Vale Southern Appointed to Deliver Titch Hill Winery in the South Downs National Park

Vale Southern has been appointed as main contractor for the transformation of a mid-century concrete frame barn into Titch Hill Winery, following the grant of permitted development approval for the scheme in the South Downs National Park. The contract, valued at £1.3m, will be delivered over a 30-week programme.

Titch Hill is a natural wine producer whose farm buildings look out over their own vineyards, wheat and barley fields, and the south coast. Having produced wine for the past four years, Titch Hill commissioned the project's design studio to reimagine the existing agricultural building into a fully functioning winery — one with expanded facilities to support every stage of the winemaking process, and a permanent home for the produce of their maturing vines.

Once, Right and On Time is more than our mission statement — it's how we intend to approach a project of real character. This is a building with a story already built into its fabric, and our role is to bring the same care to its next chapter as Titch Hill have brought to their vineyards.

The scheme takes its lead from what's already on, or close to, the site. The existing concrete structure will be retained rather than replaced, with materials repurposed and agricultural by-products — including straw and clay — used to form new elements of the building. HG Matthews will produce 'strocks' (straw blocks) to build an internal structure that will house Titch Hill's wine labs and cellars.

The pre-fabricated concrete frame and columns, with their weathered patina and original architectural detailing, will be kept in place. Redundant internal concrete wall panels won't go to waste: some will be repurposed as floor slabs and monolithic tables, while others will be crushed down into a flooring aggregate with a terrazzo-like finish. External walls will take a lime rubble render made from demolition waste and flint sourced from the estate itself, and visible fixings on windows and door thresholds will echo the building's original utilitarian character.

The winery has been designed to regulate its own internal temperature through passive, low-tech strategies, with no mechanical heating or cooling systems proposed.

Around the barn, the surrounding landscape is being reshaped by Tom Massey Studio, introducing productive gardens and picnic spaces that connect the winery back to the vineyards it serves.