High-Yield Urban Infill: York Brownfield Redevelopment

Project at a Glance

Location: Z Curry & Sons Ltd Workshop, Rear of 2 Hawthorn Street, Heworth Ward, York, YO31 0XP
Project Type: Brownfield residential apartment scheme; urban infill new-build
Previous Use: Glen Garage / Z Curry & Sons Ltd workshop (50-year commercial car workshop)
Outcome: 4no 1 Bedroom Apartments & 6no 2 Bedroom Apartments

Transforming constrained, underutilised land into thriving residential spaces is a hallmark of successful city planning. Fining Associates, a York-based chartered architecture practice, recently delivered a textbook example of this with the Hawthorn Street Apartments. Located in Layerthorpe, this project replaced a commercial garage with a bespoke 10-apartment residential building, showcasing how sensitive brownfield development can benefit both developers and the local community.

Here is a closer look at how this high-yield urban infill project navigated complex site constraints to deliver high-quality contemporary apartments in York.

The Challenge: A Constrained “Bad Neighbour” Site

The original site was occupied by a utilitarian, single-storey car workshop that had been trading for over 50 years. While located in closely proximity to York’s historic core, the 0.11-hectare plot was heavily constrained, including:

Land-locked and enclosed on three sides
Bordered to the east by a 3 m high blank brick wall forming the rear of terraced properties.
Raised approximately 1.5 m above a row of modern bungalows immediately to the south.
Bounded to the west by the elevated Foss Islands cycleway.
Accessed only via a single, narrow concrete drive off Hawthorn Street.

The goal was to replace this intrusive “bad neighbour” commercial use with a residential apartment scheme in York that respected neighbour amenity while maximising the site’s potential.

Aerial satellite photograph of the former Glen Garage / Z Curry & Sons Ltd car workshop site at the rear of 2 Hawthorn Street, Layerthorpe, York, showing the existing single-storey commercial building and surrounding residential streets prior to demolition and redevelopment as 10 residential apartments.

Aerial satellite photograph of the completed Hawthorn Street Apartments in Layerthorpe, York, showing the new L-shaped 10-apartment residential building by Fining Associates Architects replacing the former Glen Garage site, with the adjacent Foss Islands cycleway and surrounding Victorian terraced streetscape visible.

Navigating Complex Ground Conditions: Archaeology & Contamination

Developing on a former industrial site close to York’s historic core brings significant contamination and geotechnical. For developers, these hidden risks can often threaten a project’s viability. Fining Associates successfully managed these complexities from the outset.

Given the site’s 50-year history as a motor workshop, managing land contamination was a critical priority. Fining Associates carefully integrated full site investigation, remediation schemes, and unexpected-contamination protocols (conditions LC1–LC4) into the project’s delivery.

Furthermore, building in York requires a sensitive approach to heritage. A desk-based assessment by York-based On-Site Archaeology Ltd identified the potential for Roman, medieval, and 19th-century remains. By working proactively with local authorities, the scheme was approved with a standard archaeological watching brief, ensuring that groundworks could proceed smoothly while protecting the city’s historic assets. This proactive risk management is essential for delivering commercially viable brownfield architecture.

The Design Solution: Contextual Contemporary Architecture

Fining Associates approached the design with a philosophy that respects the local Victorian terraced vernacular while introducing crisp, modern detailing. The L-shaped building turns its back on the blank eastern wall, orientating the primarily single-aspect apartments westwards to provide residents with open views over the cycleway.

Key architectural features include:

Material Palette: Red-brick facing and slate roofing echo the surrounding streetscape, while a central volume clad in dark grey/anthracite zinc pays homage to the site’s industrial past. Oak louvres, self-coloured render panels, and aluminium windows add contemporary warmth and sharpness.
Intelligent Massing: To protect the amenity of the bungalows to the south, the building steps down to a single-storey pitched-roof element with a 2.5 m eaves height.
Mansard Roof Design: A slate mansard roof on the eastern elevation allows for third-storey accommodation without presenting an overbearing three-storey face to neighbouring properties, maintaining a critical 12 m separation distance.
Private Outdoor Space: Each apartment features a private recessed or Juliet balcony, breaking up the western facade and providing natural surveillance over the adjacent cycle path.

Overcoming Previous Planning Hurdles

Before Fining Associates was appointed, an earlier proposal for 11 apartments by different architects was withdrawn following discussions with City of York Council officers ((18/01690/FULM). Fining Associates subsequently took on the project, demonstrating strong planning judgement to develop a revised, deliverable scheme that successfully secured approval.

Fining Associates initially secured full planning permission for 9 residential flats, establishing the building’s acceptable massing and footprint (19/00075/FUL).

Subsequently the top floor was successfully subdivided via a Section 73 variation (19/01328/FUL), increasing the yield to 10 apartments entirely within the already approved massing.

