BM3 Architecture Ltd was instructed to repair and refurbish four almshouses for elderly persons in Little Gransden.

The Almshouses owned by the Julia Norris Almshouse Trust, were constructed in 1902. The property lies at the Northwest edge of the village and is within a five minute walk of local bus stops, the village church, village hall and the Chequers pub.

Each property is set over a single storey and incorporates a lounge, bedroom and kitchen area with adjoining pantry. Each property has an attached single brick skin rear projection with tiled roof finish to compliment the main dwellings. These areas have, however, subsequently been adapted so as to provide bathroom accommodation and storage shed for each unit.

The project will not only enlarge the dwellings with the extensions meeting modern space standards suitable for elderly persons, but the existing portion of the dwellings will also be improved. To that end, the internal plasterwork on external walls will be removed and replaced with insulated plasterboard on resilient bars. With the proposals each flat gains 6 square metres of additional space. This represents a 15% increase in size, something that significantly improves the quality and sustainability of the dwellings.

The impact of the proposal makes no change to demands on local services as the profile of the residents remains unaltered.