Appleby’s Bakery, Castle Street, Salisbury

The former Appleby’s bakery had functioned within a narrow site running back from Castle Street almost to the Avon, with a baker’s shop on the street itself. The closure of the business had left an opportunity for redevelopment, but not of the easiest sort, given the effective lack of vehicle access. Earlier permission for retention and conversion into housing of the buildings on the site, which were of the late C19th or early C20th, had not proved viable, and was succeeded by consent for part conversion and part rebuild. The judges felt that while other detailed choices might have been possible as to exactly what was kept, the broad thrust of the approach was a sensible one. The partial view from the south, over a wall, showed two new houses using a mix of retained brickwork and slate, and new cladding in timber and zinc, introducing a contemporary element into the group. Within the site itself, where the houses sit very close to the parallel listed terrace of Ivy Place, the approach chosen was particularly effective. The new units retain some of the sense of the old commercial development, while enjoying their own defined spaces, as private as is possible within this tight environment. The judges felt that given the constraints of the site, including what had clearly been a difficult construction process, the development was a very good example of how odd corners of the historic city could be utilised to maximise housing provision, and create something of visual interest in the process, reflecting credit on all those involved.

Concept Architects: DMW Architects, Wimborne

Detailed Design Architects: JDW Architects, Newport, Wales