Plans revealed for Standish Hospital site

by | Feb 3, 2017 | Community, News & Events, Planning Information, Standish Hospital

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February, 2017
PLANS REVEALED FOR STANDISH HOSPITAL SITE

STANDISH HOSPITAL
We are presently consulting on plans for the sensitive redevelopment of the former Standish Hospital site near Stroud in Gloucestershire. Standish hospital closed in 2004 and is now owned by the Homes and Communities Agency. This 32-acre site includes a number of heritage buildings.

PJ Livesey was appointed preferred developer last year and we have been working closely with the HCA, the District Council and interested groups to find a way to re-use the buildings and restore this charming wooded site on the edge of the Cotswolds.

Our draft proposals include the conversion of the Grade II listed Standish House and stable block together with two Art Deco style ward buildings and the gate lodge on Horsemarling Lane. We are also proposing to save the site’s distinctive hydrotherapy pool, which was previously considered for demolition.

The work would be supported by ‘enabling development’ of new build homes designed specifically for the location. This would go hand-in-hand with extensive improvements to the grounds, including new footpaths and enhanced green spaces across the site.

Group Land Manager Steve Alcock, said: “Standish hospital has been closed for more than a decade and there is an urgency to act now before the buildings are beyond repair.

“We believe our plans will not only preserve and give new life to some really lovely, character buildings that span the centuries, but will create sensitive new homes and open up this mature wooded site to a much wider community. There is genuine affection for the site locally and a desire to secure it’s future. We are wanting to hear people’s views to help find the very best solution.”

Under the proposed plans the Grade II listed Standish House would be converted into 16 apartments; the stable block into five houses; and both ward buildings would be divided vertically to create a total of 26 distinctive homes. The 1970’s Hydrotherpy Unit would be divided into two unique properties and the estates Lodge House would be restored as a single dwelling.

The conversion work would be supported by around 87 new build homes.

A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY

  • Standish House and stable block were built as part of Lord Sherbourne’s estate circa 1830.
  • Lord Sherbourne lived here for 20 years before the property was rented out.
  • In 1914 the grand house was offered for use as a hospital and opened in 1915 as the early Westbridge Hospital with 100 beds.
  • Its elevated position on the edge of the Cotswold Escarpment made it an ideal location for TB patients and in 1922 it was converted to a sanatorium to provide specialist treatment.
  • The hospital transferred to the NHS in 1948 and eventually closed in 2004 with services transferred to the Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.
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Assuring the Future of Storeton Hall

by | Jan 10, 2017 | Community, Featured, New Properties, Planning Information, Sales Information

10

January, 2017

ASSURING THE FUTURE

We’re looking to design a scheme that will save Storeton Hall

Westwood Park

SECURING THE FUTURE OF A NATIONAL HERITAGE ASSET
We are developing plans which will secure the future of Storeton Hall, a nationally important heritage asset located on the Wirral, and in doing so will also provide additional high quality new housing to the area.

The medieval hall house, thought to date from c1372, is designated a Grade II* listed Scheduled Monument because of its rarity, but has been on Historic England’s ‘At Risk’ register for several years. Buildings of this type of construction in a domestic setting are indeed few and far between, and the hall plays a significant role not only in the history of Storeton but also the whole of the North West.

The Hall sits on a nine-acre site currently operating as an equestrian centre with stabling and an assortment of ancillary buildings. We have been working closely with the site owner, Peter Bowling, together with the local authority and Historic England, to find a solution that both saves the medieval building and protects the business and facilities.

The proposed sensitive housing scheme will act as ‘enabling development’ providing funds to cross-subsidise the refurbishment of the historic buildings. The heritage buildings will be central to the proposed development, with sympathetically designed surrounding houses set back to place the original structures in a more appropriate setting. A sensitive restoration and conversion of the buildings will retain historic features wherever possible, with the Hall vertically split to create two unique homes and the adjacent Storeton Hall Barn also divided into two properties.

EQUESTRIAN CENTRE ALSO RETAINED AT STORETON HALL
he more recently constructed buildings currently on the site are largely occupied by the equestrian centre and are in various states of disrepair. These would be largely demolished to make way for the enabling development of 27 new build homes. The proposed properties are a mix of three bed stone terraces, and four and five bedroom family homes featuring stunning oversized windows carefully balanced to achieve a courtyard feel.

Key to the proposed development is the consolidation of the existing equestrian facilities into a smaller footprint.

A proposed new barn building would be erected to replace the majority of the stables, alongside a new open arena, storage barn, horse walker and areas of car parking. The more efficient proposed accommodation will help support a local business into the future, without the need to develop further into the green belt.

Peter Bowling said: “Storeton Hall is integral to the history of The Wirral and it is hugely important to me that it is preserved, and I will leave a better legacy than I took over.

