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Proposed Energy+ HouseHierons Wood . Vicarage Lane . Little Eaton

Design and Access Statement

August 2013

Hierons Wood . Vicarage Lane . Little Eaton�

this document has been prepared by: Lathams | No: 6311 | Date: August 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission from the author. © Lathams. This document and the material contained in it is the property of Lathams and is given to you on the understanding that such material and the ideas, concepts and proposals expressed in it are the intellectual property of Lathams and protected by copyright. It is understood that you may not use this material or any part of it for any reason other than the evaluation of the document unless we have entered into a further agreement for its use. The document is provided to you in confidence, on the understanding it is not disclosed to anyone other than those of your employees who need to evaluate it. Ordnance Survey data © Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. Lathams licence number 100006736. 2013. Photographic images used throughout this document have been provided by the author or acquired from open sources. Where copyright material has been used all reasonable effort has been employed to acknowledge ownership.

Lathams St Michael’s Queen Street Derby DE1 3SU

t: +44 (0)1332 290314 e: [email protected]

Derek Latham HonDPr DipArch RIBA DipTP MRTPI DipLD MLI AABC IHBC AHI FRSA

Prepared by:

Contact Information

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1. Executive Summary 04

2. Use and Concept 06

3. Quarry Background 14

4. Layout 16

5. Scale and Appearance 25

6. Landscaping 28

7. Access and Parking 32

Appendices

Appendix A - Commentary from Experts 36

Appendix B - The Breathable Wall and the use of Hemp 28

Appendix C - Sycamore 44

Appendix D - Potential Woodland Management Plan 48

Contents


Executive Summary

The proposal is for an exceptional and innovative four-bedroom dwelling, to be located in the garden of an existing house, situated in a former quarry. The property is just within the Green Belt on the edge of the sustainable settlement of Little Eaton, Derbyshire.

The intention is to create a modern Energy Plus house, using innovative materials in a traditional form of construction that test the low energy potential of highly insulated, breathable, traditional natural fabric, using sustainable, locally sourced materials.

There are three key areas of research which will be undertaken, including two substantial aspects of innovative construction:

Use of hemp/lime composite (structural and constructional).

Use of sycamore (structural and constructional).

To evaluate the performance of the Energy Plus design, a research project with the Department of the Built Environment in the School of Technology, University of Derby will be undertaken (see Research Project Proposal - part of the planning application). This is a unique opportunity to undertake the testing of cutting-edge research in terms of the use of breathable and low-embodied carbon materials and traditional concepts, in an innovative manner. The proposed development will become a ‘test bed’ to investigate these advances.

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To support the assertion in relation to the exceptional quality of the dwelling, the proposal has been reviewed by Chris Twomey, Chair of the Design Council CABE East Midlands Design Review Panel (see appendix A).

Professor Julian Marsh (Sheffield Hallam University) a multi architectural-award winner of Marsh Grochowski (see appendix A) has evaluated the innovative nature of the scheme.

Both have praised the holistic nature of the proposals in relating the dwelling to its physical context in terms of location, orientation, topography, geology and local materials.

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Their views are best summed up by Chris Twomey:

The Energy Plus house is an innovative design of exceptional quality – not because it trumpets advances in green technology, but because it embraces and embodies them in a polite and well-mannered solution that is truly contextual.

The findings will be disseminated via public and guest lectures, international conference/journal papers, exhibitions, professional bodies, CPD events, study visits for students and via annual research report on the project. The applicant undertakes to present two special lectures within Erewash within a year and at five years following completion on the lessons learnt from this project.

PrOPOSED ENErgy PLUS HOUSE

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Use

The proposal is for a single four-bedroom retirement dwelling (and double garage) with an open plan reception room at upper ground level, in the secluded grounds of the applicant’s house, which is located within a former quarry, on the edge of Little Eaton.

Accommodation

The proposed Energy Plus* house comprises:

Lower ground floor containing an ensuite-master bedroom, two ensuite-guest bedrooms and a bed/study room; lower entrance hall, utility and a garden store accessed externally.

Upper ground floor with an open living/dining/kitchen area, larder, cloakroom/WC and entrance hall.

A small mezzanine open study balcony incorporated within the upper living/dining area.

A wide stair links the upper and lower ground floors and a light, glass stair accesses the mezzanine.

The house is designed to be disabled friendly (incorporating a stair lift and wider doors) to accommodate the residents of the existing property who wish to move there to spend their remaining years on the same site. They have been in residence for over 28 years. They are only the third residents to occupy Hierons Wood since its construction in 1924.

See submitted plans and sections of proposal – drawings 6311(08)021 and 6311(08)022.

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Concept

The design concept - to produce an autonomous, Energy Plus* house, with a very low imprint on the site, related to the physical, historical and visual context within which it sits - it develops through a number of stages:

1. Historical context To understand the history

of the site, at the boundary of a sandstone quarry overgrown with a naturalised woodland, with the spoil later used as a garden with a greenhouse built into the bank.

2. Harness thermal mass To excavate into the spoil

from the quarry, that currently forms the bank supporting the lawn to the original house, and retaining it with a wall which will harness the thermal mass of the bank. The exact nature of this wall is to result from research into the material(s) best able to achieve this with a sustainable form of concrete utilising recycled material such as foamed glass.

3. Respond to character To adopt the character of

the site created by the dry stone retaining walls by placing the lower ground floor accommodation behind one of these walls, suitably enlarged. The wall will be continued to provide a high privacy wall between the arrival area and the private garden.

Use and Concept �

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4. use hemp and lime To construct the lower

ground floor slab and inner walls, if at all possible, with loadbearing hemp/lime composite. Research will be undertaken to identify how hemp/lime composite’s compressive strength could be improved to be used as a mass support for the upper ground floor (either in-situ or through the use of perforated blocks.

5. solid base To construct the upper

ground floor of concrete beams and hemp to further increase the thermal mass, and act as a firm, level base for the upper structure.

6. Harvest sycamore To harvest the sycamore in

the woodland to construct the mezzanine, upper walls and roof, clad the unglazed exposed superstructure and develop new timber engineering techniques to suit the novel use of the timber.

7. utilise greenhouse effect To provide a single, living/

working space with an open aspect to the south and west, under an energy generating roof incorporating matching solar panels, PV panels and roof windows within one regular sized grid. This glass roof and glass walls ‘remember’ the greenhouse that stood on the site of the proposed dwelling.

8. test natural insulation frame

To provide the opportunity to test the timber wall component by accommodating the kitchen and entrance area that requires less glazing within a connected timber superstructure.

9. Outdoor study To provide a workspace

outside the upper study area to take advantage of the morning sun, not overlooked by visitors and within a planted ‘green roof’ terrace.

