Sussex Heritage Trust Award Winner 2013
2017 - 2019
Listed Building, House refurbishment, Chichester
We have worked with Ella since March 2017, on a major renovations project to our home on St Pancras in Chichester.
This was Ella's challenge.................."Transform and modernise the entire living space of our home, a listed building, within a constrained budget".
Ella started off by asking us to describe our vision for the house rather than be constrained by our ideas as to what was possible. In truth we did not see how we would get what we wanted without making some compromises.
Ella carried out research on the planning for the house going back to the 1950's and together with her own ideas, came up with a fantastic plan that would give is so much more than we ever envisaged. Ella could do this because she had taken the time on site, to get to know what we like, what we don't like, and our constraints.
Ella dealt with the authorities to gain approval for the development, a surprisingly smooth process, and we asked her to manage the renovations project for us. This took a lot of stress away from us, but Ella made sure that we were involved for the whole duration in looking at alternatives, and then helping us make decisions. This was as much about the small details as it was about the construction, and again Ella helped us choose a lot of items based on her knowledge of our preferences. Ella was all along very mindful of our budgetary constraints, and found creative ways of us saving money without compromising the vision.
In terms of the renovation works, Ella recommended a local builder who together with his subcontractors brought their specific skills to the project. It is taken as granted that they have the skills, but what stood out was the passion for doing a great job that in the end we would be happy with. Ella acted as our prime point of contact, acting as a very effective link between us and all the contractors.
Now that we are living in our "new" home, we can say that it has been transformed way beyond our expectations at the outset of the project. That is almost totally down to the role that Ella has played. It is a pleasure to work with her.
2013-15
Listed Building, conversion of existing pre preparatory school back into dwelling
Ella was our architect and project manager when we redeveloped Northgate House, North Street from its immediately former life as the pre-prep school to The Prebendal, into a family home.
Ella immersed herself body and soul in our project. She believed in what we were trying to do to rescue one of North Street’s foremost houses, and had the clarity and vision to spot the things we might be able to do to create a lovely home. She was supportive, inclusive and thoroughly ‘user friendly’, encouraging us when we feared being overwhelmed, reassuring when things did not seem to go quite to plan. Ella never saw a problem as a problem, but something to which a solution must be found. She had a wonderful working relationship with us, our builders and all the subcontractors they used, and managed without seeming to get flustered, to negotiate the sometimes strained relationship we had with the planning department.
We would, without hesitation, recommend her for almost any project, but particularly one where sensitivity, sympathy for an old building and an unflappable ability to pour oil on troubled waters are all required. We will always be thankful for her vision and kindness.
26 April 2019
Really good, thorough, punctual and friendly service
Chris was very helpful and friendly. He took time to understand what we required, was very thorough, made some valuable additional suggestions and kept to the time frame he had proposed. I would happily recommend him.
25 November 2018
Garden Room extension, Chichester
We wanted to let you know how pleased we are with our finished garden room. The building work started in July and finished in October but we were just waiting for our lovely Karndean floor to be installed before we sent you some pictures of how it all looks.
We are so pleased with everything and is far beyond our expectations. All the building work went fantastically well and smoothly. The builders were brilliant..... There seems to be more space than we thought there would be which is a bonus.....
All of this wouldn’t have been possible without your help and support for which we send our sincere thanks
07 March 2019
Simply outstanding
Friendly, timely and highly efficient service throughout. We would have no hesitation in recommending Chris Pope to any of our friends who were looking for architectural services.
15 October 2018
Annexe Bedroom, Barnham
I asked Ella Pope to produce drawings and pursue planning permission and building regulations with Arun District Council for a garage conversion into a bedroom. She obtained the necessary permissions without us having to get involved any further. The attention to detail and inclusion of our requests were second to none and I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending her services.
29 March 2018
Double storey extension to family home
A professional customer driven, solution-focused who produced a creative and workable solution to our family’s needs
03 March 2018
Extension for elderly family member
We needed space for an elderly parent with specific needs (dementia, limited mobility, poor eye sight) at a stressful time for our family (another parent terminally ill), so we were probably not the easiest clients. Chris Pope was empathetic, listened to what we needed and provided us with a fabulous light space. This space works well now and is adaptable for the future, as the family kitchen, elderly living space and bathroom are wheel chair friendly with flat access to the back garden and the front door. He managed the project and recommended friendly, efficient builders who kept to budget. Extension was finished to a high standard and we would definitely use him and the team again.
Sussex Heritage Trust Award Winner 2013