Doddington Estate

The Doddington Estate and Assael Architecture win appeal for Cheshire residential plans



The Doddington Estate and Assael Architecture have won an appeal to develop multiple rural housing sites around the Grade I-listed Doddington Hall in Nantwich, Cheshire.


The outline consent, which has taken 13 years to secure, includes 112 new homes, distributed over 12 separate sites.

Assael’s designs for the conversion of the hall into a 120-room hotel were granted consent in 2016.

The development will comprise a new-build annex with spa facilities and a walkway that connects the hall with new guest suites within the converted stable block.

The plans also include the refurbishment of the Grade II-listed park and gardens.

The planning inspectorate opted to approve the residential scheme, as it believes the development’s benefits outweigh any harm it would cause.

The team which will work on the development consists of:

  • J10 Planning as planning consultant
  • Iceni Projects as heritage consultant
  • Paul Mew Associates as highways consultant
  • RPD as archaeological consultant
  • Barnes Walker as landscape architect
  • Kingdom Ecology as ecology consultant
  • Tree Solutions as arboricultural consultants
  • Clayton Property as client representative and surveyor
  • Ellis and Moore as structural engineer
  • EDC as services engineer

Aaron & Partners will be the solicitors for this project, while Rees Mellish will be the project and construction manager.

John Assael, chairman and co-founder of Assael Architecture, said: “The Doddington Estate buildings and surrounding lands are a heritage asset of exceptional importance, and, for many years, Assael has contributed to the long-running efforts of the estate’s owners to stabilise and reverse a decline in the estate.

“After a long but ultimately successful journey, this positive result will help secure the long-term future of the historically important Grade I-listed Doddington Hall and its associated heritage assets that also include Grade II listed stables, a star barn and model farm, an imposing pele tower, and even a cage that once housed a pet Himalayan bear.”

Lady Rona Delves Broughton, owner of Doddington Hall, commented: “I am grateful to the inspector for upholding the appeal and to my fantastic team for the hard work done over many years.

“It is with considerable relief that this decision means that the hall and associated heritage buildings can now be restored and put to use.”



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