It’s 12 years since Jeremy Paxton flew over the 450 empty acres of Lower Mill Estate in Gloucestershire in his helicopter, looking for a handy spot for lunch.

“I was just looking round the area, and saw that it was deserted and overgrown and rather beautiful,” he recalls. “I just landed by one of the lakes, had a sandwich, a snooze and a swim - and that was it.”

Except that wasn’t quite the end of the story. These days that Swallows and Amazons idyll is enjoyed by the pioneers of Paxton’s dream to let other people share his ‘discovery’ (Timber Building Summer 2006).

Lower Mill’s red brick farmhouse and its outbuildings became 18 carefully-converted homes for families for whom wanting to get away from it all meant more than a ramshackle log cabin in the middle of nowhere.

Guided by RIBA award-winning, master planner Richard Reid, the estate now combines a variety of different properties with genuine wow factor.

The most recent development phase - dubbed Howells Mere - will eventually give around 140 families the chance to have their own place in the 450-acre country estate complete with shop, spa and pub.

“It will appear,” said Paxton, “as if it has completely grown out of nature. So many of the houses, rather than being set back from the water, will be right over the water. We want to shape it around the wildlife, so that residents will have otters as their neighbours and house martins nesting under their eaves.”

When it is finished in seven years’ time, Howells Mere will have 140 houses ranging in price from £350,000 to a little over £1m. This is the third phase of development on the estate – but the first to feature oak-framed buildings, supplied and constructed by Oakwrights, the Herefordshire company that specialises in bespoke oak timber frame homes.

The floor cassettes are fitted into place

Like all Lower Mill houses, the interiors will be open plan; full-length windows will open onto decks; there will even be oak-frame sky decks on the roofs with soaring views over the countryside.

“We have taken lessons from Mill Village and Clearwater, the first two phases of development,” said Paxton. “We are really pushing the concept of the sustainable architecture of leisure, with great open areas of space and that wonderful light which lifts you up each morning when you come downstairs.”

Timber is the perfect choice of material, marrying the sustainability and quality factors that are so close to the heart of Lower Mill Estate. The oak frames are fully encapsulated with WrightWall and WrightRoof panels; a breathable wall/roof system using hemp insulation and fibreboard with a U-value of just 0.2.

Oakwrights engineers are working with Conservation Builders Ltd (CBL), the company set up to provide the building service as part of the estate. Formed in 1997, CBL has achieved a steady rate of annual growth, with a turnover of more than £7m in 2004, over £9m in 2005 and £10m in 2006.

CBL's philosophy is centred on providing a one-on-one bespoke and high quality service to build highly specialised homes for private clients. And, as the name suggests, the company pays particular attention to the environment: working in partnership with organisations such as English Nature, RSPB, WWF, Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, and Cotswold Water Park, CBL has pioneered a number of important conservation initiatives to raise public awareness in creating and protecting natural ecological habitats.

“We started CBL from nothing and we’ve really grown that into quite a unique building company,” said managing director Chris Hutchison. “If someone comes to Lower Mill Estate and says they like a particular plot but want a specific house, we are geared up to deal with that.

Building work on the first of the oak-frame houses began at the end of last year

“We have three people within our customer service team that will look at bespoke design, whether that’s the customer designing with the architect or simply changing the door handle. We build around 30-40 houses a year and we are capable of building homes that people fall in love with.”

CBL first started talking to Oakwrights a couple of years ago, although it took some for the use of oak to filter down to the projects on the ground because of a busy forward order book. “What we’ve got now is a working relationship with Oakwrights and we can move much quicker,” said Hutchison.

Building work on the first of the oak-frame houses began at the end of last year. “People do enjoy timber – it’s very warm and people want to touch it. But there are still people out there who enjoy brick and block,” explained Hutchison. “What we wanted to do was come up with a timber frame solution that was in keeping with the rest of the estate. This is where the oak frame has come into play because people like the fact that it’s a more natural material; we’re confident that there will be more houses built using oak frame on the estate in the future.”

Oakwrights has now built four homes on the estate, including long barn-style homes, as well as adding on oak framing and weather boarding to existing properties on the estate. It’s most recent development has been what’s called an “11C” in oak frame, one of the most popular designs at Lower Mill. “The challenge for us as a bespoke building company is that we’re used to going onto a site and having it all to ourselves,” said Tim Crump, managing director of Oakwrights. “At Lower Mill, we’re working with a big team alongside other building projects. Having said that, the foreman has dealt with it very well and, as each project goes in, the process will become smoother as we understand the way they work and they understand what we do.”

Oak frame will become more popular as the project continues

The houses are built using a mixture of complete oak frame and oak with stainless steel in the trusses to provide a more contemporary look. “There are a lot of potential projects that could be oak frame, but it depends on what the client chooses,” said Crump, although with the 11C and long barn homes erected, he would expect to generate more interest in the potential of timber building.

“Oak framing will become more popular as the project continues,” said Crump. “The houses draw more attention than the others and, with the breathing wall system, we can achieve excellent thermal efficiencies.”

Certainly, Chris Hutchison sees the relationship developing. The use of oak frame fits perfectly with Lower Mill Estate’s vision of sustainability – something that Conservation Builders is keen to continue.

“We are passionate about building houses and Tim Crump is passionate about timber frame: it’s a good combination,” added Hutchison.

Keywords: Oak frame Oakwrights CBL