A WELL-KNOWN house in a country estate in Largs could get a huge makeover in new plans submitted to council officials.
Proposals have been made by Stewart Associates on behalf of the CHELSEA Trust to North Ayrshire Council to demolish Knock House and build a new "multi-generational house".
The house was previously owned by Largs Euromillions lottery winners Colin and Christine Weir who bought the property shortly after their £161 million win in 2011.
It was later sold in 2016 to the overseas trust in a £1.4 million deal which also involved the purchase of other properties on the surrounding Knock Castle estate.
Now, plans have been submitted to demolish the house and build a new house, winter garden and extend the parking area.
In a design and access statement, which can be viewed publicly on the local authority's website, it says that the new home would have three generations of a family living at the residence with a shared communal winter garden.
It also highlights that there is currently construction issues from poor insulation and cold bridging with the property that would need to be addressed.
It stated: "The design has been developed over a number of years and is influenced in part by the desires and needs of the family based on their experiences of communal living on the estate during the pandemic of 2020.
"The applicant is stated as being the CHELSEA Trust. This has been formed to look after the wider family group intending to reside in the house.
"The “multi-generational” family living arrangements proposed for the replacement house results in a linear “C” shape plan form with the south wing designed to be occupied by the site owners and their children, and the north wing designed to suit the needs of the owner’s parents.
"A diverse eclectic mix of contemporary house design has indirectly influenced the design of the house.
"The winter garden is effectively an extended circulation and lounge space that links all parts of the house together. It is anticipated that it will be extensively used throughout the year. The winter garden has a number of uses; for family living / play space and conservatory, as well as providing a useful heat store that is integrated into the wholehouse energy strategy."
The report also mentions that the new building would be built to maximise the Firth of Clyde views and surrounding nature within the site.
It added: "The existing house was positioned in an east / west axis relatively close to the north wall of the adjacent walled garden. This was probably a consequence of the “piecemeal” development process.
"The new house is sited on a north / south axis, taking full advantage of the available aspects to the west, and improving the aspects to the south-west from both ground and upper levels."
For more information and to view the application visit North Ayrshire Council's planning application portal at eplanning.north-ayrshire.gov.uk and search 24/00708/PP.
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