Kinford — amn architects

The proposal

228 holiday caravans · 400 new residential lodges · 98 general needs homes (C3, 13 houses) · 136 retirement living apartments · 60 assisted living apartments · 70 care home beds

Masterplan

The Kinford masterplan sets out a comprehensive, landscape-led regeneration strategy to create a sustainable, multi-generational community. Centred around a vibrant, mixed-use village centre, the development integrates diverse residential typologies including residential lodges, apartments and houses, and an Integrated Retirement Community featuring a care home, assisted living units, and retirement apartments. These permanent residential areas are delivered alongside a modernised holiday park.

A robust green infrastructure network and a hierarchy of pedestrian-prioritised streets form the core spatial framework, ensuring a high-quality public realm, enhanced biodiversity, and inclusive active travel. Ultimately, the carefully sculpted massing and layout ensure the new settlement responds sensitively to its rural and coastal context, establishing a thriving community that is prominent, but never dominant.

A tree-lined village street at Kinford with homes and planting

Village centre

Analysis of existing villages on the Isle of Sheppey identifies the settlement patterns in the local area. The study informed the location and arrangement of streets, density, public spaces and focal points in the Kinford village centre.

Outline principles

To ensure high quality design in Kinford, extensive design principles were included in the outline areas of the hybrid planning application. These principles covered built form & massing, layout & street hierarchy, connectivity & movement, landscape & open space, community & function, sustainability and character & identity.

An analytical framework was used to establish the distinct character of the Village Centre. By systematically evaluating the area's topography, view corridors, surrounding context, street network, and massing, we developed a layered understanding of the site's physical constraints and opportunities. This spatial analysis serves as the foundation for the subsequent design principles, ensuring that the proposed built form and public realm respond directly and sensitively to their unique setting.

Outline application typologies — the numbers refer to the elevations below

Character & identity

High street elevation — 1 — Drawing directly from local high street precedents in Minster and Eastchurch, the mixed-use buildings on the high street demonstrate the application of prominent gables, dynamic rooflines, and varied material treatments such as robust ground-floor materials and feature chimneys to create a civic presence that retains a human scale.

Retirement living elevation — 2 — In line with a strategy to manage density and height across the site, the perceived bulk of the retirement living blocks is reduced through horizontal material banding and stepped upper storeys. The elevation illustrates the use of grounding red brick for the lower facades, lighter brickwork for the set-back top levels, and traditional detailing to highlight the entrances.

Apartment block elevation — 3 — Referencing the local precedent of varied streetscape frontages, the apartment block elevation shows how the building form is articulated through a sequence of prominent projecting gables and recessed balconies. Material changes between these volumes are used strategically to emphasise the architectural depth and prevent a monolithic appearance.

Care home elevation — 4 — Reflecting the traditional rural-coastal character identified in the local area, this care home elevation illustrates the use of a mansard roof, tile hanging, and timber weatherboarding to establish a domestic, recessive character. Distinct material variations are applied specifically to the projecting entrance gables to aid in legibility and wayfinding.

Kinford, a new hill-top village on the Isle of Sheppey coast