Lastly, a Non-Material Amendment (21/00636/NONMAT) was submitted to Introduce rooftop solar photovoltaic panels and reorganised the second-floor layout for further space efficiency. The amendment also redistributed the position of the roof lights and dormers to improve visual amenity, while the new east-elevation rooflights were set with sill heights 1.5 m above floor level specifically to prevent overlooking and protect the privacy of the Hawthorn Street properties opposite.

Championing Sustainable, Car-Free Housing in York

Aligning with modern environmental standards, the Hawthorn Street scheme is a prime example of sustainable architecture. Taking advantage of its highly walkable edge-of-city location, the development promotes a car-light lifestyle.

Active Travel: The site offers secure, covered storage for 14 bicycles (1.3 spaces per unit) and direct frontage onto the traffic-free Foss Islands cycleway.
EV Infrastructure: Only 3 on-site parking spaces were provided, but each is equipped with a 13A 3-pin “Mode 2” electric-vehicle charging socket. This includes an optional upgrade to a faster 3.7 kW / 16A IEC 62196 “Mode 3” socket, demonstrating the scheme’s forward-looking sustainability ambition.
Energy Efficiency: The design adopts a fabric-first energy strategy to reduce consumption, bolstered by solar PV panels mounted on the west and south elevations.
Traffic Reduction: Future residents are not eligible for permits in the already-oversubscribed R30 (Layerthorpe / East Parade) Residents Parking Zone. Separately, overall vehicle movements through the site access have reduced compared with the previous intensive garage use.

Work With York’s Urban Infill Specialists

The redevelopment of the Glen Garage site stands as proof that difficult, land-locked plots can be transformed into high-quality, commercially deliverable housing. By replacing a 50-year-old bad-neighbour use with a thoughtfully designed, sustainable apartment building, Fining Associates has actively improved local amenity while delivering excellent value for the client.

Looking for chartered architects in York for your next residential project? Contact us!

Wide view of Hawthorn Street Apartments, Layerthorpe York, from Foss Islands cycleway frontage, showing the completed brownfield new-build with EV charging spaces, secure covered cycle store and red-brick mansard roof apartment building designed by Fining Associates chartered architects.

Low-angle corner view of Hawthorn Street Apartments, York, highlighting a projecting glass Juliet balcony at mansard roof level, large aluminium-framed windows and red-brick facing — contemporary residential architecture by Fining Associates chartered architects.

West elevation of Hawthorn Street Apartments, Layerthorpe York, showing a glass Juliet balcony, self-coloured white render panels, and dark slate mansard roof with recessed angled dormers — a fabric-first sustainable residential design by Fining Associates.

Detail of the west-facing cycleway elevation at Hawthorn Street Apartments, York, with a glass and stainless steel Juliet balcony projecting from the slate mansard roof, aluminium windows and red-brick facing contextual to the surrounding Victorian streetscape.

Architectural detail of an angled dormer rooflight recessed flush within the dark grey slate mansard roof of Hawthorn Street Apartments, Layerthorpe York — precision contemporary detailing referencing the site's industrial heritage.

Corner view of Hawthorn Street Apartments from the Foss Islands cycleway, Layerthorpe York, showing the plain red-brick north gable end and west elevation with dark slate mansard roof and recessed dormer windows — contextual new-build architecture by Fining Associates.

North gable elevation of Hawthorn Street Apartments viewed from the Hawthorn Street parking court, Layerthorpe York, with EV charging bollard in the foreground and the plain red-brick gable rising above the existing stone boundary wall on this brownfield infill site.

Layerthorpe street sign with the completed Hawthorn Street residential apartment building rising behind, illustrating the scale and context of this brownfield urban infill development in York by Fining Associates.

Full west elevation of Hawthorn Street Apartments running along the Foss Islands traffic-free cycleway, Layerthorpe York, showing the L-shaped contemporary new-build with multiple Juliet balconies, slate mansard roof and red-brick facade in the early evening light.

Detail of the glass and stainless steel Juliet balcony set against the dark grey slate mansard roof of Hawthorn Street Apartments, York — private outdoor space for top-floor apartments in this 10-unit brownfield residential development by Fining Associates architects.

Hawthorn Street Apartments viewed along the Foss Islands traffic-free cycleway, York, demonstrating the development's active travel credentials with direct cycleway frontage and secure cycle storage for 14 bikes on this sustainable, car-light brownfield scheme.

Close-up of the dark grey slate mansard roof with a square recessed dormer rooflight at Hawthorn Street Apartments, Layerthorpe York — architectural roof detailing on a 10-unit brownfield residential scheme by Fining Associates.

Corner elevation of Hawthorn Street Apartments, Layerthorpe York, showing the junction of the north gable and west cycleway elevation with dark slate mansard roof and recessed dormers — an urban infill residential scheme designed by Fining Associates chartered architects York.

North elevation and parking court of the Hawthorn Street apartment development, Layerthorpe York, showing EV charging points serving three on-site spaces and the red-brick contemporary new-build replacing the former Glen Garage brownfield site.