Private Estates
Luxury House Architects for Surrey's Private Estates
Morph Design Studio is a RIBA Chartered practice based in the Surrey Hills, and a good deal of our work sits on private estates: St George's Hill and Burwood Park in Weybridge, the Wentworth Estate and the Crown Estate at Virginia Water, the Fairmile, Oxshott Way and Eaton Park estates around Cobham, Blackhills in Esher and Kingswood Warren. We design luxury new build houses, replacement dwellings and substantial remodelling for these addresses, take each one through the estate's own approval process as well as the council's, and see it built.
Two Approvals, Not One
A house on a private estate is judged twice. The council decides the planning application, and the estate decides whether the design meets its own covenants and layout rules. On St George's Hill that is administered by the estate itself; on the Wentworth Estate it is the Wentworth Estate Roads Committee. Approval from one does not commit the other, and the two apply different tests: the council looks at policy and impact, the estate looks at density, plot coverage, setback, materials and tree cover.
We prepare the estate submission and the planning package together, so both describe the same building. That avoids the expensive position of holding consent from the council for a scheme the estate will not accept, and it usually shortens the programme, because the estate's comments arrive before the design is fixed.
What the Estate Looks For
Every estate has its own character, but the questions are similar. How much of the plot the house covers. How far it sits back from the road and from its neighbours. Whether the mature trees, which are often protected, are kept. Whether the materials and the roof form sit comfortably with the road. Basements, outbuildings, gates and boundary treatments have rules of their own on many estates. Knowing those rules before the first sketch is most of the job, and it is why we survey the plot and its tree cover before anything is drawn.
Designing for the Plot
Plots on these estates are generous, so the question is rarely how to fit the house in. It is proportion: a house that reads as part of the road rather than a statement against it. We design in the classical tradition and in a contemporary language, and the choice follows the plot and the client rather than a house style. A pool terrace, a leisure suite, a gatehouse or a guest annexe can be planned from the outset, with the landscape design coordinated alongside the house, so the whole plot works as one composition.
Delivered End to End
Morph Design Studio is a design and delivery practice: the people who draw the house are the people who see it built. We run the feasibility work, the design and both approvals, then technical design and building regulations, the tender and the appointment of a contractor, and we inspect the work on site through to handover. You have one point of contact from the first appointment to the day you move in. Our project management page sets out how that works stage by stage, and our new build homes page covers the design of a one off house in more depth.
Where we work
The Private Estates of Surrey
The estates and private roads we are asked to work on most often, with the council that decides planning applications for each. Every one of them has rules of its own that sit on top of the council's.
Good to know
Private Estates: Common Questions
Do you have experience of building luxury houses on private estates in Surrey?
Yes. A good deal of our work sits on the private estates of Elmbridge and Runnymede, and new houses are a large part of the practice. Luffield House is a new classical house on a private estate in Cobham, with arched French doors opening onto a pool terrace. Kingfisher House is a three storey new family home in one of Cobham's most desirable neighbourhoods, and The Old Stables is a substantial new country residence set in a twelve acre landscaped plot. Each was designed and delivered by Morph Design Studio, from the first brief to completion on site.
Do I need estate approval as well as planning permission?
On most private estates, yes, and they are separate processes. The council decides the planning application against its local plan. The estate applies its own covenants, which usually cover plot coverage, setback, height, materials, tree cover and boundary treatment, and which are often stricter than the council's policy. Consent from one does not commit the other, so we prepare both submissions together and describe the same scheme to each.
Can an existing house on a private estate be replaced?
Usually, and a replacement dwelling is the most common route to a new house on an established estate, because the plots are large and many of the post-war houses on them are past their best. A replacement house needs a full planning application, and there is no permitted development route to a new dwelling. The estate will also want to see how the new house relates to the road and to the planting that gives the estate its character. We appraise the plot, its tree cover and its planning history before advising on what is realistic. No architect can guarantee a planning decision.
Which private estates in Surrey do you cover?
St George's Hill and Burwood Park in Weybridge, the Wentworth Estate and the Crown Estate at Virginia Water, the Fairmile, Oxshott Way and Eaton Park estates in Cobham, Blackhills in Esher and Kingswood Warren, together with the private roads around Oxshott, Esher and the Surrey Hills. Our studio is in Headley, near Epsom, so all of these are close to hand.
Can you manage the whole project, from design to completion?
Yes, and that is how most of our estate projects run. We take a house from the first appointment through design, estate approval and planning, technical design and building regulations, then tender the work, advise on the appointment of a contractor and inspect the work on site through to handover. You deal with one practice, and one point of contact, throughout.
Is Morph Design Studio a RIBA Chartered practice?
Yes. Morph Design Studio is a RIBA Chartered Practice, our architects are registered with the Architects Registration Board, and the practice is a member of The List by House & Garden. Chartered status means the practice meets the RIBA's requirements on professional standards, insurance and quality management, which is worth checking of any practice you consider for a project of this scale.
Experience
Houses We Have Designed
The clearest way to judge a practice is finished work. Luffield House is a new classical house on a private estate in Cobham, with a landscaped garden and pool terrace behind it. Kingfisher House is a three storey new family home in one of Cobham's most desirable neighbourhoods, taken from approved scheme to completion. Stone House is a five bedroom new house in the Surrey Hills with a double height entrance hall, and The Old Stables is a substantial new country residence set in twelve landscaped acres. The West Sussex Manor House shows the practice working at estate scale, with a gatehouse and outbuildings arranged around a classical main house.
Before You Buy the Plot
Much of what an estate plot can become is decided before exchange. We can look at a plot, or an existing house you intend to replace, before the purchase completes. A short appraisal at that stage tells you what the estate and the council are likely to accept, which trees are protected, where the services run and roughly what scale of house the plot will carry.
It is a small piece of work compared with the purchase, and it means the offer you make is for the house you can actually build. Get in touch and we will tell you what we think of it.
The estate sets the rules. The house still has to be yours.
Talk to us about your plot