10. ground source heat To utilise the lawn area on

the south side of the dwelling as a solar collector for ground source heating, fed by electricity from the PV panels on the roof and distributed within the floors.

11. Naturally controlled ventilation

To pre-warm incoming ventilation air through a buried earth tube system to feed into bathrooms, WC, utility room and base of the stairs and extract ventilation air through flues taken up the rear of the retaining wall and vented in the area of negative pressure occurring behind the ridge to leeward of the prevailing wind, or out above the stair at the ridge of the roof.

12. Rainwater harvested To harvest rainwater from

the roofs and terraces to be reused for washing water, WCs and irrigation in summer.

13. Independent water source To obtain drinking water

from a borehole – purified with a sand filter and UV filter?

14. Waste water contained To contain the disposal of

waste water (sewage) by discharging to a septic tank within the site (there is not room for reed beds and ponds).

15. save energy by maximising daylight

To enable daylight to penetrate into the depth of the building from rooflights at the apex of the roof, lighting, not only the mezzanine, but also through the glass upper staircase down to the hallway at lower ground floor level – thus reducing energy used for lighting.

An Energy Plus house

*An Energy Plus house will not only achieve the energy reductions in usage of Code for Sustainable Home (CfSH) Level 6, but produce energy from a renewable source (in this case solar) in excess of the energy it uses. It describes the target design parameter of the equivalent to CfSH ‘Code 6 Plus’, ie. by generating more energy than it uses, it should save more carbon in-use than it needs. And, as the carbon embodied in construction is targeted to be neutral, the overall outcome should be an improvement upon a Code 6 carbon neutral dwelling.

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Use and Concept �

rOOf PLAN

UPPEr grOUND

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Legend (pages 6-11)

1. Insulated (foamed recycled glass) retaining wall with ground anchors to minimise quantity of concrete*

2. Insulated internal masonry - hempcrete - load bearing wall - breathable*

3. Internal external masonry - dry stone/hempcrete - load bearing wall - breathable*

3a. Insulated external masonry - hempcrete/lime render - load bearing wall on retaining wall*

4. Insulated timber - sycamore - stud load bearing wall - breathable*

5. Fixed glazing with insulated roller shutter

6. Sliding at folding or opening glazing - double with roller shutter

7. Combined PV/solar panel/glazed roof on insulated timber - laminated sycamore - roof (p = PV. s = solar. w = rooflight)*

8. Insulated (hemp) solid - recycled aggregate concrete - green roof*

9. Insulated - sheep’s wool - timber laminated sycamore - green roof*

10. Insulated - hemp - terrace deck - (assume 500mm)*

11. Non-insulated load bearing wall (100mm)

12. Limecrete floor slabs with under-floor heating from ground source heat pumps powered by BV panels*

13. Upper ground floor - concrete beam with hemp block infill

14. Mezzanine floor - timber - sycamore and plywood*

15. External stone retaining wall

16. Rain water storage tank

17. Ground tubes for warming incoming air

18. Stack vents and flue

19. Glass stairs

20. Glass bridge

a-n denotes design difference between 2012 application and current applications.

* denotes differences in construction since 2012 application.

Hierons Wood . Vicarage Lane . Little Eaton10

� Use and Concept

SOUTH ELEvATION

MEzzANINE

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LOWEr grOUND

SOUTH ELEvATION WEST ELEvATION

Hierons Wood . Vicarage Lane . Little Eaton1�

1 Use and Concept

WEST ELEvATION

SECTION THrOUgH SITTINg/gUEST WINg

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SECTION THrOUgH LOWEr ELEvATION EAST ELEvATION

SECTION THrOUgH STAIrS SECTION THrOUgH kITCHEN/ MASTEr BEDrOOM


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A quarry created the site

The residence of Hierons Wood was effectively created by the Great War – when the former thriving quarry was abandoned due to the shortage of labour during and after the war.

Quarrying has taken place along Eaton Bank since medieval times.

By 1881 the quarries had dug deep, horizontally into the hillside. Hierons Wood quarry was no exception.

The bottom edge of the quarry formed a boundary that ran from the north-west to the south-east to join the lane up to Park Farm (now Vicarage Lane).

There was a tramway which led from the quarry to the railway and canal in the village.

Quarry Background

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Quarry residences

In 1918 the owner of the former quarry in Hathering’s Wood constructed ‘The Hathering’s’ residence on the opposite side of the lane where it could command fine views to the south.

Hierons Wood residence was built later, in 1924, higher up, on a partially leveled mound of the spoil from the quarry, where it could command views of both the Derwent and the Trent valleys.

Since the abandonment of the quarry and the erection of the house, self-seeded trees have matured and created an established woodland within the quarry to the north and east of the residence, whilst the quarry faces remain extant.


Layout�

The Existing Garden

The six-acre garden of the residence at Hierons Wood incorporated both the quarry and an area of former grazing land in the triangle between the quarry and Vicarage Lane. The boundary of the original quarry can still be seen in the retaining wall, at the bottom of the bank, that transverses the garden.

A large greenhouse was built into the bank where it could soak up the early afternoon sun whilst being sheltered from exposure to the winds and retain some heat in the bank behind (this is the clue to the nature of the design for the Energy Plus house now proposed).

The drive was constructed along the west boundary of the garden, up the hill and around, through the former quarry to the ‘entrance front’ north of the house (right).

This allowed the living quarters to face south where they could enjoy the view and ‘soak up’ the sun in the rear garden (below).

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Beyond the western stone boundary wall, a public footpath passes along the field from Vicarage Lane, up to, and through part of an unfenced woodland curtilage of Hierons Wood, left open for the enjoyment of the public.


The application site

The proposed site only comprises the former kitchen garden to Hierons Wood which has a maintenance access off Vicarage Lane – a private lane that is also a public bridleway. It does not affect the garden immediately adjacent to the existing house, nor the woodland areas, which have their own maintenance access off Vicarage Lane further east.

Layout�

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west by the drive lawns and shrub borders leading to the main house, including some large and very mature rhododendrons;

north by the top of the steep bank that is formed by the former spoil from the quarry and an evergreen hedge of holly and laurel;

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east by the woodland that sits between the former quarry and Vicarage Lane;

south by the dry stone wall along Vicarage Lane and the shrubs and saplings that sit behind it.

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Clearly defined boundaries

The former kitchen garden is bounded to the:

Hierons Wood . Vicarage Lane . Little Eaton�0

Layout�

The topography provides the opportunity

The site slopes very steeply along its northern boundary (the bank of spoil from the former quarry), then more gently toward the south-western corner. This gentle slope is steeper at the eastern end than along the western boundary.

