Waterstone Park

Character

A careful transition between the older neo-vernacular and this new phase ensures a degree of homogeneity, achieved through the use of a similar facing brick on the most prominent parts of the development and a similar range of building envelopes.

The diversity of housing, from three-storey apartment blocks through three and two storey houses of various plan forms, has been carefully disposed to take advantage of the views from this hilltop site. The best are northwards across the Thames and west towards the Dartford Bridge, but there are also long views east towards hilly ground across the Ebbsfleet Valley and St Clement’s Way, and south across Bluewater’s dramatic roofscape.

Legibility within the scheme is enhanced by higher buildings - apartments and three-storey houses - next to larger open spaces and at the corners of blocks. Public and private space is clearly distinguished, all dwellings having private open space, with ground level gardens for houses, and generous balconies running the whole width of some apartments. Certain three-storey houses have first and second floor balconies in addition to private gardens.

On street care has been taken to provide an interface between private space at ground level and the public space beyond. House fronts in the two courtyard mews are immediately at the back of the pavements but there will be few pedestrians on these routes. Parkland and children’s playgrounds have been created on the crest of the hill with the best views, adjoining Stone Castle’s landscaped grounds. Care was taken in the design of the apartment block nearest to the castle, currently used as a conference centre, to produce a lighter effect than in other blocks, through the use of steel balconies across the whole elevation.

Roads, parking and pedestrianisation

A single street winding up the hill from a traffic light junction on London Road, gives access to most of the scheme. From this a series of loops and two mews courts lead to the rest of the dwellings. Parking provision is very generous, which is realistic given the site’s location, houses having on-plot parking. Some have 300% parking with port/garage for two cars in tandem and one vehicle space in front of this.

Garages where provided are wide and set well back behind the general building line so vehicles parked in front do not intrude on the street façade; there is also street parking. Apartment buildings have rear parking courts whose configuration sometimes results in cars being parked very close to ground floor windows. With the exception of the two courtyard mews all streets have been adopted by Kent County Council.

Design and construction

The large windows and generous balconies of all houses and apartments contrast favourably with small windows in the neo-vernacular earlier phase, producing a lighter more contemporary style. Masonry load-bearing walls and timber or precast concrete floor beams have been used in the development.

Modern methods of construction were considered but did not prove economically feasible. Eco Homes standards of insulation have been achieved while fulfilling building regulations current at the time approvals were granted.

Textured yellow facing brick of facades of the units on the outside of the block are reminiscent of London Stocks and echo the materials of the earlier housing while mews houses introduce a palette of red, white and blue rendered walls. Roofs are often visible because of the sloping site and use a variety of coverings - artificial slate, standing seam aluminium and single-ply sheet on larger span monopitch roofs.

Larger houses have through living rooms on the ground floor, opening onto a conservatory, and four bedroom units have three bathrooms and a cloakroom with WC. These very high levels of provision seem to have been achieved at the cost of internal storage space.

Environment and community

Although the huge Bluewater shopping centre is less than ¼ mile away as the crow flies, there is no practical way of getting there except by car, since the only footpath is steep, isolated and runs steeply downhill after which Bluewater Parkway and surface car parking have to be crossed. Bluewater was planned to be dependent on vehicle access and has no pedestrian links to its surroundings.

Having very well-designed enclaves like Waterstone Park with no connections to the locality is not uncommon but seems particularly acute in the Thames Gateway, and only a coherent urban design strategy can rectify this problem. There is a supermarket ½ mile from the scheme, with bus routes on the London Road, and Stone Crossing Station, with services to Charing Cross, is 10 minutes walk from the north of the site. From the highest point of the site the nearest primary school is 15–20 minutes’ walk.