BM3 Landscape worked with developers Orbit Homes and Galliford Try to develop the post-planning information for the 189 unit residential scheme at the Heart of Historic Stratford-upon-Avon. The mixed-tenure accommodation delivers 29 new houses, 58 general needs apartments, 102 extra care apartments and an element of retail space. The scheme also provides new open spaces and shared gardens, public amenities and commercial units.

The landscape design creates a delightful new public realm, which includes an entrance plaza adjacent to the main entrance, a community play space and pocket park, public café terraces and beautiful private gardens as well as a roof terrace to the extra care building. The entrance plaza, due to be completed in 2021, will carry a modern and clean design with attractive seating and paving, as well as a contemporary palette of robust perennial planting.

Completed in 2020, the pocket park offers a range of informal play opportunities, with a mix of hardy but colourful plants that offer seasonal interest. Meanwhile, the extra care elements enjoy access to beautiful communal gardens using a selection of shrubs and perennials that offer strong sensory experiences and require low-maintenance, as well as a range of herbs for use by residents.

The post-planning design phase presented a number of coordination issues and additional constraints not foreseen at pre-planning stages. The appointment, therefore, required a high degree of flexibility from our landscape design team to overcome various issues and ensure that the original design intent was preserved.