Design philosophy – integrating the design into existing landscape features

The design interprets the former dry stone retaining wall boundary of the quarry that crosses the site, and the later dry stone walls retaining the garden terraces, by using dry stone walling as the cladding of the lower ground floor to create a masonry plinth and connecting this into the walls at either end of the site. The design also interprets the former greenhouse.

ExISTINg Dry STONE WALLS AND LOCATION Of fOrMEr grEENHOUSE

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By re-aligning the former quarry boundary wall, a wider terrace is created into which the lower ground floor of the proposed house could be buried. The terrace walls still connect into the existing walls at the western end but extend to envelope the private garden of the proposed house at its eastern end.

rETAININg WALLS AS THEy MIgHT HAvE BEEN PrIOr TO THE grEENHOUSE

rEALIgNED fOrMEr QUArry BOUNDAry WALL

Hierons Wood . Vicarage Lane . Little Eaton��

Layout�

The space ‘excavated’ below the terrace created by the realigned retaining wall can then be divided into bedrooms and service accommodation and a garden level entrance hall to create a lower ground floor.

The upper ground floor slab, constructed behind the plinth, covers and incorporates the lower ground floor, creating a terrace level ready for the light-weight structure of the upper ground floor - an enlarged rear retaining wall (replacing an existing, high, dry stone retaining wall) holding back the upper part of the bank.

The dry stone walls rise to connect to either side of the retaining wall yet still link into dry stone garden terrace retaining walls along the bank on either side.

THE LOWEr grOUND fLOOr

THE UPPEr grOUND TErrACE fLOOr

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This philosophy includes not only the house but also the garage which is sunk into the ground at the edge of the woodland at the eastern end of the site behind the extended upper bank retaining wall, with the arrival and manoeuvring space contained between the extended lower and upper retaining walls.

SUNkEN gArrAgE


Layout�

Reflecting the former greenhouse

The design of the roof reflects the former greenhouse. The south-facing roof is all glass, reminiscent of the ‘lean to’ greenhouse that previously occupied the site (behind the glass is variously - roof windows, PV cells and solar panels, all with an identical external appearance). A timber ‘shed’ structure houses the service accommodation at this level.

The roof of the ‘shed’ becomes another terrace - 50% planted with shrubs.

A small north-facing green ‘roof’ is really the top of the rear retaining wall and is turfed and planted to incorporate it into the upper bank (not discernable in the illustration).

The proposed house will be hidden from the ground floor of the existing house by the existing hedge, and subsumed into the groundscape of the upper garden, by the enlarged bank, when viewed from upper floors.

THE rOOf rEfLECTINg THE fOrMEr grEENHOUSE AND TIMBEr SHED

SHrUBS, HEDgES AND PLANTINg

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Scale and Appearance �

Scale is to do with perceptions of space internally and externally

The proposed house is 246.9sqm (2,657sqft) and proposed garage is 40.6sqm (430.4sqft).

Most of the accommodation, 166.4sqm of it, including the garage and garden store, is apparently ‘buried’ within the terraces behind the dry stone clad retaining walls.

The upper floor is primarily accommodated within two distinctively different visible elements:

The ‘greenhouse’ glazed roof.

The adjacent timber ‘shed’.The size of both these have been limited by ‘burying’ the rear of the upper accommodation within the upper bank within a cantilevered concrete roof contiguous with the rear retaining wall. This is covered by turf and planting in the form of a green roof, moulded into the contours of the upper garden.

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Hence the scale of the new house is reduced to that of familiar garden structures in both size and appearance.

The area of upper ground floor accommodation covered by the glazed roof is only 44.7sqm, and the area of upper ground floor within the ‘shed’ is only 27sqm.

Hence the reduction in scale.

All external walls, of both house and garden, will be of a consistent character, constructed with stone from the existing quarry.

A simple sliding metal gate will be the only interruption in the rebuilt dry stone wall along Vicarage Lane.


Woodland reflected in the natural cladding

Whilst the lower ground floor is ‘hidden’ behind an apparently dry stone garden retaining wall, the accommodation within the upper ground floor is interpreted as a lighter weight timber structure, the living space clad in glass, as a greenhouse, and the service space clad in timber planks, as a ‘shed’. The timber will be ‘green’ sycamore from the woodland within the current ownership, to the north and east.

The main entrance is at this upper ground floor level and is fed from a path that rises from the entrance court at the level of the former greenhouse walls.

The roof of the service accommodation ‘shed’ is also used partly as a terrace, but also partly as a green roof with planting surrounding the terrace.

Scale and Appearance�

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A timber balcony deck to the south and west, with a glazed balustrade, provides outdoor space at upper ground floor, further emphasising the retaining role of the stone plinth below.

The timber doors in the dry stone ‘plinth’ give access to a garden store buried below the terrace deck (this removes the need for any obtrusive structures in the garden).

In the illustration, the rear terrace wall can be seen rising to connect to the retaining wall. The doors in the wall give access to a plant room and small wood store buried in the back of the bank.

The garage doors can just be seen in the background giving access to the buried garage.


Legend

The site

Wooded Slopes and Valleys

Gritstone Heaths and Commons

Riverside Meadows

Wooded Farmlands

Solid Stone Slopes and Heaths

Estate Farmlands

Landscaping�

This section has been drawn from the Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment that accompanies the application.

Landscape character

Hierons Wood falls within Character Area 50 ‘Derbyshire Peak Fringe and Lower Derwent’ of ‘The Landscape Character of Derbyshire’ published by Derbyshire County Council.

It is located at the southern tip of the character area within a landscape type of ‘Wooded Slopes and Valleys’.

To the north is a landscape character type of ‘Gritstone Heaths and Commons’, and to the west, ‘Riverside Meadows’ (along the Derwent Valley). The far side of the river meadows is bounded by rising ground again falling within the landscape type of ‘Wooded Slopes and Valleys’.

‘Wooded Slopes and Valleys’ is a landscape of small pastoral fields on undulating, rising ground. Woodlands on steeper slopes, hedgerow and streamline trees contribute to a strongly wooded character.

Key characteristics are described within the Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment.

LANDSCAPE CHArACTEr TyPES

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Visual Impact Assessment

Potential views of a building on the application site from all public rights of way that are within viewing distance have been analysed and comparisons made between where the existing house can be seen from (upper plan right) and where the proposed house can be seen from (lower plan right) ie. a reduction of 90%.

This illustrates the very limited number of public places from far across the valley from which the proposal could be visible. ie. the proposed house is only visible from 10% of the public rights of way that the existing house is visible from.

