Wendover Manor Care Home
ARBORICULTURE, ECOLOGY & LANDSCAPE
Client
Frontier Estates & LIFE Build Solutions Limited​
​
Project Type
Senior Living
Location
Buckinghamshire
​
TMA Environmental Consultants were appointed as landscape architects to produce proposals for the redevelopment of an abandoned care home site, delivering a fully operational facility. The team was appointed for a Full Planning application, including a Landscape Visual Appraisal (LVA), with further landscape design commissioned to discharge planning conditions.
​
​
Project Overview ​
​
Our focus was on designing external spaces that maximise the site’s potential while protecting landscape character and minimising visual impact. Dense vegetation and boundary trees were transformed from constraints into assets. The largest trees and scrub habitats were retained and protected, providing natural screening, enhancing privacy for residents, and supporting biodiversity. Existing access points were maintained to reduce disturbance and visual impact.
The landscape was organised into three main zones: the main entrance, a west residential garden, and a back sensory garden. Circulation and movement were carefully planned to ensure safe, accessible routes for residents, staff, and visitors. Pedestrian, cycle, and vehicular routes were clearly defined, providing convenient access to parking and building entrances.
​​​
Our Approach ​
​
The iterative design process, informed by the LVA, embedded mitigation measures to enhance environmental quality. Planting schemes were selected for ecological value, seasonal interest, and long-term visual appeal. Screening planting softens views, strengthens boundaries, contributes to privacy, and supports the site’s environmental performance.
Challenges​
​
Key challenges included working within a densely vegetated site, maintaining resident privacy, integrating safe and accessible circulation, and ensuring the new development complemented the existing landscape. Balancing functional requirements with ecological and visual objectives was central to the design process.
​
Outcomes
​
Mature trees and scrub habitats were retained and protected, creating natural screening and supporting biodiversity. Gardens were designed to be accessible, enjoyable, and sensory-rich. Circulation routes for pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles are safe and clearly defined, and planting schemes enhance biodiversity and visual amenity. The care home integrates seamlessly into its setting, balancing function with environmental sensitivity.
​
​
Services Provided
​
-
Multidisciplinary input: Arboriculture, Landscape
-
Landscape Visual Appraisal
-
Landscape Proposals Plan
-
Design and Access Statement – Landscape Chapter
-
Stage 4 – Discharge of Conditions
-
Detailed Hard and Soft Design
-
Landscape and Ecology Management Plan
​