A NEW masterplan to reinvigorate the Impney Estate has been drawn up by LDA Design.
Proctor and Matthews Architects has planned and designed the new Little Impney village set in Impney Hall’s grounds and the planning application has been submitted to Wychavon District Council.
Estate custodians Impney Ltd want to create a sustainable future for the hall and the surrounding 140-acre estate.
The masterplan includes an overall Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment, the restoration of Impney Hall, and landscaping of the naturalistic parkland.
The plans would mean Impney Hall continues as a boutique hotel and restaurant but many of the corporate extensions would be demolished as they are now deemed obsolete.
Little Impney, which would replace the large disused 1970s conference and exhibition centre, is a mixed-use village comprising 127 homes and business space and it is hoped this will enhance the setting of the original hall.
The new village will reflect the former 19th-century walled productive garden and will include allotments and community orchards.
It will feature courtyard homes and a more relaxed group of housing clusters, both stepped along the hillside contours to make the most of the views.
There will be a square at the centre of the village and the masterplan also aims to improve access and encourage sustainable travel.
The public right of way – John Corbett Way – will be enhanced and the estate will be connected with Droitwich and the railway station via newly-created pedestrian and cycle routes.
New sustainable drainage basins and swales will help improve degraded landscapes and enhance biodiversity.
LDA Design director and Impney project lead Clare Wilks said: “The remaking of the estate landscape will create a strong sense of place, that will foster community and inclusion, attract long-term investment and restore heritage.”
Proctor and Matthews Architects director Stephen Proctor added: “It is wonderful to be working on the design of the new village within the inspiring historic setting of the Impney Hall Estate.
“This will straddle both sides of the existing John Corbett Way – a footpath and bridleway which connects the estate to the town of Droitwich Spa – bringing life and activity back to this once working and now underused part of the estate.”