It also illustrates that the proposal will only be visible from within the Green Belt from immediately adjacent to the site boundary - either Vicarage Lane or the footpath along the western boundary - and even then only from specific viewpoints.

Legend

The site

Footpaths and highways where it can be seen from

Trees forming a visual barrier

Ridge lines forming a visual barrier

vISUAL ASSESSMENT Of WHErE ExISTINg HOUSE CAN BE SEEN frOM

vISUAL ASSESSMENT Of WHErE PrOPOSED HOUSE WOULD BE SEEN frOM


Conserving the natural environment

The proposed house is designed to avoid any impact upon the open countryside:

The site is within the curtilage of a private garden which is well screened by woodland and land form to the north and east and by substantial walls, boundary shrubs and some trees to the south and west.

The garden of the existing house is large (six acres including woodland) and the introduction of a new dwelling does not increase the density on the plot to more than the density of any nearby residential property.

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The proposal has a minimal physical and visual impact upon its surroundings and is located sensitively in reference to past human activity:

By locating the building on the site of the former green house within the garden of the existing house, and on the site of the permitted garage and workshop, the proposal minimises its visual and physical impact, both within the garden and beyond.

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By ‘digging the building into’ the bank of former quarry spoil, most of its bulk is contained within the existing land form.

By aligning the building along the former boundary of the quarry the proposal respects the past history of the site and minimises its footprint on the former kitchen garden which is now mostly an informal lawn.

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Landscaping�

ESTABLISHED WOODLAND SUrrOUNDINg SITE

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Regard for distinctive landscape features

The built form of the house responds to the steep bank that forms the northern edge of the proposed site by burying into it and connecting the roof to the top of the bank.

The garage is also buried into the ground but with a grass roof on the same angle as the ground.

The arrangement of house and garage and adjacent landscape interpret and reflect the prevailing topography.

The use of local stone in the design reflects both the underlying geology and the presence of the nearby quarry from which it will be sourced.

The use of timber to clad the buildings reflects the proximity of the quarry woodland from which it will be sourced.

Supplementary landscaping

Boundary walls will be consolidated and improved to respond to proposed level changes around the amended access.

An informal natural indigenous hedge (blackthorn) will be planted along the boundary against the lane.

An informal shrub border will be planted along the western boundary reinforcing the separation of the drive to Hierons Wood and the lawn of the proposed house and shielding garden features from the public footpath to the west of the drive.

An informal low evergreen shrub boundary will be created at the top of the bank, extending the current hedge line (but less formally) to protect the privacy of Hierons Wood.

Young indigenous trees will be added to the woodland area to increase the diversity alongside an ongoing woodland management removing sycamores to encourage the regeneration of natural beech.

Amenity space

The proposal includes for:

The creation of a private parking and arrival area.

A patio/barbeque area and lawn.

Balcony and terrace.

A clothes drying area.

Small kitchen and fruit garden for home grown produce.

An area of woodland for ecology and supply of wood for the stove.

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Access and Parking�

Existing access location

Access to the site is located where the current maintenance access to the former kitchen garden is located, but, in response to the request of a neighbour, changed in orientation to face down, rather than up the lane to restrict views into the site.

Arrival area for disabled car access

The access then leads to an arrival area containing:

Space for drop-off and pick-up.

Parking for two visitors’ cars with generous egress space.

Maneuvering space to access the underground double garage.

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Access at grade

There are two access routes from the arrival area.

The first leads up the steps to the upper ground floor.

The second is at grade, through the wall and the garden, to the utility door of the house at lower ground level, giving access to the lower hall.

The main stair linking upper and lower ground floors is extra wide to allow for a chair lift in the future.

The terraces allow direct access from the upper ground floor and the mezzanine to the open air.

The garage is sunk into the ground with its roof at the same level as the sloping woodland floor behind.

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Appendices


June 2013

To whom it may concern

RE: The Energy Plus House

This development project promises an exemplar eco house for the 21st Century, to complement and

enhance its distinctive village setting.

There is a strong pattern in the village of natural stone garden walls defining terraces of landscape,

with individual dwellings cascading down the hillside, yet forming a coherent whole. The proposed

Energy Plus House responds well to this, helping to define and reinforce this strong village identity

through careful siting and response to the distinctive topography of the site. The result is a building

form that will blend seamlessly with new and existing garden walls, settling itself calmly and

comfortably into the landscape.

The proposed house takes full advantage of the site’s sloping southerly aspect and far reaching views

across the valley, whilst harnessing the power of the sun to meet demand for electricity and hot water,

in a modest and unfussy manner.

This is a building which embodies both proven and emerging green technologies alongside passive

energy saving measures. The design embodies the principles of ‘fabric first’, through the creation of a

highly insulated, breathable building, constructed using local materials and harnessing local resources

and craft skills.

As well as making a positive contribution to the ‘grain’ of the village, the house responds with

sensitivity to the ‘secret’ nature of its immediate context, with the mature trees and woodland setting

contributing to a subtle sense of concealment and discovery on approaching the site.

Not only does the Energy Plus House create highly appealing spaces for living in an attractive

landscape setting, it will provide a live, working model for research into low energy crafts based

technologies, bringing far reaching benefits and rethinking accepted approaches to local housing

design.

The Energy Plus House is an innovative design of exceptional quality - not because it trumpets

advances in green technology, but because it embraces and embodies them in a polite and well

mannered solution that is truly contextual. Yours sincerely/faithfully

Chris Twomey BA (hons) Dip Arch RIBA

Managing Director

for Lathams

dd: 01332 546 247

e: [email protected]

Appendix A - Commentary from ExpertsA

rEvIEW By CHrIS TWOMEy, CHAIr Of THE DESIgN COUNCIL CABE EAST MIDLANDS DESIgN rEvIEW PANEL

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A

rEvIEW By JULIAN MArSH, MArSH grOCHOWSkI


The discussion of whether to use insulation in the accepted sense of modern materials (such as polystyrene, polyurethance, polyisocyanurate, and phenolic foam) versus more breathable materials (such as sheep’s wool or cellulose-based fibre) is probably vital to our future health.

The core of this discussion is the concept of a breathable wall. At the basis of this is the concept of hygrospicity, the ability of materials to absorb and release water vapour.

A human example

Perhaps this can best be understood by considering the upland shepherd.

Does he choose to wear tweed trousers and jacket, and a tweed overcoat with a shoulder mantle, all made of wool, that when it rains will get wet, but as he walks his body heat will warm the wool so that the water evaporates off keeping the inside dry even whilst the outside is wet? This was the clothing that Mallory’s team climbed Everest in.

