Price Family, Herefordshire

Until then, their small Herefordshire hamlet was considered open countryside by the local authority, who rejected their planning application in 2002. Their subsequent appeal was also unsuccessful.

The changes in planning law meant that the plot, which is located in the corner of a field between and opposite other buildings, was classed as infill. The Price family recruited Dean Benbow of Warren Benbow Architects, who had success with similar planning applications in the village. Dean advised them on what the planners were likely to accept, and although planning was ultimately granted, there were almost 20 conditions to address before breaking ground.

“Both our sons lived at home and worked on the farm when we first started planning the builds, and Joe still does, so it was essential that they lived nearby. Not many houses come up for sale in the village and prices are rising all the time, so we knew that building houses for them was an ideal way to find them somewhere to live,” says Sarah Price, who project managed the build along with her son Ben.

The Build

Joe, Ben and his partner Samantha continued to live at the family farm during the build, with Ben and mother Sarah visiting the site sometimes twice a day to monitor progress and answer questions. Architect Dean Benbow also helped manage the project, and provided lots of guidance and advice to Ben and Sarah.

Builder Malcolm Roberts of Robford Construction was chosen to build the houses, who the family knew from work he had done around the village. Despite never having built two houses concurrently before, the fact that materials were used across the two builds made the organisation of deliveries more straightforward. Materials were included in the quote but Ben and Sarah often chose to source products themselves, saving money where they could. “Malcolm priced for everything in the tender, but we managed to get some bargains by sourcing things ourselves, such as bathrooms which we found on the internet, and the cladding came from Vincent Timber in Birmingham,” says Ben.

Groundworks began in October 2017 with digging of trench foundations, and the frame construction began soon after. Installation of the first floor panels of the timber frame was delayed by a week due to seven inches of snow. Despite the adverse weather conditions however the overall progress was good, and the roof was felted and battened by Christmas. “Malcolm and all his subcontractors must have been sick and tired of me being on site and asking questions, but they were all great!” remarks Ben.

Interior Design

Sarah was very hands-on when the time came for choosing interior schemes, colours and furniture, with considerable input into Joe’s interior design scheme. “My parents’ house is a fairly traditional farmhouse, so Mum has never really had the chance to do something like this before. She really enjoyed it. We worked together a lot to find the best products,” explains Ben.

Local builder’s merchant Tudors was approached to design the kitchen, which has duck egg blue cabinets and an island containing the induction hob, with a flush fit extractor above. Porcelain grey tiles designed to look like slate have been installed throughout much of the ground floor, with underfloor heating here and in the bathrooms, which also have tiled floors. Carpets are fitted in the separate living room, stairs and bedrooms to create a cosy feel underfoot. “I loved working closely with Ben on this,” says Sarah. “I am very proud of what we have achieved, and I would love to do it again.”

The ground floor also has a utility room located close to the kitchen, a WC and a hallway that leads into the open kitchen area and the staircase, which was supplied by Taylor Lane.

First published in SelfBuild & Design, March 2020 issue.  Reproduced with kind permission.