Homes & Property

Newhall: Award winning design for Harlow

Jon and William Moen secured planning permission for a showpiece village on 280 acres of family farmland and enlisted a collection of architects to create homes with a distinctly modern design twist that nonetheless fit into the semi-rural landscape.

The Moens are parcelling up smaller plots for developers to buy and build individual clusters of homes that conform to a strict overall design code, which includes pedestrian-friendly zones and ecological planting - woodland, hedgerows, streams and lakes.

"We want the place to become a new millennium market town, not another housing estate," says Jon Moen.

Newhall has already won several design awards. Walk around and you see tree-lined contoured roads rather than grid-like boulevards. Buildings feature projecting bay windows and conservatories, domed roofs and steep pitched roofs, timber-clad walls alongside powder-coated aluminium turquoise-coloured panels, copper, steel and glass facades mixing with Welsh slate, even thatch.

Many of the homes have penthouse-like qualities with double-height space, spiral staircases and extensive glazing. Eventually there will be 2,800 homes - a high-density development normally reserved for brownfield sites such as those in the Thames Gateway.

Disused farm buildings are to be remodelled into a community centre. And there will be commercial space, primary school, performance venue and art studios.

North Chase is the latest phase to be launched - 127 homes, a mix of apartments, town houses, detached villas and live/work units. Prices range from £225,000 to £450,000. Call the marketing suite on 01279 416660.

The location is convenient for London commuters: Harlow is 30 minutes by train to Liverpool on the Stansted Express, while by road, the M11 provides direct access to Stratford and Canary Wharf.



Published: 31 July 2007
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