Insight shared - individual country homes

A very English tradition

From ‘The Treasure Houses of England’ to more contemporary ‘grand designs’, the countryside is often the location of choice for those with the means and vision to create an exceptional new home.

By their nature, these homes and the landscapes in which people aspire to create them pose challenges. There are high expectations as well as strict controls in place regarding what can be built in the countryside.

The right team is critical to bringing ambitious visions for individual country homes to life. Rural Solutions have been privileged to play a part in the delivery of a growing number of landmark homes in outstanding landscaped settings.

Rural roundtable

In June, we were delighted to welcome some of those involved in delivering the current generation of individual country homes as we hosted a roundtable event in London. Chaired by Rural Solutions’ Director of Planning, Duncan Hartley, the afternoon made for a lively debate, with some valuable and diverse insights shared.

New country homes

With architects, planners, landscape architects, lawyers, barristers, developers, buying agents and project managers around the table, a range of topics were covered and plenty of insight shared.

As expected, inflation, interest rate anxiety, and the influence on the prime property market were high on the agenda, with the view shared that all but the wealthiest of clients were having to consider the economics of their ambitions more than ever. The effect on supply and demand was harder to call with the southeast as ever being the focal point for many, where access to off market opportunities are highly sought after.

For some, search areas are broadening which seems in part to be driven by a desire for sites with more land, often connected to the environmental aspirations of clients interested in the concept of ‘wilding’ and optimising their environmental contribution through how they manage their land.

Planning approaches are always a hot topic and with the Paragraph 80 route remaining challenging, our Planning Director James Ellis explored the role of permitted development rights and the importance of engaging early, and meaningfully with the planning authority from setting the initial planning strategy right through the application process.

The judgments of decision makers on design quality are often the deciding factor as to whether a proposed home is granted planning permission and the debate as to what constitutes ‘exceptional quality’ was prevalent. As was the influence of design style - traditional or contemporary – which needs to balance client aspiration with local character, location, and setting. The role of design review panels and the ways in which design quality can be demonstrated was a topic that engaged the planners and architects around the table.

A varied and valuable debate and an afternoon well spent covering some big subjects with insight generously shared by all, and a resounding call to do it again soon!

Our thanks to all those who joined us:

Tom Hudson, Middleton Advisors

Sandy Mitchell, Red Book Agency

Alex Jaggs, Finchatton

Tristram van Lawick, Charles Russell Speechlys

Stephen Whale, Landmark Chambers

Francis Terry, Francis Terry Architects

Anthony Hudson, Hudson Architects

Alex Robinson, Duncan Hartley, James Ellis, and Emily Leader, Rural Solutions.

Keen to know more?

Find our more about our work in the sector here. Watch out for our Individual Country Homes blog series, sign up for our e-newsletter, and follow us on social media.

If you have a vision for a distinctive new home, we can help you to make this a reality. Please email info@ruralsolutions.co.uk or call us on 01756 797501 to discuss.