Planning has been approved for nine new homes for the centre of Tewkesbury.

It took five years of planning applications and appeals, but Cheltenham-based architect, coombes:everitt, has finally come up with a design to fit the local area and keep the homes well above potential flood levels.

Toby Coombes, from coombes:everitt architects, said: "It was clear that this site is a very sensitive area and from the start we wanted the development to enhance the areas. Our solution was to develop a series of buildings which reflected the historic 'burgage plots' common to the area. Dating back to medieval times, burgage plots were how towns such as Tewkesbury were first laid out in long strips of land with narrow street frontages."

Chris Partrick, conservation officer for Tewkesbury Borough Council, said: "The scheme has made a conscious effort to analyse and understand the area's characteristics and reflect them in its language, massing and materials. This approach is considered to fulfil the objectives for modern development in sensitive historic contexts."