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Candor3's John Gardiner Recommends 200sq Metre Lots For First-Home Buyers

Thursday 27 August 2015, 4:24PM

By Beckie Wright

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Candor3’s John Gardiner recently blogged on the advisability of keeping sections to a 200sq metre limit when planning for first-home buyers. As John says, “We are increasingly seeing lots sizes in the order of 200m² to keep costs down but this doesn’t necessarily mean smaller houses. Clever architects such as Paul Brown and A Studio among others have got their head around these small sites and are designing well thought out two level homes of up to four bedrooms and 200m² floor areas that work well on such sites. The key things to get right are making sure the sites are regular and flat and have no wasted space, and the Belmont area lends itself perfectly to smaller sites having gentle natural contour to work with.”

Candor3 sees this as a new solution for first-home buyers as the other dynamic that makes these small sites such a good option is that they are often sited near to or overlooking open space, and while home buyers are paying for a small site they often get the benefits of a nicely landscaped reserve or other feature that lifts the value of such a small site. Stage 1 of Candor3’s Legacy’ development uses this concept with the smaller sites facing north and west and overlooking a landscaped drainage reserve.

Candor3 and their clients put a lot of thought into their designs and while small means lower cost it does not, in any way, mean lower quality. Good urban design often means creating flexible spaces that can be used in a variety of ways to suit the needs of users. In the same way Candor3 approaches urban design and planning with a flexible mind-set. While preparing applications and drawings internally they also work with urban designers and planners who share their passion for quality spaces and environments built with people in mind, that deliver real economic value and will be sought after and enjoyed for years to come.

Candor3 will successfully deliver due diligence, feasibility studies, risk analysis and strategies along with design concepts and development plans for new growth or redevelopment sites, detailed design of open environments and streetscapes, Resource Management advice and consenting strategies, consent preparation and consent process management and low impact urban design strategies for managing environmental resources, also providing  Local Authority and Environment Court hearing representation.

For more information on Candor3 please visit their website at http://www.candor3.co.nz .