Stuart Henderson

The housebuilder said it is at the forefront of a step-change in the design of the communities in which its newly designed homes will be launched.

The most ambitious and comprehensive re-design of its homes range in the company’s history will generate sales of £300 million across its developments in Scotland and North West England, with a further £250m of house sales in the pipeline over the next two years.

The new designs, which cater for the changing needs of families now and in the future, are more elegant, spacious and functional, taking account of the increasing demand for flexible space, indoors and outdoors; a growing trend following the coronavirus-imposed lockdowns.

To be launched on the majority of its planned developments across the UK this year, the new homes complement the housebuilder’s recently adopted design framework for creating distinctive and desirable new communities that are “great places to live”. These design standards of excellence, shaped by Stewart Milne Homes’ design and planning teams have been informed by extensive market research, best practice and creativity in place-making.

Stuart Henderson, group product and design director at Stewart Milne Homes, said: “We were undertaking a comprehensive design review of our homes before the pandemic. The enforced lockdown has brought into sharp focus the design and functionality of our homes and accelerated the process. Unveiling our new designs at a time when our customers need and expect more from their homes gives us a competitive advantage.

“Following extensive customer research, we set out clear design principles which are at the heart of every new design. These are: simple elegance, supremely functional and appealing. Our design teams reviewed how people move around and use their home, examining what they do in each room and what they need as a result. This has shaped the new lay-outs which are much more functional, including utility rooms with sinks, showers as standard in all family bathrooms, direct access into gardens from kitchens and utility rooms, larger windows and options for a home office on the ground floor, as well as better usable space throughout.”

Mr Henderson has also been involved in developing a design framework of excellence for the layout of new developments, including the design of streets, landscaping, as well as formal and informal green spaces.

‘Delivering Successful Streetscapes’ is the housebuilder’s own new, high standards for creating individual, well-designed communities. The aim is for every new Stewart Milne Homes development to have special or unique features which reflect local characteristics and surroundings and make the new community immediately memorable and desirable with pleasant, landscaped areas.

Mr Henderson explained: “As developers, we have a responsibility to ensure that what we build has a positive and life-enhancing effect on those who live there. Our approach to new developments means that we will leave a legacy we can be proud of with places that have soul, individuality and character, shaped around the way people live.”

The Stewart Milne Homes design framework sets out its approach to elements such as the structure and layout of a development, the attention to landscaping and boundaries, the choice of materials, landmarks and features in relation to the natural landscape and existing surroundings.

It explores how paths, streets and landscape connect people to neighbouring homes, the rest of the community and the wider landscape.