close consultation with the Local Planning Authority, and adhering to their Design Guide, the Architectural team produced a high quality design, drawing on the architecture of the local area. A traditional approach was favoured by the client, but the site’s position between residential and industrial uses allowed the introduction of a more varied architectural style, with modern interpretation of traditional building forms.

The Planning team co-ordinated the input of a wide range of specialist sub-consultants, providing advice on issues such as noise, highways and trees. Extensive pre-application discussions were held with the Council, and a Planning Statement was prepared, which presented a strong argument to overcome the site’s allocation for employment use. The application received unanimous support from Council Members at Planning Committee and planning permission was secured within 10 weeks of submission; the Planning team also ensured that the number of conditions attached to the planning permission were minimised.