Wed 04 Aug 2010
August 2010
Despite the recession we still have a steady trickle of new project enquiries, though most are small scale. Larger schemes are however also welcome!
Development of the old school at Lowgate near Hexham into two houses is progressing. The first house (Lowgate Old School) is complete and much admired, having featured in a two-page article in the Journal Homemaker. Work on the second house (Curlew Cottage) is well advanced.
Work at tender stage includes sensitive internal alterations to Holy Cross Church at Haltwhistle, a significant Grade I Listed C13 building, situated at the end of Eden’s Lawn, allegedly a corruption of the original Aidan’s Lonnen in the local dialect.
We are on site with a sedum-roofed extension to St Aidan’s church in Gosforth, dating from 1956, an environmental sustainability statement from an enlightened client group.
A re-ordering scheme for the Grade II listed St Albans Church, Windy Nook, Gateshead is starting on site shortly, as is a large house extension in the Tyne Valley, incorporating solar technology intended
A further phase of conversion of the listed CastleGate building in Newcastle starts on site next month, creating an exciting new entrance atrium with a tensile fabric canopy sail forming a ceiling in the 18 metre high space, part of a former turbine hall for the City’s electric tramways.
Work on the various churches we look after continues, with nine quinquennial inspections booked for this year. Michael has just been appointed to the Newcastle Diocesan Advisory Committee which advises on conservation and adaptation of church buildings across Newcastle and Northumberland.
Michael is also currently acting as client advisor to YHN (Newcastle’s social housing management company) on alterations to the Byker Redevelopment scheme, which he worked on in the 1970s, now listed (Grade II*). This throws up some interesting challenges, such as a total reconfiguring of Bolam Coyne, an iconic feature building in the Byker area, to meet changing housing needs.