LIGHT
Architect Paul Testa designed
the new part around a two-
storey glass atrium which unites
the house from top to bottom
and front to back, and brings
light through the house – a
crucial part of the design
the garden is still a work in progress, but by
doing so much of the work themselves they
managed to stick within their original £100,000
build budget. Their only major overspend was
an unexpected £1,500 extra cost for a 10
metre strip of land by the back doors, known
as a ‘ransom strip’, which they bought from the
estate to bring the whole garden into full
ownership.
To help them fund the project they
approached the Ecology Building Society.
“They were a crucial factor for us achieving the
end result. We approached several mortgage
providers, including those that specialised in
self-build, but no one was interested in
lending us any money,” says Mark.
“The Ecology were fab – an absolute breath
of fresh air. We managed to secure a mortgage
specifically designed for projects like ours.” He
continues: “Once the work was complete we
commissioned a new EPC and were then
eligible for a discounted rate based on the‘green’ improvements we had made. This
allowed us to use our savings to undertake the
work needed, and make the project more
manageable.”
Bizarrely, shortly after Clare and Mark were
granted planning permission second time
around, the green belt status was lifted.
“We can only speculate over why that has
happened, but it works in our favour,” he
enthuses. “It means we are more likely to get
planning permission should we decide to
extend further or even build in the garden.”
While it has been somewhat challenging, the
couple’s experiences with this project haven’t
put them off doing it again.
“We would certainly build again,” says Mark,
“but I would employ more tradespeople to do
the work and we would make sure we were not
constrained by planning clauses or restrictions
on the build materials. Perhaps next time we
do this, we will achieve what we set out to
build in the first place!” july/august 2019 http://www.sbhonline.co.uk 27