Or does he wear a plastic mac which will keep the rain out but which also keeps the human water vapour (perspiration) in, causing the inner clothing to become wet?

Modern activity garments address this by using breathable fabric to wick the water vapour from perspiration away from the body.

How our buildings perform

Most of the current techniques for sealing and insulating buildings to reduce energy consumption adopt the ‘plastic mac’ approach with various devices to ventilate the inside and capture the exhaust heat.

Buildings are like people in that they need to be active and in good health to function adequately. In homes, humans create a very great deal of vapour of the warm, moist variety, via the constant boiling of kettles for that essential cup of tea, boiling pans of vegetables, the drying of clothes and the current obsession with showers and extreme cleanliness. Compare this to the lifestyle of our ancestors in stone, cob, or timber houses or even the up-market Victorian Villa. Heating was via one source: an open fire provided with a large chimney. A great deal of the moisture from cooking and clothes drying, plus boiling of kettles and pans over the open fire, sent water vapour up the central stack (the ideal passive stack ventilation), and in all events the stack enabled at least four air changes an hour whilst the fire was in place.

All this water vapour can be deposited as interstitial condensation if the temperature of the wall itself is low, causing the water vapour to rain out. The higher the wall temperature the further outwards the water vapour will travel. It is fair to say that the warmer the room, the more water vapour will be held in the air (warm air holds more moisture than cold air), and the more chance it then has to permeate outwards through a wall or ceiling. In addition, the warmer the room, the more warmth will be held in the wall, and this in turn will encourage water vapour to avoid condensing within the wall structure.

The conflict

This unfortunately creates an immediate conflict with modern building regulations, which demand that heat should be kept in rooms with maximum insulation. In essence, there is a conflict between modern insulates which discourage permeability but retain heat, and the need to transmit water vapour in order to control internal environments.

B Appendix B - The Breathable Wall and the use of Hemp

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Wicking the moisture away

The rate by which materials adjust to changes in humidity is a powerful tool in the buffering of peak humidity in households where mornings are the time for multiple showers, for example. Baths and showers produce high relative humidity and consequently large volumes of water vapour held in warm air. The greater speed at which materials such as end-grain timber, unfired clay and natural fibres such as sheep’s wool can absorb water vapour and wick it away to the external atmosphere, the less chance there will be of silverfish and mould growths forming on cold surfaces such as tiles in kitchens or bathrooms.

Using natural fibre insulation to create a breathable wall

Escaping moisture penetrating natural fibre insulation will be transferred outwards, as will any internal moist air, thus controlling the internal humidity, avoiding moulds and improving air quality. Any moisture in the walls will be buffered by the insulation until external conditions are conducive to its removal by increased oxygen activity (wind). Joists and beam ends have a better chance of survival as any build up of moisture in the vicinity can escape internally as well as externally. (The system does rely on good internal ventilation). Most pertinently there is no condensation on the interface between the insulation and the wall.

High moisture levels can diminish thermal performance insomuch as the more water in a pore structure the less warmth can be trapped within it.

A rule of thumb is that the resistance to vapour diffusion on the inside must be five to ten times higher than the windproofing layer on the outside to give the vapour direction.

If insulation on the internal face of, say, thick stone walls is deemed to be necessary (there is a case to say it interferes with the role of the wall to act as a thermal store) then that insulation will need to be hygroscopic. The only way to achieve this is by using natural organic materials such as wool, wood fibre, strawboard, hemp, hemp plaster, or by using mineral plasters such as lime and clay. All of these materials act as a buffer zone to absorb excess internal moisture, releasing it only when ventilation conditions are favourable.

B


The performance of natural fibres

Natural fibres, including flax, hemp, sheep’s wool, and unadulterated wood fibre, have molecular structures that are in themselves are attractive to water molecules and thus eminently hygroscopic.

They also have good capillarity capabilities that enable them to dry quickly, not only insulating, but transferring moisture vapour outwards to the external atmosphere.

Wool and hemp rank the highest, followed by cellulose fibres, corkboard, vermiculite, foamed glass, wood fibre, and compressed straw.

Speed of hygroscopic take-up of water vapour:

Concrete: Slow

Cement render: Slow/medium

Hydraulic lime render: Slow/medium

unfired clay bricks: Medium

Fired clay bricks: Medium

Mineral wood insulation: Medium

softwood, transverse: Slow

softwood, end grain: Fast

Wood fibre board insulation: Fast

Cellulose insulation: Fast

Flax/hemp/sheep’s wool/hemp insulation: Fastest

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(Mau 2005)

Hemp insulation

Hemp, a non narcotic cannabis, is the acclaimed insulating material of the 21st century, which has been held back by an unjustified connotation with its sister drug-related form.

Hemp is very fast growing, maturing to a height of 4m (13ft) in around 100 days. This means that weeds have no chance to grow, so no herbicides or pesticides need be used.

Hemp batts are bound with a thermoplastic binder (polyoefin fibres) and treated with ammonium phosphate salts to provide fire and pest resistance, but despite this they have to be a better ecological option than a totally polymer based product. More pertinently they have none of the irritant factors associated with handling mineral fibres, and are hygroscopic providing a capability for buffering moisture.

Hemp is also available in a roll.

Hemp batts can be used for lofts, floors (though not ground floors) walls and ceilings, but not anywhere that is subject to prolonged exposure to water.

Appendix B - The Breathable Wall and the use of Hemp

B

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Hemp/lime composite

Hemp is fortunately now enjoying an unprecedented revival as a building material additive to lime to form Hempcrete or Limecrete, either made as blocks or as a render, providing a high degree of thermal insulation, as well as providing shrinkage.

Experiments have been made using hemp/lime composite in a mass form like cob (earth) cottages. This creates a unique combination of a wall with high insulation properties (ie. stopping heat from escaping) and high thermal mass (ie. storing heat in winter and cooler air in summer thereby stabilising temperature variations).

The difficulties arising from the preliminary use of this method are:

The time it takes for a thick wall of hemp lime composite to dry out (up to two years to achieve its full strength).

Its shrinkage whilst it is drying out.

To compensate for this, hemp lime composite has been used en-masse with a timber frame carrying the load so that shrinkage will not affect the whole structure.

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Proposal

This proposal aims to test the extent to which hemp lime composite can be used as a loadbearing construction material, en-masse, and to test its ultimate strength, in order to minimise the use of timber in the wall construction of the lower ground floor.

B


Manufactured chemical-based insulation versus natural insulation materials and the effect on human health

Chemical based insulation

Polyurethane foam and other isocyanurate foams

Installers may well be at risk from volatile compounds. And the question must arise as to the vulnerability of occupants in this respect. During a fire the material will give of hydrogen cyanide gas.

rock wool, slag wool, and glass wool

These can cause extreme irritation to the skin, the eyes, and the respiratory passages. Sustained exposure can lead to bronchial problems. The production produces large amounts of waste, and involves the addition of phenol-formaldehyde resisn, silanes, and siloxanes.