“I am responsible for the heritage building and have a duty of care for it. I have been looking for a solution for the last 25 years but of course that became more imperative when it was placed on the ‘At Risk’ register.

“The P J Livesey Group are specialists in sensitive enabling development to save important heritage buildings and I was very impressed with their track record and with Peter Livesey and the rest of his team.

P J Livesey Group director James Woodmansee said: “We have managed to find a solution for the site that provides sufficient housing to fund the refurbishment of the historic buildings all within the existing footprint of the equestrian centre.”

Public consultations explaining the plans have been held locally and a detailed planning application is due to be submitted shortly.

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Westwood Park’s Wide Appeal

by | Dec 19, 2016 | Case Study, Community, Featured, Past Developments, Sales Information

19

December, 2016
WESTWOOD PARK’S WIDE APPEAL

We visited Westwood Park and fell in love with it right away

The wealth of character in the conversion properties at our Westwood Park development in Beverley, and its position a short stroll from the heart of the market town, is attracting buyers from all across the UK.

RELOCATING
A prime example of the sites expansive draw is Ken and Denise Pick’s story, whom recently relocated from their native North East to move into one of the penthouse apartments in the site’s original white brick villa Beaver Lodge – now re named as ‘The Mansion House’.

Ken said: “We had decided to downsize and had been looking at bungalows when I spotted Westwood Park on the internet. Our daughter lives in Beverley and our son in York, but we had not heard about the scheme.”

The couple quickly organised a house-hunting weekend and were talked through the development by our dedicated on-site sales team.

BUILDINGS SAVED
All seven of the site’s heritage buildings, as well as a Grade II listed stone entrance archway, have been saved from demolition, offering a mix of homes from one bedroom apartments to a three bedroom detached house

in a walled garden. There are also a range of new build family sized homes with spacious open plan living and clever detail.

With their own four bedroom detached home on the market the Picks wanted something more manageable and were delighted to opt for a two-bedroom penthouse apartment.

Ken explained: “We visited Westwood Park and fell in love with it right away – there is nothing to compare for quality and location. We spent a couple of years abroad and lived in an apartment there so were comfortable with the idea. The only stipulation was that it had to have some outside space.

We bought off plan in February and actually only saw the apartment five weeks before moving in. We absolutely love it. The exposed beams are wonderful and the terrace is much bigger than we thought it would be. It is a really lovely place to sit out and we can see the whole of The Westwood as well as Beverley Minster and St Anne’s church in the other direction. The whole development is very well done and it is quite lovely driving through the archway into this little sanctuary.”

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Sweet memories for former Terry’s worker.

by | Dec 19, 2016 | Case Study, Community, Featured, Past Developments

23

November, 2016

SWEET MEMORIES OF TERRY’S

We hear from a former worker of the Terry’s Chocolate Factory in York

Westwood Park

The world famous chocolate empire of Terry’s has left a strong legacy in York and a strong affection amongst many former workers.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Former employee Liz Calpin vividly remembers walking through the distinctive gates onto the vast Bishopsthorpe Road site for the first time as a 15-year-old girl ready to start work as a Junior Clerk.

Recalling her first impressions Liz said: “I worked in the administration building with its grand staircase and glass dome and I felt very grown up.”

She eventually clocked up ten happy years at Terry’s in total, only leaving in 1976 upon the birth of her first child. Such is the pull of the iconic site, Liz and her husband Ray are now back – this time living in one of the luxury apartments in the converted Factory Building.

Liz explains: “I loved my time at Terry’s, although to be honest in the beginning it was just somewhere I went in the day that funded my social life! I loved dancing! Ray and I met at the Court School of Dancing.

Even though I left forty years ago I have always kept strong links with Terry’s. There was a group of five of us who worked together and we have remained very close friends, still meeting every six weeks or so.

And since it closed it was one of our favourite places to walk. We’d park on the road and walk across the Knavesmire. It was so sad to see the building empty and starting to decay.”

DOWNSIZING
The couple lived in a three bedroom detached house and with Ray now retired from the teaching profession they had already been considering downsizing when plans to convert the Art Decor Factory Building into apartments was announced.

Liz said: “We’d looked at the new build apartments at the front of the site and knew they weren’t for us, but when we went to the P J Livesey launch day and looked at the properties at The Residence we both looked at each other and smiled.

We knew we could happily live here. The whole development is beautiful and the views are stunning.

We had our house on the market but when it did not sell straight away we took good advice and decided to use it to raise the extra money we needed and then rent it out. It all worked out perfectly.”

TRANSFORMATION
The couple bought a two-bedroom mezzanine apartment on the third floor at the back of the building with a wide terrace overlooking the racecourse and towards the River Ouse.

