Wycliffe Park is a later living village in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty that rethinks typical retirement models through a farmstead-inspired cluster plan. Homes are arranged at a domestic scale to maximise daylight and ventilation and to create neighbourly frontages. Landscaped paths, deck access routes and planted courtyards form everyday meeting places, replacing internal corridors to encourage interaction while preserving independence. The result is an environment embedded in its rural setting that offers privacy, autonomy and everyday sociability.
The architectural language is a contemporary reading of local agricultural forms without pastiche, using a robust material palette and modern construction to deliver efficient homes that sit comfortably in the landscape. A reimagined manor house
provides the communal heart, including facilities and a bistro open to residents and the wider community, extending engagement beyond the threshold. Views, routes and terraces connect buildings to the countryside, supporting everyday wellbeing and an active relationship with the outdoors.
Following an earlier consent that fell away for funding reasons, a revised proposal secured permission with accommodation aligned to a care use to strengthen viability. When an operator joined post consent, internal plans were adjusted to increase the share of dual-bedroom homes while retaining the approved external character and efficient footprints. The completed neighbourhood delivers accessible housing that helps people age well, supports movement in the local housing market, and improves landscape and ecology in line with the brief and policy.
Judges commended the clarity of the concept and the response to its protected rural context, noting cohesive placemaking that prioritises wellbeing and social connection. They praised the sequence of outdoor rooms and routes, the domestic character, and the disciplined material palette. The scheme was cited as exemplary for supported living in countryside settings, offering adaptability, dignity and strong community identity while integrating public-facing amenities. One judge remarked: “Wycliffe Park is an excellent and contextually responsive scheme, especially notable for its cluster-based village approach that reintroduces scale, light, and connection to the outdoors in a sensitive AONB setting.”
