Conrad and Jenny Jones had a lengthy journey to achieving their perfect self build family home, but the result was worth it

WORDS VICTORIA JENKINS

PHOTOS LISA LODWIG

Conrad and Jenny Jones have an unusual self build story. Two years before they bought the plot, the original owner was intending to create two homes on an acre parcel of land - one for her and her son, the other for her other son and his wife (who was a close friend of the Joneses). Old glass structures stood forlornly on the site. “The owner and her husband had run a nursery there for 30 years,” says Conrad. She initially enlisted Complete Oak Home, a turnkey supplier of oak framed dwellings, in July 2015, to design and build a pair of new houses. “It was quite a leap in change of use to go from a redundant garden nursery to permission for two residential dwellings,” says Ged Brockett at Complete Oak Home. “Particularly as the site lies within the green belt and is adjacent to the Cotswold AONB.” Nonetheless, the owner and Complete Oak Home pushed on with designing two distinct houses that would complement each other.

‘‘ It’s especially lovely on a warm sunny day where we are able to open up the corner bifolds to bring the outside in ’’

Expansive glazed bifold doors provide gorgeous views of the surrounding area

“It was particularly interesting and challenging because there were quite a few design constraints from the start,” says Luke Jackson, designer at Complete Oak Home. “The site had already received outline permission for two dwellings and a barn, which specified the buildings’ size, massing, footprint and location on site. This consent had been quite a considerable planning battle and had taken a long time to obtain, so it was important not to deviate too much.” They obtained permission for two oak homes in March 2016.

Change of plan

Complete Oak Home specialises in turnkey packages, so when the owner’s son decided he wanted to be more involved in the project management process, they decided to change tack and parted ways with the company. Over the course of the next year, the plans changed even more, and that’s when the Jones were offered one of the half-acre plots. “A family friend told us her mother-in-law owned an acre of land just outside Cheltenham and had planning consent to build two oak-frame houses,” says Jenny. “For some reason the original plan had fallen apart, so she offered one plot to us.” Conrad adds: “The land never actually came onto the open market!” When it came to buying the site, the Joneses were the perfect candidates. The owner didn’t want just anyone to purchase the plot next door, like a builder who might try to cram multiple dwellings onto it.