**Please note: DBCP provided building control services for this project before 1 October 2023. Under the current building safety regime, DBCP acts as a regulatory body. We can assess plans and building work for compliance with the Building Regulations, but cannot provide design advice or recommend construction solutions. Responsibility for demonstrating compliance rests with the client, designers and contractors.**
Matlock Spa development is a challenging redevelopment of the former Cawdor quarry site, on the edge the Peak District National Park, designed by London based architects David Morley Architects (DMA) for site owners, Rifkind Associates.
The site is vast and varied, boasting a topography of cliff faces, lakes and open fields of flood plains fronting onto the Derwent Valley Heritage Trail, plus a Site of Special Scientific Interest with derelict historic machinery and warehouses.
The development is a series of ‘spa’ villages bringing new life to the former Quarry, which was abandoned in the 1950s and is located within the Derbyshire Dales. The scheme is all about regeneration and creating a long-term legacy.
Speaking in The Architects’ Journal, Charles Rifkind, founder, Rifkind Associates, said: “At Matlock we saw an opportunity to demonstrate a bold alternative to the identikit housing estates seen all over the UK, where directors and shareholders so often drive down quality and longevity in favour of excessive short-term profits. We took over the site in 2001 and spent a long time unlocking complex legal issues and working out how the remediation of Cawdor Quarry could be made viable. An excellent working relationship with Derbyshire Dales District Council helped unlock the current masterplan.”
As Derbyshire Dales District Council’s recommended provider of building control services, DBCP was the natural choice to work alongside main contractor on Phase 1 of the Matlock Spa development – Gateway Spa and part of Crescent Spa.
Phase 1 consists of 58 luxurious home dwellings, comprising three four-storey apartment blocks and 15 houses. With a view to future energy efficiency measures, air source heating was also installed in the houses.
Due to the nature of the site an engineered solution was required for the buildings’ foundations. Adam Normington, DBCP’s experienced building control surveyor who oversaw the project, explained: “Foundations are obviously crucial to any building development, and at Matlock Spa they used a technique called Vibro piling which reduces settlement and provides an adequate bearing stratum for the building’s foundation.”
Having the apartments within the development also meant there was a heavy emphasis on compartmentation and fire resistance and the use of non-combustible materials on the façade.
Ensuring that all fire safety measures were correctly put in place, Adam worked closely with the Construction Site Managers, Edward Dakin and Rob Osborne, and Design Manager David Liew as well as Project Architect Karol Quinn of DMA.
Working collaboratively from the project outset ensured DBCP could advise accordingly and prevent any major issues, from occurring during the project build phase.
Adam explained: “We worked really well with both the architects and the contractors on this first phase to ensure that the buildings within this development were future-proofed, particularly in relation to fire and fire hazards.
“DBCP’s pre-application planning advice provides a proactive approach to building regulations and we always advise clients to contact us sooner rather than later to mitigate any future risks or problems with building design.”
The eventual five-phase scheme will redevelop Cawdor’s post-industrial landscape into a picturesque new town. Once completed, the five new villages will boast their own distinctive character and be arranged in a series of crescents, woodland lodges, courtyard cottages and villas, all built out of the same natural stone and slate, bringing consistency across all of the dwellings.
DBCP is now working on the next stage of the development, Matlock Spa Lofts, which is due for completion in 2022.
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