Shipston Road
By: BACA Architects
In 2020, London-based practice BACA Architects completed an award-winning, flood-resilient housing development near the historic centre of Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. Located within Flood Zones 2 and 3, as designated by the Environment Agency (EA), the brownfield site had lain dormant for over a decade, deemed undevelopable by many developers. BACA applied the LifE (Long-term initiatives for flood risk environments) approach that was developed for Defra, of which the Environment Agency were a major stakeholder, to unlock the site for a premium development of new homes. Thus, converting flood risk from a deal-breaker to a design driver.
The scheme comprises 11 high-quality homes, including both detached and terraced properties, arranged around a sumptuous landscape of private and communal garden spaces. The landscaped setting comprises rain gardens, swales, and permeable terraces that work collectively to manage surface water, reduce runoff, and keep water away from the new homes. In a major flood event, the homes and cars will remain safe and dry.
Internal roads rise gently by 1.1 meters from the site entrance to the housing plateau, with the western edge acting as a safe haven during flood events while providing public connectivity, featuring elevated pedestrian and cycle routes. All 11 dwellings sit on discrete concrete piles, screened by louvres at ground level to allow flood waters to pass beneath.
Despite planning constraints of maintaining existing ridge heights, like the 1960s flatted scheme that it replaced, the houses are generous in their proportions and provision of external amenity. The scheme was unanimously approved at the Planning Committee and welcomed by Councillors for ‘its progressive approach to unlock a difficult site’. Now built, the scheme sold quickly with homeowners drawn to the generous landscapes and high-quality build. And the project is cited by the EA as an exemplar scheme.
This development sets an important precedent, demonstrating that flood-prone sites within cities and towns can provide safe, environmentally conscious, and well-designed housing. Avoiding expansion into the green belt while alleviating pressure on downstream sites, there is excellent potential to unlock underused/contaminated land by approaching the design with resilience in mind.
Shipston Road received a special mention the Housing Design Awards for its forward-thinking approach.
We are proud to feature and promote in our architecture magazine Shipston Road – 11 flood-resilient homes in Stratford
