November 21, 20205 yr Morning all, This forum looks to be exactly what I need. I've reserved a plot at Graven Hill and have just received planning permission. The build will start as soon as I've sold my current house - realistically, next year. It's a Potton timber frame with render and wood cladding with two mono-pitched rooves which we want to make as near to passiv-haus as we can, without all of the certification stuff. I have a lot of questions... Cheers, Steve
November 21, 20205 yr Hi and welcome I am loosing count now but I think you are now the 4th Buildhub member at graven Hill so you are in good company.
November 21, 20205 yr Just make sure all your pre-commence/development Planning conditions and CIL notices are dealt with prior to starting ?
November 21, 20205 yr Have a look at some of the posts from @Visti who knows what he is up to. His place would be worth a visit.
November 21, 20205 yr 25 minutes ago, DevilDamo said: Just make sure all your pre-commence/development Planning conditions and CIL notices are dealt with prior to starting ? Wouldn’t that all be taken care of at Graven Hill? I think Graven Hill puts the foundations in (I don’t think you are allowed to do it yourself).
November 21, 20205 yr If you look around there are several at Gravenhill already here. @DarrenA and @Visti and @tommac86 are three. @Visti should have just moved in. Have a dig via Google or the site search. And try some PMs. Google on "buildhub gravenhill site:forum.buildhub.org.uk" Now you take a photo of your hair so you can look back and remember what it used to be like before it all turned grey and fell out ? ,
November 22, 20205 yr On 21/11/2020 at 10:10, newhome said: Wouldn’t that all be taken care of at Graven Hill? I think Graven Hill puts the foundations in (I don’t think you are allowed to do it yourself). Oh apologies. Not familiar with the name/site where the majority of others are. Just giving standard commencement advice following grant of Planning. Edited November 22, 20205 yr by DevilDamo
November 22, 20205 yr 15 minutes ago, DevilDamo said: Oh apologies. Not familiar with the name/site where the majority of others are. Just giving standard commencement advice following grant of Planning. Big Council self-build site near Bicester. Nearly 2000 serviced plots in toto.
November 22, 20205 yr just looked at the prices. what a rip off. double the price of a normal plot. someone is making a shedload of cash.
November 22, 20205 yr 23 minutes ago, Dave Jones said: just looked at the prices. what a rip off. double the price of a normal plot. someone is making a shedload of cash. Yes I am the first to agree they are over priced, but there is otherwise no such thing as a "Normal Plot" in Oxfordshire. the reason we never built there was we could never afford a "plot" as about the only way they ever came up was a knock down and rebuild, where you were paying not far off finished house price for a plot. It wasn't until we moved up here where plots are always for sale at plot price, that we got to self build.
November 22, 20205 yr I think it's a great idea but someone is making a shedload of cash out of it. Plus there would be too many restrictions for me personally.
November 25, 20205 yr On 21/11/2020 at 08:52, Steve Squires said: Morning all, This forum looks to be exactly what I need. I've reserved a plot at Graven Hill and have just received planning permission. The build will start as soon as I've sold my current house - realistically, next year. It's a Potton timber frame with render and wood cladding with two mono-pitched rooves which we want to make as near to passiv-haus as we can, without all of the certification stuff. I have a lot of questions... Cheers, Steve Hi Steve, We are (soon to be) going to be building at Graven Hill too congrats! Bart
November 25, 20205 yr On 21/11/2020 at 08:52, Steve Squires said: I have a lot of questions... As a famous physicist once said, "we don't yet know, what we do not know"
February 10, 20215 yr On 22/11/2020 at 14:35, Dave Jones said: just looked at the prices. what a rip off. double the price of a normal plot. someone is making a shedload of cash. Where are the normal plots? I've been looking for a plot for a self-build for over a year! PlotFinder/PlotBrowser/RightToBuildRgister etc Anywhere in the South East South West is £200k+ which at Graven Hill gets you a full serviced plot and planning. I'm looking into GH right now and think it's not a bad option especially as you get creative freedom with the aesthetics of your home and don't have to do a pastiche of some hideous 1930s Semi.. Happy to hear where I should be looking to get something for £100k! Thanks
February 11, 20215 yr On 22/11/2020 at 18:34, newhome said: I think it's a great idea but someone is making a shedload of cash out of it. Plus there would be too many restrictions for me personally. The council will loose money on it, but that way no other council will have to try it out again.
