Luck was on their side again when it came to finding an architect. The land was sold with a consented design for a four-bedroom house with an integrated garage. Coincidentally, the architect – Geoffrey Wallace – who had designed it had also previously worked with her parents – its a small town she laughs. Lucy and Tom met the architect and eplained their ideas for a revamp of the design to provide an open plan layout with aluminium bi-fold doors, plus an added boot room and utility room. s were both uite outdoorsy, we wanted a separate boot room ust to hide the muddy walking boots, and an area large enough to entertain friends, says Lucy. The architect wasted no time in making the changes, and eight weeks later, planning was granted. As the garden has a small stream along one side, ood sureys and a mining surey were carried out as part of the sale, fortunately all came back with no issues. To provide a ‘belt


46 www.sbhonline.co.uk


and braces solution howeer, the architect insisted on raising the damp course higher than stipulated in the Building Regulations, and once completed, the drive will be made from a permeable material for better drainage. There was only one obection raised during the whole planning process, and that was from neighbours worried about the damage construction vehicles would do in the narrow shared lane. This was easily resolved, with Tom and Lucy promising to fill in any potholes at the end of the build, a promise they duly kept. Roughly 0.4 of an acre, the plot was originally part of the neighbours garden. When they purchased the land, the only thing standing on it was an old workshop. oweer, they uickly discovered once digging commenced that there were signs of there having been a water mill on the site; “the amount of sandstone we pulled out of the ground was enough for anyone Lucy eclaims. This included seeral original mill


LOW POINT Lead times and


availability of materials during the pandemic: There were uite a few periods when we were waiting around for materials.


may/jun 2023


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