We have submitted plans for a 125-unit integrated retirement community located on the western edge of the village of Dore, Sheffield, close to the edge of the Peak District. It is the latest in a series of successful scheme designs on behalf of Inspired Villages as we continue to assist in driving their development pipeline forwards.

The proposal seeks to redevelop the former Dore Moor Garden Centre to create an integrated retirement community that provides accommodation for the over 65s. Given the site’s location on the periphery of Dore and its close association with the Peak District, our design for the village necessitated a visual identity that is consistent and integrates wholly into its surroundings. There are three main types of building found within the scheme, the village centre, the village apartment buildings and the cottages. A common architectural language has been developed that can be found across all three types and which takes cues from the design principles found within Dore and the wider Peak District. Key materials, such as stone, have been used sparingly, applied to the main façades of key buildings or in locations where elements of buildings terminate key vistas.

Due to the site’s location, Inspired Villages identified a need for additional parking for residents, staff and visitors. Although a constrained site, our masterplan ingeniously seeks to maximise its potential by taking advantage of the substantial level changes, with the village centre being reconfigured to provide a level of undercroft parking at its base to accommodate the required number of parking spaces.