A home fit for the 21st Century; Stunning design for lakeside house.

Byline: Tony Henderson Environment Editor

ASTUNNING pounds 3m house has made planning history. The oak-built structure is being billed as a country home for the 21st Century.

And it became the first house to pass tough laws on rural planning consent in the region for two decades.

The pounds 3m house will be built beside a lake on the Ghyllheugh estate near Longhorsley in Northumberland.

It is the latest in a line of country houses in the county, ranging from Wallington and Howick to Belsay and Cragside.

But its striking design sets it apart from other buildings in Northumberland.

The project has already attracted international interest, from Canada to Australia and the Middle East, and across Europe.

Provisionally named Lake House, the building will be constructed from green oak in a design of waves and curves based on natural forms.

The design of the five-bedroom home, for a North East businessman, makes use of the latest 3D modelling technology to build a structure which, only a few years ago, would have been technically impossible to achieve.

Architect Kevin Brown, of Newcastle-based Reid Jubb Brown, who has designed the building said: "This is a leap forward in country house design and probably represents the next generation in architectural design. For me it is the job of my career."

The scheme has been given planning permission by Alnwick district councillors.

Mr Brown said: "Lake House represents the best the North East has to offer in terms of creativity, innovation and technology. Now, thanks to the foresight of Alnwick Council, it will continue to be a major talking point for years to come, showcasing the North East on an international stage.

"It has been about looking at the location and then sculpting the building to fit that location, using organic forms."

Northumberland-based Tony Woodcock, director of Tony Woodcock Planning Consultants, who coordinated the project, said: "Northumberland has some fantastic country houses but Lake House will take the genre forward into the 21st Century as a shining example of what the North East can deliver."

The building, using ground source heating and a wood-burning stove, will be virtually carbon neutral, and parts of he roof will be covered in living sedum plants. As much material as possible will come from the 120-acre estate itself.

There will also be an outdoor natural swimming pool which will look as if it is part of the lake.

STRICT RULES PASSED

WHILE planning regulations allow for some development in rural areas for affordable housing and those linked to farming, it is much harder to win approval for private country homes.

They have to pass the test of planning rule PPS7, which says that homes built in the open countryside must be of exceptional quality and ground-breaking design, and make a significant contribution to the local environment.

Lake House is the first to be approved in the region in the 20 years since the PPS7 rule was introduced.

There had been concern that rural areas were losing out on the sort of cutting edge architecture which is appearing in urban loca tions.

CAPTION(S):

STUNNING An impression of the exterior, above, and interior, below, of the pounds 3m house which will be built beside a lake on the Ghyllheugh estate near Longhorsley in Northumberland.