Extension to listed house, Botesdale, Suffolk

Beech Architects were successful in obtaining planning & listed building consent for a substantial extension to a listed cottage in Botesdale, Suffolk.

The proposal included the demolition of an existing modern flat roof side and rear extension which was not in keeping with the traditional building line or form.

The cottage forms part of the prominent street frontage overlooking the village square and we were keen to use the development to improve and enhance the village streetscape where possible and therefore were able to demonstrate to the planning authority that demolition of a non-original part of the building would be beneficial in this case.

The extension provides 2 storey accommodation with a new open plan family kitchen space and further bedroom and bathrooms to the first floor.

The project also involved extensive renovation works to repair the existing timber frame and apply new render covering to the whole property.

This involved stripping off the destructive cement render and replacing with 4 kilometers of traditional riven laths and lime render finish. The energy efficiency was also upgraded by application of sheeps wool insulation thus creating a breathable and sustainable construction with improved energy performance.