By Janet Nuttall, Psychologist, Businesswoman, Site Owner at Wellbank, a unique housebuilding development in the English Lake District National Park

We talk a lot about wellbeing in all different facets of life – but not in relation to housebuilding, which seems strange to me given the amount of time we spend in our homes.

We build schools to aid learning, hospitals to aid healing, so why wouldn’t we build houses to help people live their lives to their best potential?

As a psychologist, designing homes around people’s wellbeing is a concept I have been passionate about for years.

I have never understood why we are so prescriptive in the types of house choices we offer people, sometimes tantamount to saying which size and shape box do you want to live in?

It means a new house purchase offers little in design terms to complement what is important to the home buyer’s lifestyle.

So, when I had the opportunity to get involved in the construction industry as a site owner at Wellbank, in the Lake District National Park, I was determined to do things differently.

Wellbank is unique. It’s the only site in the Lake District National Park, or any national park in England that I am aware of, which is offering the opportunity for homeowners to have a self-build, or custom-build, home in this way.

For me it all starts with the fundamental premise that homebuyers should be able to design a home to be built around their lifestyle, and their wellbeing.

I was recently a guest on the Self Builders Podcast, and it was refreshing to hear host Mike Pawley describing what we are creating at Wellbank as ‘unique’.

It’s not just our custom-build homes location in the Lake District National Park, between the fells and the sea, which is unique – although it is an incredible place to build and own a home.

Describing Wellbank’s approach to housebuilding, Mike used the phrase: “Changing the paradigm of how homes are built in the UK. This build model is the future.” 

That’s music to my ears, because the philosophy of what we are building at Wellbank has always been about wellbeing.

To me it’s fundamental that your house should work for you and your lifestyle – to me that is the joy of building houses for people – that it fits with the way they want to live their lives.

So here, in the Lake District National Park you can design the house around your lifestyle and around your wellbeing – and truly enjoy life in your dream home.

It’s all about what is important to you. For me it’s – light – and space – communal space – a private space – an office – and I need to look out onto a garden.

For others, like a family with three teenagers, it might be that no one can get in the bathroom on a Saturday morning, so they want a house with three en-suite bathrooms.

For someone else they might want to be very sociable, and have a party house, with a big kitchen and a big living area where they can all sit together.

You should be able to have the choice to design your home around you.

Wellbank’s environment is also special. Biodiversity and sustainability are really important to us – and we are not just talking about it, we are not ticking boxes, we are actually doing it.

We are very proud of the environment we are creating at Wellbank with all the planting and the ponds and providing spacious plots because we know how much having this extra space and the natural environment promotes physical and mental wellbeing for everyone who lives here.

We have won an award for our swale system where surface water goes into open water courses which feed two big ponds and then into wetland areas.

We are creating communal green areas on site, we are planting trees and planting hedges, all to create a natural environment which encourages native species to thrive.

We also insist – through our Design Code agreed with the Lake District National Park Authority – that at least 30 per cent of the energy in homes at Wellbank is sourced from renewables, such as from solar or air source heat pumps, so that we are being kind to the stunning environment which surrounds us and protecting it for future generations.

Living in such a green and natural environment has long since been said to improve people’s mental health. It also encourages better physical health, with pathways and cycleways to the Lake District’s world-renowned fells, and lakes on the doorstep.

To also encourage people to live a healthy life, we are building a leisure hub which will have a swimming pool, steam room, and hydrotherapy pool to help wellbeing.

Those facilities will be open to the wider Bootle and West Cumbria community – as well as homeowners.

That community is very important to us. We have been embraced with open arms by the community – I think because of our philosophy and our approach.

Part of the Bootle local plan was to develop Wellbank – we wouldn’t have done it if the community hadn’t asked us to get involved with the site in the first place.

We know the community – and they know us. We have always made it our business to be sympathetic to the community and the area, as well as the local environment.

The Lake District National Park Authority has been by our side every step of the way and have worked with us on the homes’ Design Code.

I think why this partnership has been so successful is due to the fact we have a shared vision, we both want the National Park to thrive through thinking creatively and encouraging innovation. We can’t thank them enough for their support.

Cumberland County Council, Bootle Parish Council and the whole Bootle community have also supported our vision from day one and helped us make our dream for Wellbank a reality.

Our homeowners appreciate and value that they are joining a thriving community. It’s something which they tell us is really important to them.

With more people working from home, you can tell that people want that community connection.

Members of our team live in the village. They show prospective homeowners around, show them how to walk to the train station, to the school and GP surgery and all the local amenities, as well as the best routes to the beach and the fells.

We also believe in taking as much stress away from our custom-build homeowners as possible, so they can focus on choosing their favourite plot and designing their home.

At Wellbank they don’t have to worry about gaining planning permission from the Lake District National Park Authority or servicing any of the plots, with water, electricity, roads and all the utilities – we have taken care of all that.

When you put all that together – I hope that we are indeed making a positive difference to people, their lives, and their wellbeing.

I would love to think that what we have started at Wellbank could influence others to do similar and change the UK’s mindset around housebuilding.