Meadow Street, Preston

Our proposal, chosen from 73 competing entries, was the only submission to successfully reconcile a brief which called for a varied mix of unit types, high levels of car parking, with a challenging site sandwiched between an 1970’s housing estate and a sensitive conservation area and listed church.

RCKa worked closely with representatives from the local community, including residents, business owners, council officers and faith leaders, to develop the initial proposals from a concept design to a detailed planning application and tender scheme.

We were able to overcome initial resistance to our proposals through holding frequent design workshops and feedback sessions during which we ensured that the community was able to positively influence the design.

An interlocking arrangement for the rear gardens, coupled with staggered terraced and semi-detached houses, allowed us to push the homes facing Meadow Street, and those facing onto the mews to the north, closer together, using carefully-considered window locations to avoid compromising privacy.

A high requirement for car parking on the site meant that there existed a potential conflict between creating a safe, secure environment, and a desire for vehicles to be left close to residents’ homes. This was solved through the provision of a shared-surface parking courtyard to the north, from which the rear gardens of those houses facing Meadow Street could be reached. In this way, no driveways needed to open directly onto the busy highway, and all waste and recycling, play space and a new pedestrian route through from St Paul’s Road to St Ignatius Square, could be included to encourage incidental meetings between neighbours and achieve passive surveillance of the public realm.