Polystyrene foamDuring a fire it gives of both carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, as well as smoke.

Phenolic foam Phenols are known carcinogenic aromatic organic compounds.

Urea-formaldehyde foamEven small doses of formaldehyde can irritate eyes and mucous membranes. It is also registered as carcinogenic and can cause allergies.

Natural insulation

Hemp Hemp has none of the irritant factors associated with handling mineral fibres, and is hygroscopic providing a capability for buffering moisture. (see earlier for fuller description).

Wool

Probably the most healthy and renewable option on the face of the planet, the universal use of wool is hindered by its production and transport costs. It has a unique ability to absorb and release moisture, and is thus the most efficacious component of a breathing wall.

Even its ignition is not a problem as it is mineral treated against fire, and tends to melt as it moves away from the ignition sources and then self-extinguishes.

Sheep’s wool batts

‘Thermafleece’ is the most widely known of this product, which largely consists of wool but contains polyester reinforcement to create the batts. They are further treated against pests, fungus, and fire, this being essential as wool will degrade if subjected to saturation for a long period of time. They key feature with the wool batts is that they can absorb and release moisture without loss of thermal resistivity, and are less problematic with regard to interstitial condensation. They are also effective in reducing transmission of airborne sound.

Cellulose Known by its trade name Warmcell 100, the cellulose fibre is derived from waste newspapers and treated with fire retardant and biocides. It is blown into lofts and floor voids.

Appendix B - The Breathable Wall and the use of Hemp

B

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Corkboard

Another naturally grown material, corkboard is produced from the bark of the evergreen oak, Quercus suber. It has to be imported from Portugal, Spain and North Africa, so there is a sea-miles component to the equation. Although its production requires energy for the boiling of the material to encourage the granules to bond themselves together with their own resins, it is a renewable source provided the trees are well managed in the 10-12 years they take to grow their bark. Cork board can be used for flat roofs, in batt form, or as a loose fill material. Very popular in the 1970s as a decorative wall material, corkboard needs to enjoy a rebirth as a wall and floor insulation. It is naturally resistance to fungus and water penetration.

foamed glass

If made from scratch, using limestone and sand, foamed glass is very energy intensive. It is suitable for those existing traditional buildings where the floor needs to breathe, by virtue of using a crushed glass product in the sub-base of a Limecrete floor to resist rising damp.

Softboard Ideally it should be made from waste from other wood processes.

Woodwool

The most popular wood wool is Heraklith, made from wood shavings bonded not with cement but with magnesite. The wood shavings are waste, but the composite board is not capable of being recycled once it falls out of use.

Compressed strawboard/flaxboard

The material has huge potential as an insulator and can cope with vapour permeability (ideal for lining of breathing walls) and as thermal insulation for flat roofs, but not with any excessive moisture. In this respect it is very similar to wood fibre in that it is a cellulose product.

Wood fibreboards

Known by the trade name of Pavatex. Used as external wall insulation they give all the benefits of an external render in creating thermal mass, and because they store heat, condensation is avoided. Their best quality is that they allow moisture to pass from inside rooms to the outside, thus avoiding all the problems associated with vapour barriers. In addition, this same thermal mass provides for cooling in summer by delaying the peak of external daytime surface temperature permeating to the inside. A reduction of internal temperature of around 4C is possible, compared to structures with insulation to the same u-value, but with other forms of manufactured insulation.

Clay board Clayboard manufactured using clay, reed and hessian is reputed to have outstanding thermal and vapour diffusion properties, thus making it the ideal material for buffering moisture in bathrooms, for example.

B


Hypothesis

That sycamore is an abundant, invasive, quick growing, tree of low ecological value that reduces the biodiversity of semi naturalised woodland, and, whilst its timber is not as suited for construction as other hardwoods, it compares favourably with softwood, if it can be similarly treated.

The harvesting of sycamore from English woods would therefore increase the potential for biodiversity whilst providing a local source of sustainable timber with the minimum of carbon miles.

The ecological and biodiversity value of sycamore

“Sycamore has acquired a negative image with the public due to its invasive regeneration in urban and rural areas, the honeydew it sheds and the low level of biodiversity that it supports (Taylor 1985). This poor image has been associated with sycamore for more than three hundred years; Evelyn, in his seventeenth century publication Sylva described the sycamore with disdain due to the copious amounts of honeydew it secretes and the mess made by its decomposing leaves and stated “(sycamore) are to be banished from all curious gardens and avenues” (Evelyn 1662 - p121).

More recently sycamore has been an unpopular species with conservationists. A survey published in 1985 (Taylor 1985) of opinions of staff in Conservation organisations highlighted their antagonism with sycamore, with half of their departments wishing to eradicate sycamore from all habitats and the other half wishing to remove them from specific habitats. The main conservation issues in forestry in recent years has been concern regarding the invasiveness of sycamore in certain semi natural woodland types, and the perception that it only supports relatively low levels of biodiversity (Taylor 1985). One further factor is the status of sycamore as a naturalised exotic (introduced species) (Peterkin 2001).

One factor contributing to sycamores poor biodiversity value is the relatively small number of species of phytophagous insects it supports (Kennedy and Southwood 1984 - Table 1). The diversity of such insects on a tree pecies is largely explained by the... time it has been present in Britain. Although sycamore is widespread in Britain it only became common in the seventeeth and 18th centuries (Stern 1982) and there may not have been time for a diverse insect community to develop”.

Excerpt from a paper by Andrew Leslie, Senior Lecturer National School of Forestry.

Appendix C - SycamoreC

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Excerpt from table 1

Insect species (Phytophagous insects and mites found on trees)

Oak 423

Birch 334

Elm 124

Beech 98

Sycamore 43

(Kennedy and Southwood 1984)

“Seed strewing is its... fault, it bears a heavy seed crop every year, and if you leave a vigorous sycamore dominating your garden you must be ready to weed out thousands of seedlings annually”.

Collins Guide to tree planting and cultivation HL Edlin.

“Acer pseudoplatanus coppices freely – rotation is on a seven year cycle, compared to oak on a 30year cycle”.

Woodlands, J D Ovington

“Sycamore tolerates quite thick overhead shade for the first few years.

Sycamore shelterbelts should grow 18ft in 10 years and 40ft in 25 years – averaging 1ft 4inch (400mm) pa over 40 years”.

