bi4 Spring Issue 2021

design
design
Murray Fleming
Associate Design Highland
01463 717 799
highland@bellingram.co.uk
Plotting your
dream move
to the
country?
Here’s 5 top tips
for identifying a
perfect site
Readers of a certain vintage will remember
1970s’ sitcom The Good Life which
chronicled the adventures of Tom (Richard
Briars) and Barbara (Felicity Kendal) Good
as they embraced a life of self-sufficiency
in their home in Surbiton.
And this desire to create a ‘good life’
has been one of the enduring property
trends of the last 50 years with the current
pandemic only increasing the demand
for house plots as many people reassess
their priorities in favour of building a better
quality of life in the countryside.
So, if you are thinking of swapping city
living for the rural idyll, Architect Murray
Fleming who heads up Bell Ingram’s
Highland Design team shares his 5 top tips
for things to consider when plot hunting:
Where is the sun?
One of the great benefits of
designing a new house on
your own plot of ground is the
opportunity to take advantage
of the sun as it moves through
the day and to simply enjoy the
pleasures of a light filled house.
Whether it be the morning sun
in the kitchen or a view of the setting sun
from the living room, good house design
begins with designing around the sun
‘path’.
However it is not a simple as north facing
site = bad and south facing = good, it is
much more a matter of the surrounding
topography and how that affects how the
sun reaches the site. A north facing site
may actually benefit from sun throughout
the day if there are no obstructions and a
south facing site may not see any sun if its
path is obstructed by trees or a large hill
immediate to the south.
Try and visit the site at different times
of the day to find out when the sun first
hits the plot and when it dips below the
horizon at the end of the day. Then, taking
account of the time of year, an assessment
can be made of how this will vary during
the year, as the sun path from winter to
summer varies enormously at our northern
latitudes.
Where are the
utilities?
Not so glamourous,
however as many sites
in the countryside are
sold with no utilities, an
assessment of the cost
of bringing in water and
electricity, and dealing with
sewage is crucial to understanding the
‘real’ cost of the project.
A site that seems like a good buy at first
can quickly become a money pit if the
cost of running in each of the utilities
is exceptional due to long distances
for water/electricity, or poor ground
conditions for a sewage system soakaway.
Watch out too if no water supply is
available and the only option is an
expensive and uncertain water ‘borehole’.
Where are the
under-ground
services?
While bringing services a
long way into a site can
be expensive, dealing with
services already on site, but
which are in the ‘wrong’
place, can be equally
problematic, whether it be a water main
running across the plot (which can be
the case even in an apparently remote
location) or overhead electricity or BT
lines.
There are several companies that can
supply this information for a fee, however
local knowledge is equally invaluable, and
a short chat with a long-time neighbour
of the site could save you thousands!
Where are
there planning
conditions?
Most house sites will
be sold with either
‘Planning in Principle’ or
full ‘Detail Approval’ and
both are likely to have
‘conditions’ attached
which you will be required to comply
with. These can vary from a requirement
to carry out protected species surveys to
archaeological ‘watching briefs’ or simply
forming a new vehicular entrance from
the public road to meet the current local
council standards.
While many conditions may have no cost
implications, the above examples could
prove expensive and so making a careful
assessment of the potential costs and
indeed risks of any planning conditions is
an essential part of plot assessment.
Where is the
love?
Buying a plot of land and
designing our own house
is a dream for many of us,
and it’s not as complicated
as it might first appear! But,
before you make that life
changing purchase, ask
yourself: “Do I love this site? For better, for
worse? For richer for poorer? ‘Til de … well
hopefully not that part!” And if the answer
is YES!, come and speak to us at Bell
Ingram Design and we can help make
your dream come true.
Start planning your dream home by
checking out the plots for sale on our
website www.bellingram.co.uk
or contacting Murray Fleming by
ringing our Beauly office.
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