Developers get cracking at Knightstone – Weston-super-Mare

Homebuyers at Knightstone Island are in for a treat this Easter – the stunning new show apartment is being unwrapped. The exceptional two-bedroom duplex apartment at the historic development, which is on schedule, will open exclusively to customers who have already purchased.

The following week the stylish home will be available for the public who want to see first hand how the Edwardian Swimming Baths have been cleverly transformed as part of this landmark regeneration project.

Meanwhile a team of skilled craftsmen is busy restoring and cleaning original features on the buildings, including ornate carvings and eye-catching stonework, to ensure the multi-million redevelopment of Weston-super-Mare’s most treasured landmark is completed on time.

Some of this work has received grant funding from public bodies worth a total of almost £1.6 million.

The Grade II listed buildings on the island – the Pavilion Theatre, Dr Fox’s Bath House and the Edwardian Swimming Baths – have been brought back to life, alongside two new contemporary buildings, to create a total of 87 apartments and two commercial units.

Hugely popular with homebuyers, all the apartments at Dr Fox’s Bath House have sold and most of the apartments within the Pavilion Theatre have already been purchased, with only two duplexes remaining.

All the one-bedroom apartments at the Baths have been snapped up too, with six remaining two-bedrooms for sale. There are also still some properties for sale within The Beacon, a new, contemporary building on the island.

When the development has been completed the island will be open to the public again for promenade walks with improved landscaping and works of art, in addition to a planned café and restaurant.

Peter Wright, project manager for Redrow Homes (South West), says: “The showhome is eagerly awaited because our customers are keen to see how we have transformed these buildings back to their original splendour.

“It is a far more difficult task to refurbish buildings than create them from scratch, but in this case the end justifies the means because we really are proud of what we have created.”

With almost divine inspiration, the new show apartment within the Baths has ‘clerestory lighting’ – using high windows to shed light into rooms. Other features in the building include the use of original cast iron columns which supported the balcony around the baths to create an interesting feature in the communal corridors.

Knightstone Island is credited as a catalyst for Weston’s regeneration and has received Townscape Heritage Initiative funding worth £780,000, of which approximately 50% came from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

This money has been used to put back features that were stripped from the buildings during the late 20th century, such as the external ‘cartouches’ (decorative textured plasterwork) around the outside of the towers, dormer windows and ornamental roof vents in the Pavilion Theatre and clerestory lighting in the Edwardian Swimming Baths.

A further £800,000 was funded by the South West RDA (Regional Development Agency) to enhance the external finishes in the public realm areas over and above what a private developer would normally be expected to provide.

The renovation project is being overseen by the Urban Design and Conservation co-ordinator at North Somerset District Council, Mark Luck, who comments: “Knightstone Island is a tremendously complex project with three distinct historic buildings to convert, the need to incorporate new architecture on such a prominent site, and the ambition to create high quality public spaces to complement the marine setting.

“The final scheme will be a credit to the partnership working that has taken the bold step to regenerate the Island after 30 years of decline and vacancy. It is very satisfying to at last see the development taking shape, and I am sure that residents and visitors alike will appreciate the work once it is complete.”

Anyone interested in purchasing one of the last few remaining new or refurbished properties on the island – with prices from £240,000 to £410,000 - can log on to Knightstoneisland.co.uk for more details.