Originating in Dorset just after WWI, CG Fry focuses on sensitive new residential developments in the south west, probably best known for their work in Poundbury with the Duchy of Cornwall.
With a reputation for combining traditional craftmanship with the creation of sustainable communities that sit comfortably alongside historic market towns and villages, we are proud to have worked with them on a number of schemes in some of our favourite counties – Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire. Many of the team at Macgregor Smith hail from these counties, so an added sense of responsibility and pride has woven its way through our work on these schemes.
Set in a valley near the Blackdown and Quantock Hill, the new homes at Jurston Fields embrace the local Somerset character through their materiality and detailing, with the landscape scheme retaining sections of the historic Jurston Lane and providing new community orchards and a hilltop park.
Our work played an important role in creating a green heart to the scheme, with mature trees retained throughout and new homes fronting out over public green spaces, fostering a sense of community and encouraging neighbours to stop and chat.
New pedestrian and cycle routes have been created alongside Jurston Fields and 7 hectares of publicly accessible woodland were planted ahead of the development to support dormice and to provide a wild and natural space for walks and recreation on people’s doorsteps.
Stoke Meadow in the historic Wiltshire town of Calne is set close to the North Wessex Downs National Landscape, and on the edge of the historic Bowood Estate. The landscape design aims to make the most of the sloping nature of the site with ‘The Lookout’ village green providing space for socialising and community events looking out over the wider setting and further afield to the Marlborough Downs.
Large areas of the Stokes Meadow site have been dedicated to wildlife, with existing hedgerows and meadows retained and new meadows and swales weaving through the spaces.
Our designs have really focused on providing opportunities for children to play amongst these natural landscapes on their doorstep. A mature avenue of splendid oaks line a bridleway running along the length of the site, allowing residents to walk along this beautiful route either east towards the town or west out towards the historic parkland of the Bowood Estate.
At Kingston Farm, just down the road from us in Bradford On Avon, we worked with CG Fry and Ben Pentreath Architects to craft a new community that nestled into the historic town, with the site on the edge of the Conservation Area surrounding The Hall, a listed building set within a Grade II Registered Historic Garden.
The buildings are eclectic mix of traditional Bath stone Georgian buildings, contrasting with stone-built apartments which draw on the town’s heritage in the 17th and 18th century as an important centre for woollen mills.
Green spaces weave through Kingston Farm, focusing around retained mature trees, with a central village green, orchard areas and incidental play opportunities spread throughout the streets and open spaces.
We also designed the adjacent allotments, with a communal barn for the allotment holders to meet, socialise and store their equipment. Our work here also covered a new hi-tech manufacturing unit for the leading automotive R&D company AB Dynamics, which has allowed the famous Moulton Bicycle Company to bring their manufacturing, and associated jobs, back to the town.
The team
Meet the designers, innovators and specialists who brought the Homes in the South West story to life.
