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Episode 6: Weybourne
Clive Hay-Smith thought the only way to stop a developer ruining his village was to buy the land on which they planned to build 150 houses. He found himself the owner of a working farm and a ruined priory, which he set about restoring with his partner Clare Wood. From the discovery of bodies under the floorboards to delays caused by having to get listed building consent, this project has dragged on for three years. Now, as Oliver Heath discovers, there’s a big push to get it finished. And Clive has put his brother, Nigel, in charge.
Episode 7: Maida Vale
Oliver Heath meets Geoff and Sarah McCormack who are building their dream home. Or, at least, Geoff’s dream home - Sarah is not so sure that she wants to sell their existing luxury flat. Recruiting architect Nicolas Boyarsky, they opt for a steel and glass house in contrast to the Victorian street alongside. But their new home is not to everyone’s taste.
Episode 8: Wisbech
On the site of an old signal box, newlyweds Russell and Delia Swann are building a brand new house - with their bare hands. Using the latest sustainable methods, including recycled yogurt pots in the kitchen, this is going to be one of the greenest houses in the country. But all that’s in the future. The reality is that, just three months after their wedding, Oliver Heath finds Russell and Delia living in a caravan at the start of one of the coldest winters on record.
Episode 9: Brighton
Oliver Heath meets Terry and Kim Coghlan who’ve bought a tiny plot on the end of a row of Victorian semis. They’ve commissioned architect Alan Phillips to give them and their children, Sol and Chelsea, an ultra-modern house. But first they have to dig down - and hope that next door’s garden will stay where it is. As the project proceeds Oliver takes them to Florida in search of inspiration.
Episode 10: Skye
Architect Mary Arnold-Forster has bought one of the most spectacular plots in Scotland for just £25,000. Oliver Heath follows Mary’s progress as she designs and builds a house to withstand storms in winter and midges in the summer, and struggles to get building materials to one of the remotest parts of the British Isles.
Episode 11: Devon
Faced with an idyllic plot, David and Lorraine Whitley are buying a kit house from a factory in Bedfordshire. No architects for them - they like the idea that what you see is what you get. Flooding in their village means delivery is delayed. Eventually the house is erected in just five days but, as Oliver Heath discovers, kitting it out takes much longer.
Episode 12: Green Island
Oliver Heath meets widow Ann Spencer who has always wanted to live on the beach. Now, she’s inherited a plot at the seaside and asked architect Jeremy Hands to give her a house which will make the most of its fabulous position at the southern tip of the British Isles. Ann expected to be moving in within a year but she’s found herself caught up in a spiral of delays.
