Building at Benguela Cove

The architectural framework, the review process, the timeline from transfer, and the team we introduce you to.

After you buy

Buying land is the straightforward part. What happens afterwards is the question most people actually want answered, so here it is in full.

The architectural framework

Every home here is designed within an architectural framework. Its purpose is to keep the estate visually coherent, so that no single house spoils the outlook from another, and to protect what all owners have invested in how the place looks.

It sets the language rather than the design: materials, roof forms, colours, heights, boundary treatments, and the minimum and maximum floor area permitted on each individual plot. Within that, the house is yours. Look at the homes already built on the estate and you will see how different they are from one another.

The process

From drawing to build

How review works

You appoint your own architect. Drawings are submitted to the Architectural Committee, which reviews them against the framework and comes back with comments or approval. Most schemes go through one round of comment.

The Committee maintains a panel of architects and professionals who know the estate, and you are welcome to use them or to bring your own team. The full architectural guidelines, including the permitted floor areas for a specific plot, are sent on request.

The timeline

Plans are submitted within eighteen months of transfer, and building begins within twenty-four months of transfer. These are the terms in the Agreement of Sale.

They exist so that the estate is not left with unbuilt gaps for a decade, which is what happens on estates without them. Most owners take longer than the minimum to design and less time than they expect to build.

Who builds

We do not build. Benguela Cove is not a contracting builder and does not want to be one. What we do is introduce you to a building and project management team we have worked with and trust, and help with design, interiors and decoration if you would like that help.

You are equally free to appoint your own builder, subject to the estate’s construction rules on hours, access and site management.

Also worth reading

What ownership involves

The levy, the security, the amenities and the annual wine allocation are set out on the estate living page. The plots themselves, with sizes and prices, are on the availability page.

Estate living  ·  Plots available  ·  Plot ownership