February 11, 20215 yr On 22/11/2020 at 18:34, newhome said: I think it's a great idea but someone is making a shedload of cash out of it. Plus there would be too many restrictions for me personally. Too many people is my issue. And bicester is way over delevoped now.
February 11, 20215 yr On 10/02/2021 at 17:06, Saul said: Where are the normal plots? I've been looking for a plot for a self-build for over a year! PlotFinder/PlotBrowser/RightToBuildRgister etc Anywhere in the South East South West is £200k+ which at Graven Hill gets you a full serviced plot and planning. I'm looking into GH right now and think it's not a bad option especially as you get creative freedom with the aesthetics of your home and don't have to do a pastiche of some hideous 1930s Semi.. Happy to hear where I should be looking to get something for £100k! Thanks Agreed. There are simply no sensible priced plots in this part of the country. GH looks "sensible" in that regard. Especially as many of the "unknown" costs in a normal build are taken care of.
February 11, 20215 yr There are more Tesco's in Bicester than any other town in in the country, all ready for those Graven Hill residents/ When Grand Designs featured it I thought the plots were 100k, was that for publicity
February 11, 20215 yr 4 minutes ago, LSB said: When Grand Designs featured it I thought the plots were 100k, was that for publicity Only for those few foundation plots. And yes most likely for publicity. The plot costs have sky rocketed since then.
May 18, 20215 yr On 21/11/2020 at 08:52, Steve Squires said: Morning all, This forum looks to be exactly what I need. I've reserved a plot at Graven Hill and have just received planning permission. The build will start as soon as I've sold my current house - realistically, next year. It's a Potton timber frame with render and wood cladding with two mono-pitched rooves which we want to make as near to passiv-haus as we can, without all of the certification stuff. I have a lot of questions... Cheers, Steve Hi Steve Wondered how long GH took to exchange contracts after accepting your offer on the plot. I am hearing that they are beyond slow to add to the list of other issues/idiosyncrasies that have to be overcome before you are allowed to start your build on their site. Thanks Saul
May 22, 20215 yr Author On 18/05/2021 at 18:47, Saul said: Hi Steve Wondered how long GH took to exchange contracts after accepting your offer on the plot. I am hearing that they are beyond slow to add to the list of other issues/idiosyncrasies that have to be overcome before you are allowed to start your build on their site. Thanks Saul Not exchanged yet - it's taken an age to get the foundation drawings corrected...
May 30, 20215 yr Hi @Saul I’m currently building at GH, while GH can be horrendously slow and just generally sloppy. If you set clear deadlines and chase (constantly) then it can be done with relative speed. We reserved our plot on the 31st July 2020 and exchanged in December, with Groundwork completed in early March. Happy to answer any other queries you have. Tom
May 31, 20215 yr 10 hours ago, tommac86 said: Hi @Saul I’m currently building at GH, while GH can be horrendously slow and just generally sloppy. If you set clear deadlines and chase (constantly) then it can be done with relative speed. We reserved our plot on the 31st July 2020 and exchanged in December, with Groundwork completed in early March. Happy to answer any other queries you have. Tom Hi Tom I have plot 596 on hold with a view to reserving soon pending further research. I will be up at the site this Wednesday meeting Mark from Benchmarkdesign who have done 18 houses at GH. They're currently building on Plot 275. GH are clearly sticking to their price structure so have lost the battle there and it sounds like the review into Right to Build by Richard Bacon MP is nothing more than a PR exercise and won't be tackling pricing control of Council Owned Land Disposal but what can you expect from the Conservatives. Anyway, as mentioned timescale is now my biggest concern as I want to do this as fast as humanly possible <1 year. Have you got your Superstructure started yet? If you're working up there on Wednesday it would be nice if I could swing by say hello and ask a couple of questions? Thanks Saul
May 31, 20215 yr @Saul I’ll be there on there Wednesday, so pop over. I’m next door at 276 so it’s pretty convenient. Yep, Sips kit is up. It’s possible to do it quickly, can chat through some thoughts on Wednesday. Guessing 596 is one of the phase 2 plots? No surprise on pricing, but there is room for negotiation so be sure to push them hard.
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