St Mary's Island

As its name suggests, the Fishing Village has been designed to evoke a simpler time when communities were industry specific and more tightly knit. This has been achieved visually by imposing a reinterpretation of a traditional vernacular throughout, using typical architectural detailing. Bold colours, timber cladding and steeply pitched roofs style the site as a seaside village. The layout of homes in relation to the streets emulates the accumulative development of a village built over a longer period of time. The buildings offset each other and follow an organic free form pattern whilst also reaching the government regulation density threshold.

The whole of St Mary’s Island is pedestrian friendly. The Fishing Village is networked with distinct footpaths and cycle-ways separated by plant-filled borders. An effort has been made to minimise car presence. The layout of the roads on the site is organic and largely based on cul-de-sacs. The scheme’s three largest apartment complexes are built in a horseshoe shape that wraps along the river frontage. Cars can then be parked within courtyards, away from the streets and riverside walkways, or partly hidden-away in undercrofts beneath the buildings. In some situations the parking courtyards and cul-de-sacs create large dead-ends. All the houses have at least one off-street parking space, one standing free and larger properties also have garages.

Environmental considerations were paramount in PCKO Architect’s treatment of the scheme, which has received a ‘Good’ rating from BRE’s Eco-Homes standard. The bespoke window frames, which ensure high levels of insulation, and low emissive glazing, have enabled the Fishing Village to achieve top ratings in the SAP (Standard Assessment Procedure). Further energy saving has been ensured through the installation of dual flush toilets, spray taps and low-voltage down-lighters inside the houses, and the orientation on the site, which allows for passive solar gain and shelter from prevailing winds. Rainwater harvesting has been maximised on the larger properties: all have been fitted with 3000L storage tanks beneath their driveways. Light pollution has been controlled on the riverside walkways with low level lighting bollards and all outside planting has been chosen specifically for its ability to live without watering.

The Fishing Village has a well developed infrastructure designed to promote community integration. A regular bus service serves the island and provides links to nearby towns, although all amenities are within easy walking distance from even the furthest reaches. The community is fully wired so as to allow a third of the population to work from home: structured cabling is fitted as standard with various levels of sophistication and capacity. There is no affordable housing in the Fishing Village scheme itself. The closest, managed by registered housing associations, are in neighbouring Countryside Maritime developments.