At Reymerston Park, near Hingham, a former golf course and its club house are being turned into exclusive homes within a gated community.
The approach to Hingham is pleasant enough, whichever way you approach it, but when you turn off the road about two and half miles outside the town, you enter a different world.
A long drive of approximately half a mile takes you through picturesque Norfolk farmland close to Reymerston and emerges in a hidden pocket of tranquillity, where the Norfolk Golf and Country Club once stood.
Today this serene spot is a hive of activity, as three premium homes are in the process of being created by Development R2 Ltd, overseen by Robert Walton and Richard Povey.
Any day now, the team is expecting to receive planning approval for four more homes on the site and then together these properties will form the exclusive enclave of Reymerston Park.
According to Cameron Black, of Fine and Country, the agent marketing the homes, this is one of the very few gated developments in Norfolk and it offers the chance to enjoy the seclusion of rural living with the reassurance of security, just 20 minutes or so from Norwich. But above all else, what makes this site special are the incredible far-reaching views.
Each of the three homes currently being built has been carefully positioned to capture the incredible panorama from both their indoor and outdoor living spaces.
'When you look out from any of these properties you cannot see another house,' says Rob.
'There are open views across farmland, towards the trees in the distance, and you can just see the three spires of the churches at Hardingham, Hingham and Southburgh.'
Undoubtedly, it was the magnificent setting and the incredible outlook that first caught the attention of Rob and Richard but both have also enjoyed the challenge of turning the former golf club house into the three homes.
The Norfolk Golf and Country Club at Reymerston closed at the end of 2011 and much of the 159-acre site has now become farmland. The club itself was built in 1993 and a health club was added in 1997. The site also included a detached manager's house, golf shop, day nursery, restaurant, function room and greenkeeper's building, while the fitness club included three beauty rooms and two swimming pools.
'We had to work with what was here and from the club house building we wanted to create homes that were very individual and yet blended in with the others and their surroundings,' says Rob.
'They are contemporary properties that also offer a modern twist on the barn, which we felt was appropriate in a setting like this - and they all offer very flexible accommodation.'
The four additional homes are all new-builds but will have complementary designs and like the others will be carefully positioned within the development to ensure each household enjoys its privacy and that Reymerston Park as a whole nestles comfortably within the rural haven. The homes will all have neutral, high specification interiors (designed by Tina Walton, Rob's wife) and all will be bright and airy, featuring the likes of solid oak flooring and doors; contemporary kitchens with Neff appliances; oak and glass staircases, under-floor heating and Porcelanosa bathroom fittings.
The largest property on the site (guide price £795,000) is now nearing completion and offers 4,000 sq ft of accommodation, including four to five bedrooms, four bathrooms and substantial reception space. This house is graced by a great barn-style glass façade, which leads into an expansive, light reception hall, with a galleried landing. Here there is scope, Rob explains, for the creation of a fifth bedroom should new owners wish to consider it – alternatively, this area could make a superb additional relaxation or work space.
As in all the properties, bedrooms are spacious and both en suite and family bathrooms have been carefully worked in, but here the jewel in the crown has to be the living areas.
Both the kitchen family room and the drawing room are magnificent spaces, designed to incorporate plenty of glass and to allow the future residents of these homes to live their daily lives against a backdrop of beauty.
This house sits in approximately two acres of grounds, which include a pond to the front of the property and extensive gardens to the back. Like all the homes, it is being given a generous Indian sandstone terrace, where the new owners will be able to dine, barbecue and soak up the sunshine – and lawns now extend over an area that was once golf course. The next house along (guide price £695,000), which has been designed to feature Siberian larch weatherboarding on its façade, sits in approximately three-quarters of an acre and offers some 2,500 sq ft of accommodation, with four bedrooms and five bathrooms. Again reception space is bright and airy, running along the back of the house to make the most of the outlook.
But here one of the stand-out features is also the master bedroom, where double doors open on to a glass-balustraded Juliet balcony, creating a picture window with a simply breath-taking view. The final home of this phase (guide price £595,000) also sits in grounds of about three-quarters of an acre and offers accommodation of approximately 2,400 sq ft, with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. Here there is open-plan kitchen and reception space, which opens not only on to the terrace and garden but also a walled courtyard, which is a real suntrap, offering additional outdoor entertaining space.
• For more information on Reymerston Park call Fine and Country on 01603 221888 or visit www.fineandcountry.co.uk
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