St Ebbas, Epsom

Client: Crest Nicholson and Linden Homes

Role: Masterplanning, Urban Design and Environmental Consultancy

St Ebbas Hospital is one of three sites incorporated in the Epsom Hospitals Cluster competition run by English Partnerships.

The masterplan will provide 322 new homes; over 30 percent of the new homes will be reserved for keyworkers and social housing. This initiative is in line with the government targets for providing affordable homes in the area. As part of the commitment to design and build the development to a high environmental standard, 20 percent of energy will be generated from onsite renewable sources. Many of the existing trees are retained which form the layout and will be supplemented with new tree planting to create the tree lined avenues and squares which are a strong feature of the design.

The Grade II listed Victorian water tower and the original administration building are to be retained and sympathetically restored and converted to provide a historic reference to the development. These buildings combine with the contemporary architecture of the adjacent new build apartment buildings to create a new entrance square from where a double tree lined avenue will lead away from, providing access to all parts of the site. In addition, one of the existing ward buildings in the centre of the site will be retained and converted which faces onto the central green spine. The architecture for the new build houses and apartment buildings is bold and responds to the high aspirations of the English Partnerships Development Brief and the Quality and Price Standards.