A CONTENTIOUS housing development has been hailed as the 'flagship project' for a local firm of architects.

As eight new homes at the Coach House site on Corbridge Road, in Hexham, near completion, Ollie Currie, a director at Corbridge-based 33 Architecture, has spoken of how he planned to grow the firm on the back of the development.

The planning application for the homes south of the nearby Red Lion House was approved in December despite objections from neighbouring properties.

But as the show home on the site was scheduled to open before the end of next month, Mr Currie said he was proud of how well the project has developed.

He said: "Having found the site at the start of 2017, nurtured through the planning process, designed four bespoke house types to suit the site and its constraints, an now being involved in interior design services for clients, it's more than a standard project.

"Coach House has become a really special development. It's a very personal project as I was Hexham born and raised.

"I was keen for this to be a very bespoke housing development with a real contextual feel, using local and modern materials like zinc.

"The developer, Birchdove Homes, felt the same, wanting to create stand-out homes in a fabulous location."

The development will comprise eight, detached family homes, with four house types combining traditional materials, such as stone, brick and slate, and the other four featuring modern materials like zinc and timber composite cladding.

It has been a busy year for the firm, which was started by Mr Currie in 2015, as it moved into its Corbridge base after Christmas.

His wife Rachel, a fully qualified architect, has since joined the team alongside technician Otis Reed.

Mr Currie said: "!We've always focussed on designing high quality, bespoke properties - both residential and commercial.

"Many of these have been one-offs but, more recently, we've started working with developers on some interesting, larger residential properties."

More information about the new homes, which have a starting price of £450,000, is available at the Foster Maddison branch in Hexham or by visiting www.coachhousehexham.co.uk.