Orchard House Properties designers are changing the face, or rather house, of real estate production
These days home ownership in the UK is a dream realised by many, but remains a process where the creative inception is participated in by so few. In fact, for all of the lengthy legal operations, precarious housing chains and substantial wherewithal seeing you through this transaction, dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s upon the exchanging of contracts is likely the only creative input you are permitted when investing in this most valuable asset. Indeed, once the honeymoon period of moving into a new home is over, how many of us dream that we had had the chance of designing this domicile for ourselves? Surely that would just be having our cake and eating it, too – and, for most, something that is confined to the realms of fantasy and folly (and Channel 4’s Grand Designs).
That is, until I’d seen what Orchard House Properties are doing in rural Cheshire. Based in the historic climes of Malpas village, these bespoke abode designers are changing the face, or rather house, of real estate production. Contrary to the nationwide surfeit of new build developments being hoisted up on a daily basis, Orchard House Properties provides homebuyers with a boutique experience at the other end of the housing scale. That is, instead of offering clients the usual - one from a selection of duplicated houses – homebuyers are given the opportunity for creative autonomy over their chosen plot in the covetable Mount View site. Such is Orchard House Properties’ specialism in this niche trade that a visit to their studio on Church Street has all the facilities needed for you to turn your virtual dreams into a tangible reality. A meeting with their team of in-house architectural technicians and design consultants offers a 3D tour of current plans for the plots still available, whilst letting you customise as you go, right down to choosing styles of window, brick or fascias. Director Patrick Lomax takes particular pride in the company’s ability to ‘make these homes peoples’ own; to stamp the outside of their investment as well as the in.’
But if that wasn’t enough, sister agency Land Planning, also run under Lomax, oversees all of the building regulations of each plot to manage and advise homebuyers on what would qualify within the original plans, as well as taking steps where necessary to secure further planning for any amendments that you require. One previous client of Orchard House Properties cites the ‘professional and expert manner’ that made securing retrospective planning for a garage and office space, ‘stress-free’. It seems clear to me that a project co-managed between a homebuyer and Orchard House Properties is a match made in property heaven: you can be involved as little or as much as you want in creating your dream home whilst they handle all of the developmental legislation i.e. the monotonous bits!
Theirs is a pioneering approach to property design, but means clients can have it all: a beautiful, modern home in the traditional surroundings of Malpas, which, with its close-knit community and peaceful ambience, is the perfect location for a young family or commuting professionals.
Completion for the Mount View site is scheduled for late 2016 with an aesthetic that promises to reflect the best in Cheshire housing. Prices start from £495,000 and plots vary in size from 1950 to 4150 square feet - so enough for that indoor pool.
