Windy Rise, Little Eaton

JSA Architects Appointed and Planning Application Submitted

Windy Rise, a bungalow that once stood on this site was last occupied in 2014. Three years later it was gone - destroyed in an arson attack, leaving the steeply elevated hillside plot empty and, in time, extensively overgrown. Nature moved in uninvited and for the better part of a decade, the site did what nature does when nobody's watching: it got on with things.

The de Saegar family inherited the site and, having decided the time was right, commissioned JSA Architects to design a replacement worthy of its position. The planning application has now been submitted to Erewash Borough Council.

The Site

Windy Rise sits on a steeply elevated hillside above the village of Little Eaton, a few miles north of Derby. The plot is within the Green Belt - a designation that shapes almost every design and planning decision from the outset.

The site's history matters in planning terms. The former domestic curtilage of the demolished bungalow - the plot, garden, and land associated with the original dwelling - is classified as previously developed (brownfield) land, even within the Green Belt. That classification opens a specific planning route that a completely new-build Green Belt site does not have access to. Understanding that distinction, and building a case around it, is where Green Belt planning work either stands or falls.

The plot itself has something to say for itself regardless of its planning classification. The elevated position on the hillside, the views, and the natural drama of a site that has been left to its own devices for years make it the kind of commission that demands a design response rather than a formula.

The Design Challenge: Something Worthy of the Hillside

The family's brief was a replacement dwelling - not a replica of what had been there before. The original bungalow, functional as it was, neither exploited the elevated position nor made use of the natural drama of the site. The brief for the new building was to do both.

JSA Architects was appointed to develop the design concept and take the application forward through planning. The commission covered the full planning process: initial design development, the planning strategy, the preparation and submission of the application, and all the supporting documentation a Green Belt case at this scale requires.

Built Into the Hillside

The design response takes the site's topography as its starting point. Rather than sitting the building on top of the hillside, the scheme digs into it - a decision with both design and planning logic behind it.

From a design perspective, the approach allows the building to exploit the elevated position - and the views it offers - while keeping its massing low and its relationship to the landscape considered. The building reads as part of the hillside rather than an imposition on it.

The proposed scheme - application reference ERE/0525/0032 - is a two-storey replacement dwelling with a contemporary design. The internal arrangement includes four bedrooms, two dressing rooms, an indoor courtyard, a home gym and changing room, and an indoor swimming pool (or bowling alley). The site once kept 25 show dogs and rare breeds of poultry. The new building will have somewhat different requirements of the space.

Our Work Across The Midlands

The Planning Case: Green Belt, Brownfield, and the Erewash Policy Framework

Green Belt planning applications begin with an uphill argument - which, given this particular site's topography, is at least thematically consistent.

The policy case rests on a specific reading of Erewash Borough Council's Saved Policies GB1 and GB2. GB1 sets out the general principle: the Green Belt is protected from most forms of development. GB2 sets out the exceptions - and among them, the redevelopment of brownfield land within the Green Belt where the proposal is of a scale and character that respects the village setting. A replacement dwelling on previously developed land is, in principle, one of those exceptions.

The design's relationship to the site reinforces that case. A building that is substantially concealed by its own hillside - visible from the surrounding countryside mainly by virtue of what cannot easily be hidden, not by what has been placed there carelessly - presents a different planning proposition to a building that announces itself from every angle. The site's elevated position and the design's response to it work in each other's favour.

JSA Architects has navigated Green Belt policy in Erewash and across Derbyshire on numerous occasions. The policy argument here is a familiar one - but 'familiar' does not mean 'straightforward.' Each Green Belt application stands or falls on its own merits, and the quality of the case depends on how thoroughly those merits are understood before the application is made.

The Application: Submitted to Erewash Borough Council

The planning application for Windy Rise - reference ERE/0525/0032 - has been submitted to Erewash Borough Council. The formal description is a replacement dwelling with associated landscaping and boundary treatments.

The supporting documentation includes a planning statement addressing the Green Belt policy case, a design and access statement, ecological information, and drainage details - all of which Erewash requires for an application of this scale and complexity. The parish council had concerns, as parish councils tend to when a new building is proposed on a quiet lane. Those concerns - around access, drainage, and the narrow single-track nature of Windy Lane - were addressed in the submission.

Erewash Borough Council will now consider the application in the normal way.

Working with a Green Belt Site?

97% planning approval rate and 20+ years navigating Erewash, Amber Valley, and the wider Midlands.

Let's talk about your site.

Get a fixed fee quote Or book a call with us

Areas We Cover

JSA Architects Across the Midlands

We work with homeowners, developers, and landlords across the Midlands. Fees, planning authorities, and project types vary by location — find local insight and project examples for your area:

Architects in Derby → — Quarndon, Kirk Langley, Duffield, Allestree, Darley Abbey, Mickleover, Littleover

Architects in Nottingham → — The Park Estate, West Bridgford, Edwalton, Mapperley Park, Wollaton, Bramcote

Architects in Lichfield → — Shenstone, Little Aston, Four Oaks, Streetly, Aldridge, Walsall, Tamworth, Whittington

Architects in Solihull → — Knowle, Dorridge, Hampton in Arden, Shirley, Dickens Heath, Olton

Architects in Sutton Coldfield → — Four Oaks, Wylde Green, Boldmere, Mere Green, Streetly, Little Aston

News & Insights

Project updates, practice news, and the occasional hot take. You might just find the spark you're looking for.

View all articles

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.

Get in touch today