Dowkers Lane forms part of an overall masterplan for Waterside Estate which tackled the inherent problems of a Radburn style sixties estate.  The houses replace former garage courts and create a positive link and interface with Kendal Town Centre.  The transparency, legibility, and permeability achieved by the Masterplan has transformed the Waterside Estate.

_____________________________________

Waterside is situated in the centre of Kendal and is bounded by the River Kent. HLP were commissioned by South Lakes Housing to undertake a masterplan in order to establish a programme of environmental improvements, which included the removal of existing external storage sheds, and communal bin stores which were a cause for anti-social behavior.

The plan proposed the reprovision of storage areas and bin stores dispersed throughout the estate, and upgrading of soft and hard landscaping and the provision of car parking within the estate.

The masterplan responds to issues found on the existing estate by a series of new and refurbished footpaths linking the estate to the town centre and the River Kent riverside walk, giving greater more secure permeability into and through the estate.

Eight bedsit bungalows within the centre of the estate were included within the masterplan and have now been extended and fully refurbished to form one bedroom bungalows.

HLP proposed that four existing underused garage courts could be removed and fourteen new housing units provided within a town where there is very little opportunity for providing new housing. Subsequently HLP were commissioned by South Lakes Housing to develop the housing scheme that has been praised by the local Civic Society and Local Authority Conservation Officer for the modern interpretation of the local vernacular.