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We've been appointed by Boxton Homes to design and deliver full detailed planning for four new high-specification countryside homes in Underwood, Nottinghamshire.
The site sits in the Nottinghamshire green belt — which, as anyone who's worked in planning will tell you, is not a postcode that welcomes development without a fight.
JSA had been working with the previous landowner to unlock the site's potential. We secured outline planning permission — navigating green belt policy, ecological constraints, and everything else that makes sensitive rural sites exactly as complicated as they sound.
With consent secured, the landowner sold. Boxton Homes acquired the site. And they came to us to see it through.
That's the short version. The longer version involves rather a lot of consultant coordination, 3D visualisation work, and more planning strategy than is probably interesting to read about. But it's the kind of work we do well.
What We're Delivering
JSA are responsible for the full scope of the project, including:
- Planning strategy — navigating the detailed planning stage through Ashfield District Council, building on the outline consent already secured
- Consultant coordination — managing a multidisciplinary team of ecologists, geologists, surveyors, highways designers, and landscape designers
- 3D visualisation — detailed renders of all four plots to support both the planning submission and Boxton Homes' sales process
- Plot design — individual house designs for all four properties, developed to high specification
- Project management — keeping the whole process moving, on time, and on brief
Four homes. One planning authority. Half a dozen specialist consultants. One point of contact. That's what Boxton Homes needed, and it's what we're delivering.
About Boxton Homes
Boxton Homes are a Nottingham-based luxury housebuilder with a straightforward philosophy: great homes aren't just designed, they're crafted — one detail at a time.
They're also local. Their roots are firmly in this part of Nottinghamshire, which matters when you're building in a green belt village like Underwood. Sensitive development requires developers who understand the community they're building in — not just the planning system they're navigating.
Boxton Homes are exactly that kind of developer.
"Green belt sites demand a different kind of thinking. You're not just designing homes — you're making a planning argument, managing ecological risk, and coordinating a team of specialists, all at the same time. We secured the outline consent on this site because we understood the policy landscape and knew how to position the scheme compellingly.
Working with Boxton Homes on the detailed stage is a natural continuation. They share our view that quality matters — in design, in materials, in the way you engage with the planning process. Four homes in the Nottinghamshire countryside, done properly. That's what this is."
— Chris Wood, Lead Designer & Owner, JSA Architects
Green Belt. Done Right
Underwood sits in a part of Nottinghamshire where the landscape is working — agricultural, rural, quietly protected. Getting four new homes approved here required demonstrating genuine sensitivity: to the ecology, to the streetscene, to the character of the village.
Outline planning is one thing. Detailed design is where the argument is either proved or undone. That's the stage we're at now.
We'll share updates as the project develops.
Interested in a development site that requires sensitive planning expertise? Get in touch.
Ready To Talk?
How it works (Because "get in touch" shouldn't feel like a leap of faith)
01. Talk One conversation to understand your project, your budget, and whether we're the right fit. No obligation. No sales pitch.
02. Design Everything built around your brief. We sketch, develop, and refine — with check-ins before anything is fixed. You stay in control without getting buried in the detail.
03. Deliver Through planning, building regs, and into construction. We handle the process. You make the decisions that matter.
