Orchard Gate

Ditton, Kent

Developer/Landlord	Elivia Homes Eastern (formerly Millwood Designer Homes)
Architect	BDB Design / Elivia Homes Eastern (formerly Millwood Designer Homes)
Engineer	Gary Gabriel Associates
Landscape Architect	Landscape Perspectives

Winner: Best Development, Evening Standard New Homes Award 2015
Winner: Best Medium Sized Development, Premier Excellence Awards 2015
High Commended: Best Family Home, Evening Standards New Homes Award 2015

Orchard Gate was built on the site of the former Ditton Laboratories which dated back to 1929. Elivia Homes (formerly Millwood Designer Homes) completely transformed the site on behalf of the East Malling Trust for Horticultural Research, replacing the unsightly redundant laboratory buildings with 35 individual homes in a rural, edge of village location. The principle aim of the scheme was to transform the site into a unique collection of homes, breathing new life into the area and it was important to the land owner that the development was a legacy they could be proud of.

The scheme was designed to appear as a hamlet that had organically grown over the past 300 years. An eclectic mix of architectural styles were chosen to reflect the vernacular of the area over past centuries, rather than appearing as a non-descript modern housing development. The use of reclaimed materials, a SuDS scheme incorporating both swales and a pond, allotments, as well as a comprehensive landscaping scheme interwoven with the retained orchards, assisted in creating a timeless setting for the homes.