Hi, we bought a relatively old house in May 2015. Bought with the intention of complete renovation but has since become clear that a renovation wiould be as expensive as a new build, luckily the house was de-listed about 15years ago (wouldn’t have bought it if it hadn’t been). Had a pretty dreadful refurb in the 70’s which meant only one external renovation was original (one side) and pretty much the only original thing internally is the cellar.
We’ve had architects engaged for about six months and had a pre-planning meeting last week with the local planning office. Our intention is to move the house so sits more centrally in the plot, increase its height slightly to have better ceiling heights and have a separate garage and office/studio. Matters are slightly complicated by the fact that the boundary of the Green Belt and Chilterns AONB runs through the middle of our garden. New house will sit on but not in those boundaries. The good news is the planning officer was positive about what we want to do!
Current house including garage is approximately 5500 sq ft. Intention is for the new house to be of similar size with perhaps also a basement. Will be contemporary (but not too contemporary!) with a lot of glazing on the ground floor. Design, construction method and materials not finalised yet! Want it to be ecologically efficient but not to Passivhas standards as I understand that’s expensive ? Will certainly have PV but whether we go down the road of GSHP or ASHP I am not sure, one of the things we need to work on. We have mains gas so I am not sure on the economies of them. I am a big believer on not wanting massive exposure to future utility prices so would rather invest now in insulation and M&E! We’re not currently connected to main sewerage but can be. Oh and there’s an old well in the garden which I am thinking of exploring its potential!
Having had the successful planning meeting last week we have our first meeting for the final design next week. Excited but also nervous about what we’re taking on!
