Achieving their self-build ambition took time and wasn’t always without challenges. The first task was finding land to build on. The couple set their search zone to the west of the capital and spent several years looking online and driving to a lot of potential plots. Nevertheless, says Roger, the time and the travel is worth it: “Never buy without visiting the site and read between the lines on adverts. If a plot seems cheap, there’s a reason.” The site the couple eventually bought was on the edge of the small town of Westbury. Purchased at auction in 2014 for £200,000, it already had a single-storey four-bed bungalow on it. Roger advises: “It’s definitely worth considering land with an existing property that


can be demolished, but factor in the cost of demolition and removal of spoil.” The bungalow was rented out for the next 18 months while the final terms of planning permission were negotiated and designs for the new build were drawn up. Roger says: “It is possible to talk to planners before submitting an application and it’s well worth it for the advice they can give in terms of what may or may not be acceptable. I’d also recommend engaging with the neighbours early in the process – explain your plans.”


As for design, Roger laughs when he thinks back to the first ‘drawing’ he did himself – on a napkin in a pub. “We took the napkin to our architect, Simon Radclyffe, but asked him to


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