Newtown Works, Ashford, Kent

The landscape architecture of this unique place ‘Newtown Works’ takes reference from the historic railway uses, including maintenance of locomotives. Our designs would create a wide range of public spaces, to facilitate everything from larger gathering events to more private and intimate outdoor dining or sheltered reading spaces that are located away from the main flow of pedestrian traffic, providing respite amongst lush planting and beneath tree canopies.

The exciting proposals will provide a new urban network of spaces for residential, commercial, health, and the creative industry, specifically a film studio. Our design also considers factors such as wind, plant diversity, and desire lines. The proposals are playful but not overstated. The banding within the façade of the locomotive shed is extended into the paving, and the design maintains the long, focused views along the tracks, emphasising the space’s scale. The raised planters of trees are a playful nod to the carriages that would once have been here and emphasise the linearity of the space.

Our work included:

• Design a landscape scheme for the communal, public and private areas
• Townscape and Visual Impact Assessment for EIA: undertake fieldwork from across the study area to capture a range of close, mid and long-distance views for the site and agree on viewpoints with the LPA prior to undertaking the assessment.
• Attendance at public consultation events and review panels
• Verified views

The proposals aim to honour and build upon the site’s distinctive history, while also captivating the interest of those who may use it in the future. The project was granted planning in April 2020.