Accessible family extension · Haresfield, Gloucestershire

From a deeply personal brief to a fully managed build.

An accessible extension and indoor hydrotherapy pool—designed, approved and delivered as a warm part of family life.

Type: Accessible family extension with indoor hydrotherapy pool
Role: Lead designer · planning · Building Regulations · team assembly · project management
Scope: Pool · changing facilities · level circulation · connection to the existing home
Key challenge: Specialist accessibility and pool requirements without a clinical atmosphere

The family brief

A place for therapy that still feels like home.

The Old Bakehouse began with a clear and deeply personal purpose: to create an accessible family extension and hydrotherapy pool for Heather and Gareth’s daughter Emily, who has cerebral palsy.

The building needed to support therapy, care and everyday family life. Level movement, hoist provision and dedicated changing facilities were essential, but the family did not want the result to feel institutional. It needed to be calm, generous and welcoming—a place Emily could use comfortably and the whole family could enjoy together.

That ambition shaped every part of the design, from the connection with the existing house to the pool environment, circulation, natural light and choice of materials.

Accessibility was not an addition to the architecture. It was the starting point.

The Old Bakehouse and its accessible extension set back beyond the driveway and mature planting — The extension is seen as part of the wider setting, framed by the driveway, established house and mature planting.

The completed Old Bakehouse pool extension seen from the garden — The completed pool hall and connecting wing create a sheltered courtyard facing the garden.

Design and approvals

Turn specialist needs into a buildable plan.

Anthony Webster developed the design around the family’s requirements and the character of The Old Bakehouse, creating a contemporary addition that sits confidently beside the original brick home.

He took the proposal through planning and secured Building Regulations approval, resolving the architecture alongside the technical demands of an indoor pool, accessible circulation, changing provision and the connection into the existing building.

Large areas of glazing connect the pool hall to the garden and courtyard. A pitched roof gives the principal space height and daylight, while timber lining, planting and carefully controlled detailing bring warmth to elements that could otherwise have felt clinical.

The completed timber and metal-clad extension beside The Old Bakehouse — Timber, metal and glass give the new addition its own identity while respecting the scale and material character of the existing house.

Project management

One vision. Every stage. One point of responsibility.

Once the design and approvals were in place, Anthony assembled the construction team and project managed the build through to completion. The same person who understood the family’s original brief remained responsible for coordinating the decisions required to realise it.

The work brought together groundworks, a purpose-built pool structure, masonry, structural steel, roofing, glazing, specialist pool systems, environmental services, accessibility provision and detailed interior finishes. Each stage had to be sequenced around the existing home while maintaining control of quality and design intent.

The Old Bakehouse site being set out after clearance — Clearing, setting out and preparing the footprint of the extension.

Excavation for the hydrotherapy pool at The Old Bakehouse — The hydrotherapy pool is excavated within the newly formed site.

The hydrotherapy pool shell being formed — The pool shell is formed as the technical heart of the project.

Masonry construction around the pool shell at The Old Bakehouse — Blockwork defines the pool hall, circulation and connection to the house.

Crane operation installing structural steel at The Old Bakehouse — A coordinated crane operation brings the principal steelwork into position.

Structural steel frame over The Old Bakehouse pool hall — The expressed steel frame establishes the pitched volume of the pool hall.

Timber roof framing over The Old Bakehouse pool hall — Timber rafters complete the roof form around the steel frame.

Weatherproof roof construction at The Old Bakehouse — Membrane and battens bring the pitched roof towards a complete envelope.

Standing-seam metal roof nearing completion at The Old Bakehouse — The standing-seam finish gives the new building its crisp external character.

Inclusive design

Accessible without feeling clinical.

Accessibility is embedded in the plan rather than treated as a visible layer of equipment. Level routes connect the existing home, changing space, pool hall and courtyard, allowing the building to support Emily’s needs as part of normal family life.

The changing facilities are practical and generous, with provision for assisted care and direct access to the pool. Colour, timber and daylight soften the specialist requirements and give each space a clear architectural character.

Inside the pool hall, the expressed steel frame and pitched ceiling create a sense of volume. Rooflights and full-height glazing bring in daylight and views of the garden, while warm timber surfaces balance the robust materials required for a pool environment.

The completed hydrotherapy pool opening towards the garden — Daylight, garden views and warm timber soften the specialist pool environment.

The completed project

Designed around care. Made for family life.

The completed hydrotherapy pool beneath the expressed steel frame — The completed pool sits beneath the expressed steel frame and rooflights.

Level opening from the courtyard into The Old Bakehouse pool hall — A level threshold and wide opening connect the pool directly to the sheltered courtyard.

The new extension and original Old Bakehouse seen across the garden — The new work creates a contemporary garden elevation while retaining the presence of the original house.

The result

A personal brief carried through from first sketch to final detail.

The Old Bakehouse demonstrates the value of keeping design, approvals and delivery connected.

Anthony designed the project, secured planning and Building Regulations approval, assembled the construction team and project managed the build to completion. That continuity protected the family’s priorities while coordinating the many architectural, technical and practical decisions needed to make the building work.

The result is specialist without appearing institutional: an accessible hydrotherapy pool and family extension that feels calm, warm and fully at home beside The Old Bakehouse.

Planning an accessible home or a technically demanding extension?

Webster Architecture & Interiors can provide one experienced point of contact from the first conversation through design, approvals, team assembly and construction.

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