WESTCLIFF PARK HOUSE
New-Build Infill Dwelling
Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex. Completed 2024
INTRODUCTION
Westcliff Park House is a new-build family dwelling on a vacant infill plot in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, completed in 2024. The site, between numbers 77 and 81, had historically been garage and garden land and had stood unused for some time.
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Studio MASS was appointed by a repeat developer client following purchase of the site at auction. The brief was to secure planning consent for a new three-bedroom dwelling that would sit sensitively within the established Victorian and Edwardian streetscape on a constrained urban infill plot.
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The design follows the established rhythm, scale and massing of neighbouring properties, stepping with the natural gradient of Westcliff Park Drive and reinforcing the prevailing vertical proportions of the street.
THE OUTCOME
Externally the dwelling adopts a restrained material palette of smooth render, contrasting detailing and dark plain roof tiles, a contemporary reading of local architectural character. Vertical window proportions reflect the sash-like rhythm of adjacent properties.
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Beyond planning, the project required significant coordination. A main sewer ran directly through the site, which meant detailed negotiation with Anglian Water to secure a build-over agreement. The sewer infrastructure was upgraded as part of the works to accommodate the new dwelling, allowing construction to proceed without compromise.
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Studio MASS managed the project from initial concept through planning approval, technical detailing, Building Regulations coordination and construction oversight. The infill nature of the plot demanded careful consideration of neighbouring amenity, parking strategy and streetscape integration.
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Infill plots are usually left alone for a reason, and here the reason was buried. A main sewer crossing the site would have stopped most buyers at the survey stage. Resolving it with Anglian Water before anything else was what turned a redundant garage plot into a buildable one.