We’re Moving Home…
We are delighted to announce that we are restoring and renovating the Old Cottage Hospital building in Ashby de la Zouch, within the town’s Conservation Area. When the renovation is complete, the Old Cottage Hospital will be our new home. Our base for the past 25 years is a converted barn in Packington, but it […]
Can I Build a House In My Back Garden?
It’s one of the most frequent questions we are asked: “Can I build a house in my back garden?”. If you are lucky enough to have a large garden, this could be an option for you. Many of the single plots we design are initially part of someone’s front, side or rear garden. Permitted development […]
Award-Winning Conversion Case Study
The School House in Griffydam, Leicestershire, was a run-down engineering works when we first encountered it in 2011. By 2016 our conversion scheme for it won the LABC East Midlands Award for Best Conversion or Change of Use. This conversion case study is the story of a fascinating project. We were initially commissioned in 2011 […]
What is Passivhaus and why does it matter?
The energy consumption timebomb In September 2017, the world took a battering. Tropical Storm Harvey wrought devastation on Houston, Texas. Hurricane Irma flattened Barbuda in the Caribbean. In India, Mumbai ground to a halt under waist-high flooding, and monsoons killed more than 1,200 people in north India, Bangladesh and Nepal. For decades, scientists have been […]
Change of Use for Commercial Property Explained
In today’s unpredictable economy, businesses and landlords need the ability to quickly and easily make a change of use to their commercial property.
A change of use can give you a greater choice of tenants and improved options on how your commercial property can be used.
Building Houses – How to Become a Property Developer
In the UK, housing is in short supply. The government’s White Paper “Fixing our Broken Housing Market”, published in 2017, states that an estimated 240-300,000 new homes are needed per year in England “for the foreseeable future”. With such a pressing need for new homes, is now a good time to become a property developer? […]
How to extend without planning permission: Permitted Development explained
Many people assume that projects like building an extension, porch or loft conversion will require planning permission. But that’s not always the case. You can complete all these types of schemes without planning approval because they are allowed by your permitted development rights. What is Permitted Development? These are permissions granted by Parliament to encourage […]
The effect of HS2 on the North West Leicestershire property market
Chaos, confusion and panic hit our local housing market in 2013 when the Government announced its proposed HS2 rail link from Birmingham to Leeds. The line through North West Leicestershire, mainly following the path of the A42, cuts an unwavering path through our neighbours’ farms, businesses and homes. Properties and businesses on the market at […]
What is listed building consent? (And why you shouldn’t ignore it)
In 2008, property developer Kim Davies bought the 16th century, grade II listed Llanwenarth House near Abergavenny. Over the next few years, he painstakingly carried out over £1m worth of renovation work. Six years later, at Newport Crown Court, he was fined £300,000, with the added threat of 20-months imprisonment if he failed to pay. […]
How to buy land at auction
People buy land for many reasons. Some treat it as a safe investment. Others, having built up equity in a family home, might want to acquire land for a new-build house to suit their lifestyle. Others buy land to gift to their children to give them the chance to build a home. And developers are […]