Shelterbelts and windbreaks. J M Caborn

(In more sheltered locations growth would be considerably greater over the same periods)

Sycamore wood

Sycamore is the largest of the European maples. It is a plain but attractive timber with a white to cream colour, which darkens to a gold colour over time.

Excellent working properties - Sycamore is easily worked, can be cut in any direction and produces an excellent finish. It also has excellent bending properties and can be easily stained which makes sycamore an excellent choice for furniture and internal joinery.

Uses of sycamore

Traditionally in Scotland, fine boxes for trinkets and snuff were made from sycamore wood, sometimes in conjunction with dark laburnum. The spectacular wavy grained or “rippled” sycamore is generally used for making musical instruments and very fine furniture.

It is used for parquet flooring and figured veneers.

Sycamore wood makes good quality household objects.

Clean, non-tainting properties - Its clean white appearance and smooth finish means that sycamore is ideal for use in food preparation areas like kitchen table tops, work tops and butchers’ blocks, rolling pins and bread boards (traditionally it was used for turned bowls, platters and tableware). Sycamore makes good butcher blocks and cutting boards. It also works well in traditional berry boxes, tobacco boxes and sugar barrels.

It is also used to make rollers for textile machinery because it is both hardwearing and never stains the cloth (Scottish Wood Ltd 2000).

Sycamore sees some limited use in making gardening and other household tools.

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C


Instruments

The low cost of sycamore makes it a good choice for piano backs and for the bodies of inexpensive mandolins and guitars. Instruments made from sycamore have an attractive, striking figure due to the wood’s interlocked grain. However, woodworkers may experience some trouble making instrument bodies from this wood, as it bends poorly.

Storage containers

Sycamore wood’s ease of cutting and boring makes it a good wood for many storage containers. This wood holds nails and screws well and is often used to build crates and boxes, packing cases and barrels. Sycamore is also sometimes used to make shipping pallets. This material has very poor resistance to decay, however, making it a poor choice for storage and shipping containers meant for use in wet or decay-promoting conditions.

Construction

Sycamore is a moderately dense hardwood, harder than pine and other softwoods but softer than heavy timber such as oak. It is lighter and easier to handle than many other hardwoods and is useful for rough boards or finer lumber for interior construction. Sycamore’s interesting interlocked grain makes it difficult to plane but produces attractive flooring, decorative veneer and panelling.

North American experience of building with sycamore (Anecdotal)

Build it green and let it dry, or buy a new drill and build it dry (it dries hard).

If you’re thinking about letting it dry, better stack and stick and weight it down good, and band it with load binders.

Quartersawn sycamore does not move very much, unless there is some type of defect in the board. It makes a nice floor.

I built one of my larger sheds (24x36) using mostly sycamore framing and I have not had any problem with warping.

Looks very good and holds up very well. Quarter sawed some for a customer about five years ago for his cabin and it still looks great. He told me he gets a lot of compliments on it and when he tells them it is sycamore they are amazed.

I have used some sycamore on projects like barns and yes, put it up green or you will be drilling every nail hole. My experience is it is still pretty heavy even when dried out some.

Appendix C - SycamoreC

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Wood properties of sycamore

Figure: Intermediate

Natural luster: Lustrous

Availability: Plentiful

Available as timber: Yes Only in small sizes: No Veneer: Yes

Bending strength: Moderate

Blunting of tool blades: Moderate

Carving: Good, easy to carve

Clear finish or varnish: Fair

Colour: Light Pink Brown

Contrast between growth rings: Diffuse Porous

Crushing strength: Moderate

Density: Moderate

Drilling: Very good

Fill before finishing: Does not require a filler

gluing: Average - Requires control

grain: Interlocked

growth ring pattern plainsawn: Faint growth ring

growth ring pattern quartersawn: Conspicuous growth ring stripe, ribbon or flake pattern

Hand tooling: Average

Hardness: Average

Harmful properties: Non toxic

Kiln-dried shrinkage: Moderate

Machine tools: Average

Mortising: Very good

Movement after drying: Moderate

Nail holding: Good - Nails are fairly difficult to pull out

Nailing: Good - Seldom splits wood

Natural durability: Perishable

Painting: Good

Planing: Fair

Polishing: Good

Pounds per cubic foot: 34

Reacts with iron fasteners or hardware: No

sanding: Rather difficult

sawing: High cutting resistance - Wood tends to bind or burn

screw holding: Fair - Screws are fairly easy to pull out

screwing: Good - Screwing seldom splits wood

shaping: Rather difficult

specific gravity: 49

staining: Good

steam bending: Good

stiffness: Moderate

toughness: Moderate

Weight: Moderate

Wood defects: Honeycomb (or collapse), ring check, warp

C

Conclusion

That experimenting with the use of sycamore in the construction of the house in the garden of Hieron’s Wood could open up a previously undervalued resource for the building industry whilst improving the biodiversity of our woodland habitat.


Appendix D - Potential Woodland Management Plan

D

THE WOODLAND IN SPrINg BEfOrE THE SyCAMOrES CrEATE HEAvy SHADE IN THE SUMMEr

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Introduction

The woodland is situated to the north and east of the existing house at Hieron’s Wood, Vicarage Lane, Little Eaton, Derby DE21 5EA which was built on the spoil arising from a former quarry abandoned in 1915.

The woodland extends to approximately five acres and is located with the confines of the former quarry and the spoil area at the front of the quarry.

The boundaries of the woodland

To the north and east the woodland is bounded by the original quarry faces, topped by a dry stone wall acting as a field boundary.

To the south-east it is bounded by the lane (public bridleway ) up to Park Farm. Another woodland extends beyond the bridleway around toward Eaton Hill further east.

To the south-west it is bounded by the garden to Hierons Wood, and, to the west by an adjacent paddock and an extension of the woodland continuing along Eaton Bank, further north west.

A public footpath passes through the western edge of the woodland.

Topography and soil

The topography of the quarry is uneven, with large stone faces remaining inside the quarried area, as well as uneven heaps of spoil, all of which have been colonised by trees. The quarry was served by a tramway which entered from the south, toward the eastern end, and penetrates on a northern axis, with an east west transverse in the heart of the quarry. Other than the public footpath, these two routes, plus a short access just within the northern boundary, are the only areas with a relatively even vertical alignment, and the only areas providing limited vistas within the woodland. Even from the top of cliff faces and internal spoil heaps it is not possible to see far into the woodland, even when trees are not in leaf.

The quarry face on the north and east is between 12 and 16 metres high, sheltering the woodland from north and east winds, There are a few trees along this boundary of the quarry, between the dry stone wall and the quarry edge - comprising mainly ash and sycamore, which shelter the trees within the quarry even more. This has encouraged the trees within the quarry to grow abnormally high, some up to 80ft, encouraging straight trunks, good for harvesting, even though the woodland has not been managed for this purpose.

