We have been working with the Birling Estate since 2017 on an estate masterplan, and this scheme represents the first significant project to emerge from this exercise. It will create a new health and wellbeing centre within a dilapidated historic walled garden on the site of the now demolished Birling Manor.

The scheme will provide treatment and therapy rooms, with a larger meeting space, all linked to a new café. Surrounding these new facilities will be a therapeutic and medicinal garden by Marian Boswall Landscape Architects, with additional sheltered outdoor spaces for therapy sessions, yoga and meditation.

The site is set within the Metropolitan Greenbelt and obtaining planning permission was challenging. We worked with the planning consultant Kevin Wise to generate a ‘Special Circumstances’ argument relating to the restoration and renewal of the existing heritage walled garden, by finding a viable use for the entire site.

The beautiful landscape design sketches above are by Marian Boswall Landscape Architects.