Commendation for Best House of Three or More Storeys
LAKESIDE SHAKER
The Harvard, LeybourneWay, Leybourne Lakes, Larkfield, Kent ME20 6GB
Berkeley Homes (Eastern) bought the 250-acre former sand and gravel workings known as Leybourne Lakes in 2000 and obtained planning permission for 327 new homes on 10.5 acres of the site, which has been constructed as a man-made peninsula jutting out into the lakes. The remaining 240 acres, which was designated as a Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI) by the Kent Wildlife Trust, is being developed into a water-based country park for the local community, utilising the existing leisure outlets for angling on several of the lakes, but canoeing, scuba diving and windsurfing on the largest lake, and maintaining and enhancing the nature conservation area for wildlife, with six lakes entirely free of any other activities.
In doing so, Berkeley Homes has drawn upon the experience it gained at Barnes Waterside, where it converted the four concrete-lined reservoirs of Barn Elms into the award-winning London Wetland Centre for the late Sir Peter Scott’s Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust. Covering 105 acres and now a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), this was made possible by allowing the development of 320 new homes on the remaining 35 acres.
At Leybourne Lakes, the architecture is a blend of colourful New England with the traditional vernacular style of old Kent. Although the development is not due for completion until the end of 2005, three phases of houses and apartments have already been completed and Phase 4 is well advanced. This has 30 apartments and eight types of houses, ranging from detached and linked-detached to townhouses, at prices from £179,500 to £415,000.
One of these eight house types is The Harvard, a five-bedroom three-storey house. Its turquoise timber cladding of Douglas fir contrasts with its red brick plinth to capture the essence of a traditional Shaker design, and the clean lines that are synonymous with Shaker architecture continue inside the house, with a predominantly open-plan kitchen, dining area and family room area typical of American waterside houses with their greater amount of space and abundance of natural light. There is also a large drawing room (or living room) with a bay window and a fireplace, as well as an integral garage, laundry room and cloakroom on the ground floor.
The Harvard has a white-painted timber balcony on the first floor running the width of the house and supported on carved posts. This balcony opens off the master bedroom, which has a walk-in dressing room with hanging space on both sides, and an ensuite bathroom. There are two further bedrooms and a family bathroom on this floor.
By creating a second floor in the roofspace, The Harvard gains two further good-sized attic bedrooms and a shower room. These bedrooms can be used as a study or nursery, as an au-pair’s or teenager’s suite, or for games, music or hobbies. With gas-fired central heating, sealed-unit double-glazed windows, designer kitchens with granite worktops, thermostatically controlled showers, and ample TV.FM and telephone points throughout the house, it’s a whole new life at Leybourne Lakes.
Homebuilder: BERKELEY HOMES (EASTERN)
Berkeley House, Oakhill Road, Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 1NQ
Tel 01732 227555 Fax 01732 227580
Website: www.berkeleyhomes.co.uk
Contact: Pat Knightingale, Sales & Marketing Director.
Email: pat.knightingale@berkeleygroup.co.uk
Architects: CLAGUE
62 Burgate, Canterbury, Kent CT1 2BH
Tel 01227 762060 Fax 01227 762149
Website: www.clague.co.uk
Contact: Simon Beck, Project Architect.
Email: simon.beck@clague.co.uk