The underlying geology is sandstone which is sometimes not far below the surface, however the majority is covered by spoil heaps of boulders stones and sand.

The soil which has been built up over the past hundred years primarily from leaf mould, is of variable depth, and is acidic.

As can be seen from the table of species, the woodland is predominantly sycamore although it is reported (from elders in the village) that the first colonisers were also birch and elm.

D


Previous management

There is no evidence of woodland management from the time the trees started colonising the site following the Great War, until the onset of Dutch elm disease which gave the woodland a semi derelict character. To address this, the current owner removed approximately 80 dead elms in 1984, and other species (beech, oak and birch) were planted, with the aid of a woodland grant, to fill the gaps left. Some of these have survived but most have been swamped out by the freely seeding, faster growing, sycamore.

Over subsequent years, two or three mature or extra-mature sycamores have been felled each year in slowly widening circles away from the existing house and garden. This has encouraged other species to thrive, primarily beech, birch and oak, which now make up most of the southern boundary of the woodland. This in turn has increased the variety of birdlife near the house, with, in recent years, the nesting of woodpeckers, owls and a sparrow hawk.

Some of the spoil heaps are covered in an undergrowth of bramble (Rubus sp) providing good ground cover. The woodland includes a badger set and foxes holes.

Current situation

There is no lack of variety of species in the woodland, but, as can be seen from the table of species, there is a lack of balance, with sycamore predominating. The lack of the sycamore’s ability to support much wild life limits the biodiversity of the woodland, and in particular the range of birdlife. The exception is the southern perimeter, primarily around the existing house, where the tree species are more varied.

Proposed management

A reduction in the number of sycamore trees and replacement with beech, oak and birch, would benefit the biodiversity of the woodland and encourage the variety and number of birds to increase.

There are currently 49 extra mature sycamores compared with a total of 19 other species, and 153 mature sycamores, compared with 61 other species. Removal of 30 extra-mature sycamores would equal the balance between sycamore and other species at this size, together with the removal of one third of mature sycamores (say 50) could provide space for the other species to grow whilst retaining the overall woodland cover.

There are a few dead trees. These should be retained as the dead wood supports a teeming insect life and increases the biodiversity of the woodland (except for three elm and two ash - all size B - which should be removed and burnt to reduce the spread of disease).

In compensation and in order to maximise the biodiversity it is proposed to kill five size B sycamores, by debarking a ring around the trunk and leaving them to die standing. (Standing dead trees support different insect and birdlife than lying dead wood).


D

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Sycamore removal

The removal of sycamore could be undertaken by two methods:

1. Clear felling selected small areas where sycamore grows almost exclusively

This will involve the felling and grubbing up of groups of adjacent sycamore, of all sizes in areas of between 20x20sqm and 30x30sqm, whilst retaining any other species (currently likely to be only small saplings and semi-mature specimens) in the heart of the woodland. This should then provide areas sufficiently large to allow other species to take root and thrive.

Each area would then be planted with either beech, oak or birch saplings (birch being used where soil cover is sparse).

Whilst these young saplings are establishing themselves a biennial regime of cutting back shoots from any remaining sycamore suckers would need to be continued for the first six years until the new trees become established (ie. three times) and thereafter at five year intervals (ie. up to 16 years) enabling the introduced species to become dominant.

2. selected felling of particular sycamores

This will be adjacent to areas with greater diversity of tree species, to enable the other tree species to compete in seeding and multiplying, aided by the planting of saplings of similar species to those occurring in that area.

Throughout those parts of the woodland not included in the small clear fell areas, care is to be taken to maintain the undercanopy species of cherry, elder, hawthorn, yew and holly. Rhododendron species need to be retained but without encouragement to spread as the deep shade cover they provide, discourages the growth of trees from seed (except possibly sycamore).

D


Table of species

Species A B C D

Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) 143 32 153 49

Elm (Ulmus glabra) 24 16 5 -

Beech (fagus sylvatica) 10 4 13 12

Oak (Quercus robur) 4 2 13 2

Ash (fraxinus excelsior) 9 7 4 3

Lime (Tilia cordata) 5 5 5 -

Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) 3 5 5 -

Sweet Chestnut (Castinea sativa) 3 1 1 2

Birch (Betula alba) 8 7 2 -

rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) 10 7 7 -

Whitebeam (Sorbus aria) 3 1 - -

Cherry (Prunus avium) 2 3 2 -

Hazel (Corylus avellana) 1 - - -

Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) 6 3 4 -

Elder (Sambucus nigra) 4 3 - -

yew (Taxus baccata) 2 1 - -

Holly (Ilex acquifolium) 20 2 - -

rhododendron (rho. ponticum) 13 4 - -

Key

A = small - up to 0.5m girth - (measured at 1.4m above ground)

B = semi mature - 0.5 - 1m girth

C = mature - 1.0 - 1.5m girth

D = extra mature - over 1.5m girth (average approximately 2m girth)


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D

Resultant timber

The average mature tree (as classified above) if in perfect condition would yield around 15 cubic ft of timber and an extra-mature tree (as classified above) approx. 40 cubic ft*.

Harvesting 30 extra-mature trees would yield 30x40 cubic ft = 1200 cubic ft.

Harvesting 50 mature trees would yield 15x50 cubic ft = 750 cubic feet.

A total potential harvest of 1950 cubic ft.

Use of the timber

It is proposed to use the harvested sycamore for construction of the house within the garden of Hierons Wood.

Set out below is a worst case scenario for the extent of timber required:

An average ranch-style, three-bed house built entirely of conifer timber requires around 300 cubic ft*.

Assume the proposed house is around 50% larger, and as this is sycamore and not conifer there would be 25% wastage, then the proposed house could require twice this, ie. 600 cubic ft of timber, (even though it is not built entirely of timber, ie. hemp construction of lower ground floor, concrete retaining wall at the rear and timber glass cladding of the majority of the upper structure, this allows for the maximum timber that may be required).

*Calculations from method set out in “A Long Range Plan for Illinois Forest Reserve”. The Illinois Council on Forest Development. 1990.

Conclusion

A worst case scenario demonstrates that less than a third of the sycamore that would be ideally harvested to achieve a more balanced woodland would be required to construct the house proposed in the garden of Hierons Wood.

Derby St Michael’s, Queen Street Derby DE1 3SU t: +44 (0)1332 365777

London 70 Cowcross Street London EC1M 6EJ t: +44 (0)207 4900672

e: [email protected] w: lathamarchitects.co.uk

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