There was another bureaucratic
obstacle when some planning
requirements from the initial consented application weren’t resupplied or copied over to the final document
LOW POINT
“Certainly Covid, and Brexit. Also the planning required for the garden.”
better, being only a two minute walk into town. The next step, in July 2018, was to decide on a build method. Over the years they’d visited various self-build exhibitions in Birmingham, London, and Sandown, so “had a good idea of the sort of house that we wanted,” Ian explains. They considered various kit builders – around four or five estimates says Ian – but decided to go with Scandia-Hus, after visiting the firm’s showhouses in West Grinstead.
PLANNING The plot already had outline planning permission – having built his house next door, their neighbour – their land’s former owner – was planning a replica on the site, but never got round to it. In fact, says Ian, “he used it as his dumping ground. So not only did we have to cut out all the forest that we were left with, but we had to clear a lot of other garbage out.” They hired a gardener to clear greenery as well as erecting a fence but unfortunately after finishing the fence, he didn’t return. A groundworking firm then cleared the rest of the site, which included “a lot of digging,” Ian explains. The consented planning permission was for an ‘upside down’ house – partly inspired by the previous owner’s time living in Sweden and also because of the plot’s substantial slope. Ian was in favour of continuing this approach: “Being built on a bank, it makes sense,” he says. Being within three years of the initial approval meant Ian could submit a ‘reserved matters’ application. Despite a local resident warning Ian that he would “hate my guts while we were building,” he assured him they “would be best of friends afterwards!” Scandia helped the couple mitigate the disruption, which Ian says was an onerous process, especially when it came to the landscaping. “It required the garden design to be approved by neighbours, and if there were any changes they had to be consulted,” Ian explains. “It had to have all the planting seasons, Latin names – despite the fact the next door neighbour has got artificial grass
nov/dec 2021
front and back!” They also had to ensure all delivery vehicles stayed on the site, which was sometimes a challenge. “One of our neighbours very kindly let us cut off a corner of his plot so we could get vehicles on more easily,” he adds. There was another bureaucratic obstacle when some planning requirements from the initial consented application weren’t resupplied or copied over to the final document. This meant that “when the build started, the project manager was unaware of them,” says Ian. “We had to actually stop for nearly two months.” The project manager, Dilys Wilson-Layton, was
recommended to them by Scandia, one of several recommendations the firm made. Despite Dilys being Somerset-based, they went with her as it made sense from a financial perspective. Also, explains Ian, “she has local contacts, her father is living nearby so we didn’t think it would be too much of a problem.” However looking back, he says it would have at times been better if she had been nearer the site. “Little things we thought we were going to get, we didn’t,” he says. “The pathway up to the front door has lots of little steps, we wanted a slope but missed that at the time.” Part of their reasoning for choosing a more ‘cost effective’ project manager was that the design Scandia had initially come up with was costing far more than they had anticipated. “We had to tell them to scale it back,” Ian says. The design is based loosely on the company’s Adelia showhouse, but “turned upside down,” he comments, “as we decided we would have one big reception room upstairs plus a bedroom, so we hacked it about until it’s almost not recognisable as the showhouse,” Ian explains. They had a few key design requirements: they wanted the house to be energy efficient and bright, as well as having at least three bedrooms. Crucially, it also needed to be comfortable for them both for the foreseeable future. “We had a lot of input in the design,” Ian explains. They had some small issues with necessary plumbing elements such as soil pipes
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