Derwenthorpe, York

Client: Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Role: Masterplanning and Urban Design

A competition winning proposal for a new community of 540 homes on the edge of York, designed on sustainable development principles for the Joseph Rowntree Trust.

The vision shared by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the City of York Council was the creation of a new community which would take forward the valuable legacy of New Earswick, York, the model community built by Joseph Rowntree at the beginning of the 20th Century. They wanted a community designed to meet the challenges of the 21st Century, a community that would be sustainable and fit its surroundings, yet demonstrate flair and imagination.

PRP has designed a scheme in which the 540 mixed tenure homes will embody the best of all the latest technology. Timber frames (from renewable sources) and built-in devices such as efficient insulation and low water use services and appliances will maximise energy efficiency and minimise bills. A sustainable urban drainage scheme provides visual amenity. Walking and cycling is encouraged through the creation of an attractive and safe network of paths and cycle ways.

One third of the site remains as open space, and the power lines that currently bisect the site will be routed underground enhancing the visual quality of the countryside around. The new homes are grouped into four neighbourhoods each with their own character. Together they form an important transition between the built up edge of York and the countryside beyond.