Homebuilding & Renovating

The Homebuilding team and I never cease to be amazed by your self-builds, renovations and extensions, and all the readers’ homes in this issue perhaps serve to showcase the mix of projects we feature. One of the highlights this month is a barn conversion, completed to EnerPHit Plus standard (page 154). The homeowners took a very active role in its build and their resulting home is not only designed to use minimal energy but actually generates more electric than it uses — thanks to solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and battery storage. It’s a great example of how individual homeowners like you are really leading the way when it comes to creating low-energy houses. On the theme of generating energy, solar panels seem to be having a resurgence at present. Even…

JENNIFER GRIMBLE Is a property writer who loves mid-century modern design. SIMON RIX Is a professional planning consultant and runs Planix UK Planning Consultants Ltd. DAVID HILTON Is an expert in energy efficiency and director of Heat & Energy Ltd. TIM PULLEN Is an expert in sustainable building methods and home energy efficiency. REBECCA FOSTER Is an experienced writer specialising in homes and interiors. ANDY STEVENS Is an award-winning builder and broadcaster. Find him on Insta @andystevensTV NATASHA BRINSMEAD Is associate editor and has renovated her own Edwardian home. TIM PHILLIPS Is a quantity surveyor with over 30 years’ experience in construction. MICHELLE GUY Is deputy editor and has just completed her kitchen renovation. ALLAN CORFIELD Is a chartered architect who has overseen the design of over 450 low-energy homes.…

New digital service to simplify planning appeals process The government recently announced a brand-new online portal, aimed at making the planning appeals process simpler, quicker and more cost-effective. As part of the government’s long-term goal of digitising the planning system, the new portal allows those eligible to appeal a planning decision via gov.uk, instead of the Appeals Casework Portal. There are already 69 local authorities using the new online system and those living in these regions can request a second opinion by uploading the relevant documentation. The new portal has been designed to be as straightforward as possible, with guidance at every step to ensure appeals are submitted correctly, mitigating further delays. In the coming months, the government will be adding more local planning authorities to the system – as…

HOMEOWNERS James and Sophie Edmondson with their daughter Aubrey LOCATION Gloucestershire SIZE 350m² BUILD ROUTE Self-designed and main contractor BUILD TIME 16 months (June 2019 - October 2020) PLOT COST Already owned BUILD COST Undisclosed VALUE Unknown This beautiful oak and Cotswold stone home sits on a long, skinny spit of land, meaning the owners can drink in waterside views from every window. “One of our favourite things to do is sit in the sitting room as the sun sets, with the water casting dappled reflections onto the walls,” says James Edmondson, who lives here with his wife Sophie and their daughter Aubrey. Their house’s location is particularly special, as it is set within a private nature reserve run by James and his father, and the idea to build a…

TIMELINE HOMEOWNERS Lauchlan and Charlotte Maclean-Bristol LOCATION Isle of Coll, Inner Hebrides PROJECT One-bedroom stone cottage SIZE 35m² BUILD ROUTE Self project managed with subcontractors BUILD TIME 13 months (Feb 2019-March 2020) HOUSE COST £80,000 BUILD COST £40,500 VALUE £120,000 “It is known as the ‘house of love’ due to so many of the residents finding love while they lived there!” The Isle of Coll in the Hebrides has proven to be an idyllic, yet often-challenging backdrop for enthusiastic renovators Lauchlan and Charlotte Maclean-Bristol. The stunning island – which has been home to the Maclean-Bristol family since Lauchlan’s parents took on a farm on the island in the 1960s – was the location of the couple’s first cottage renovation, a “falling to bits” farmhouse that emerged almost 10 years ago…

TIMELINE HOMEOWNERS Mark and Sarah Astall LOCATION Louth, Lincolnshire SIZE 325m² BUILD TIME 8 months (April - December 2019) PLOT COST £250,000 BUILD COST £889,043 VALUE Unknown Mark and Sarah Astall had experience of self building and conservation work — when the couple first moved to Louth they had bought a home directly from a builder which was just a shell to be completed by themselves. Then, a few years later, a friend of theirs secured planning permission to construct three oak frame homes and two traditional builds on a plot high on the Lincolnshire hillside. “When we first saw the view of the golf course, that was it; that was the start of a new adventure. We’re now even members of the club,” says Sarah. “The views were fantastic…