Liz said: “The living, dining area is actually bigger than within our previous house and the open plan kitchen has everything you could possibly want. We plan to buy new furniture for the balcony as it is easily big enough to sit out and enjoy the view – it was quite spectacular on bonfire night!

We love coming through the gates and driving up the boulevard and the lobby feels like a 5* hotel and it is beautifully kept. The P J Livesey ethos is obviously to develop something to be classically Beautiful and maintain the high standard. It really does tick all the boxes and the grand children Lyla and Zak love coming to visit.

I only actually worked in The Factory building itself for two memorable weeks when the dispatch lady was on holiday, but our son-in-law spent summers working for Terry’s and actually remembers working on the third floor. We cannot wait for him to come and see the transformation. People are fascinated by the building, it is such a landmark symbol for York and everyone wants to see what it has now become.

We’ve only been here a matter of weeks but it already feels very much like home – a place of happy memories.”

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Our Proud Listed Building Legacy

by | Oct 20, 2016 | Community, News & Events, P J Livesey News, Past Developments

20

October, 2016

OUR PROUD LISTED BUILDING LEGACY

PJ Livesey Group’s on going passion for Britain’s listed heritage properties

Lancaster Moor was in the spotlight in a recent feature in the Sunday Times Homes section looking at the PJ Livesey Group’s on going passion for Britain’s listed heritage properties.

Journalist Rebecca Myers was given a tour of the prestigious St. James Park development at Didsbury before sitting down in one of the show homes for a chat with Peter Livesey and daughter Georgina.

The feature focussed on the company’s skill in converting unique buildings and bringing them back to life and the commitment and passion of every single member of the PJ Livesey team.

The former Manchester Metropolitan University site is the company’s 50th development since Peter began developing 35 years ago, and we have tallied up the total number of historic buildings saved to an impressive 161! It would also appear that buying a P J Livesey period property period is a sound financial investment.

Nick Brimelow, from Didsbury agents JP & Brimelow advises demand is much stronger for heritage properties within both the rental and sales markets. He said: “The prime example is the now completed PJ Livesey development in West Didsbury, Didsbury Gate as this offers beautifully converted 1 and 2 bedroom apartments in the same locality as numerous new build developments offering apartments of a similar square footage.

“As a rule of thumb a 2 bedroom / 2 bathroom apartment in Didsbury Gate would receive circa £1100pcm in rental compared to a similar modern flat which would only achieve circa £950pcm with an identical square footage. There is clearly a 10% disparity between the two types of property and in some cases even more. “What is also interesting is that tenants who initially insist on finding two bed properties will accept a one bedroom apartment instead if it is situated within a heritage block but not the other way around. This clearly confirms the demand for conversion properties significantly out weighs that of a new build scheme as well as the fact that the yield is also higher.

“This is mirrored in property sales. In my experience there has always been a greater demand for heritage/conversion properties.

“Buyers may traditionally pay more for the period properties but they enjoy a greater capital growth and demand much higher rental yields. It therefore sometimes makes more sense for a buyer to acquire a smaller heritage property than a larger modern unit as over a period of several years they will experience a greater increase in value whilst achieving a similar rental income despite the smaller square footage.

“This is mirrored in property sales. In my experience there has always been a greater demand for heritage/conversion properties.

“Buyers may traditionally pay more for the period properties but they enjoy a greater capital growth and demand much higher rental yields. It therefore sometimes makes more sense for a buyer to acquire a smaller heritage property than a larger modern unit as over a period of several years they will experience a greater increase in value whilst achieving a similar rental income despite the smaller square footage.

“The rental and sales values for both the one and two bedroom apartments within Didsbury Gate have increased at a much greater rate than comparable modern units within exactly the same location.

“If you therefore were to implement the same theory to the St James Park scheme it is entirely understandable that there has been such a high level of demand for the converted apartments which are on offer. “

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Tough Mudder Challenge 2016

by | Jun 22, 2016 | Community, News & Events, P J Livesey News | 0 comments

22

June, 2016

COMPANY CHARITY CHALLENGE

The PJ Livesey group take on tough mudder

Twenty-five tackled the Tough Mudder course in Manchester and raised a truly magnificent £7,700 for the Mustard Tree charity. It was great fun, great teamwork and all for a great cause.

A Significant Donation Adrian Nottingham, CEO, of the Mustard Tree said: “We would like to thank everyone at PJ Livesey and everyone who sponsored them. This significant donation allows us to continue the work we do in supporting those who are most vulnerable. With annual increases in homelessness and poverty in Manchester, we value every offer of support and every donation, being acutely aware that we couldn’t continue to make a difference in the lives of those who come to us for help without the partnership of like-minded people.”

We hope to be working with the Mustard Tree again in the future to support the amazing work the charity does.

A huge thank you to all our intrepid staff who took part in this year’s very tough, very muddy, company charity challenge.

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