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Plans for a stunning house designed to resemble rocks on Ilkley Moor have been approved after a planning appeal.
The house, called Fomorian, will be built in the garden of an existing property off Heber's Ghyll Drive, Ilkley. It will stand on green belt land and include large, irregular-shaped windows, a courtyard and a natural outdoor pool.
The exterior blends with the countryside (Image: Shaw & Jagger)
The building is designed to look similar to the Cow and Calf Rocks, a well-known landmark on the moor. It will also be built to Passivhaus standards, an ultra-low energy standard intended to reduce energy use and emissions.
An artist's impression (Image: Shaw & Jagger)
Architect Matt Masserella-Gill was commissioned to design the home by the landowner David Rasche.
The house takes its name from the Fomorians, a supernatural race of giants in Irish mythology. Its design also draws on the story of Rombald, a mythical giant said to have lived on Ilkley Moor.
Masserella-Gill said: "The design approach was to propose a scheme that is intrinsically linked to the spirit of its place. Fomorian is of its place, part of the moors, its geology and its spirit.
"We took cues from local folklore, the surrounding rocks; ancient carvings, standing stones and escarpments that are synonymous with the landscape."
The views will be amazing. (Image: Shaw & Jagger)
The application was first submitted to Bradford Council. However, the council did not make a decision within the required period, meaning the application was not passed on the grounds of non-determination.
An appeal was then made to the HM Planning Inspectorate. The plans were approved in August under the country house clause, which allows development on green belt for buildings of "exceptional quality".
The country house clause requires an isolated design of "exceptional quality" in that it "is truly outstanding", would "significantly enhance its immediate setting and be sensitive to the defining characteristics of the local area".
Masserella-Gill said: "The site is subject to restrictive planning policies which made the principle of development very challenging."
He said the planning inspector described Fomorian as “an innovative design” which “would help raise the standards of design in the rural area more generally”.
The proposal had been opposed by Ilkley Town Council. Members recommended refusal, saying the building would be a "visual anomaly to the moorland".
The town council also raised concerns about the location. It said the land "forms part of the South Pennine Moors Site of Special Scientific Interest, the South Pennine Moors Special Protection Area and Special Area of Conservation, and more recently, which has been designated as a new National Nature Reserve".
The site is also close to the Swastika Stone, a prehistoric rock carving. The carving is one of hundreds of Scheduled Ancient Monuments on Ilkley Moor.
The architects said the structure would be formed from a series of large elements set into the ground. Shaw and Jagger said: "Taking cues from the surrounding rocks and escarpments synonymous with the landscape, the building depicts a series of monolithic elements embedded in the earth as the wild, dramatic environment looms around, attempting to overcome them."
Ric Blenkharn, Architect - Fellow of the RIBA & Panel Member for Design Yorkshire, said: "This could be one of the most exciting buildings in the north of England"
Jerene Irwin, Architect - Independent Peer Reviewer & Chair of RIBA East, said: "It is clear this could be a benchmark project for the area and the design quality and management of the site ecology would outweigh any perceived harm to the green belt."
Design Yorkshire's Independent Design Review Panel said: "This unreservedly meets the criteria for outstanding and exceptional architecture and is exactly the sort of building we should see built to serve as a model for site-specific and responsive design"
The approved plans include the house, outdoor pool and courtyard.
The scheme will now be able to move forward following the inspectorate's decision.