{"id":359969,"date":"2026-01-09T01:03:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T01:03:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/359969\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T01:03:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T01:03:13","slug":"michael-collins-architects-gets-the-ok-for-barns-to-farm-school-conversion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/359969\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Collins Architects gets the OK for barns-to-farm school conversion"},"content":{"rendered":"

The scheme,recently approved by North Herts Council, will create a purpose-built learning centre and facilities out of existing barn structures for client Weston Park Farms.<\/p>\n

Located at Irongate Farm at Halls Green, north of Stevenage, the approved plans will see existing concrete barn structures retrofitted from storage and distribution uses to a non-commercial learning space.<\/p>\n

When complete, the project will provide agricultural education to deliver the skills need to \u2018help farming and food evolve\u2019, planning documents say.<\/p>\n

Upgrades to the current barns include repairs to frames, floor slabs and weatherboarding and replacement glazing will be installed. A mezzanine will be created at first-floor level of one of the barns.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Michael Collins Architects\u2019 approved plans for Groundschool near Stevenage: existing barn<\/p>\n

The barn will then be segregated to provide a flexible kitchen\/teaching area, lecture\/teaching space, a gallery, a commercial kitchen and spaces for an office, storage and toilets. Externally, a more \u2018elegant and high-performance material\u2019 will be used as cladding.<\/p>\n

A lean-to will be demolished and replaced with a single-storey extension, while solar panels and plant will be installed on the roof, Michael Collins says.<\/p>\n

The practice adds that the scheme would offer ground-source energy generation, growing spaces, a wholesale market and a flour mill.<\/p>\n

The building will use materials low in embodied carbon, such as hemp insulation and cladding, along with passive design measures to boost energy efficiency.<\/p>\n

A future timescale is not yet known.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The scheme,recently approved by North Herts Council, will create a purpose-built learning centre and facilities out of existing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":359970,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-359969","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-design","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=359969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359969\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/359970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=359969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=359969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=359969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}