‘Upside down’ family homes planned for York

A terrace of eight ‘upside down’ houses could be built near York city centre.

Plans have been submitted for the family homes to be constructed in Layerthorpe, on the site currently occupied by WLD Textiles at the end of Lansdowne Terrace.

The design of the houses put the living rooms on the first floor, looking out on to garden decks.

Bedrooms would be on the ground floor and parking spaces hidden underneath the gardens.

The planning application, submitted by Jacksons Roofing, says:

• The design of the internal floor plans of the houses was primarily led by the concept of creating ‘upside-down’ houses with the main living spaces at first floor level.

  There was a desire to create generous sized living spaces that reflect the needs of modern families.

  The bedrooms are spacious, and we have allowed for bathrooms or WCs for each floor, including some en-suites to give flexibility as families grow and change.
  

Two parking spaces

The proposals feature two three-bed houses, five four-bedroom homes and one two-bedroom house.

Each would have two parking spaces.

A statement says: “The vision for the site aims to create new family homes as part of a wider sustainable community.

“The design brief for the project was to create eight new dwellings which are a complementary addition to the surrounding built environment in place of existing industrial use buildings, which are in a poor state of repair and not suitable for the current use.”

The applicants admit the space is tight but say they will “use the full potential of the site without sacrificing the comfort of the future occupants or neighbours”.

And they add that earlier plans look at turning the site into student accommodation, but they later decided to redevelop the land for family homes.