This house was something of a ground breaker for us in that is was our first entirely off grid home. Whilst advances in technology mean that is no longer unusual, when we first visited the site at the end of 2014, the idea was far less common!
Off-grid House, Dorset
From the start we were enchanted by the setting – 13 acres woodland in rural Dorset surrounding two ponds and a field with an ancient lime kiln! That structure proved a vital pawn in the planning process as we were able to successfully argue that creating a new dwelling, whilst in an isolated rural location, could be “enabling development” to fund the repair and conservation of the lime kiln.
After planning approval was granted in autumn 2016, we then undertook technical design work and secured approval under the Building Regulations. Work on site didn’t start until late 2018 and was impacted by Covid, (like so many building projects), towards the end, meaning the house was completed in 2020.
But the result is a true example of how to live sustainably; a combination of a private water supply, solar panels, 30kw battery storage and a log burner fuelled entirely by logs felled on site have meant that our client’s total energy costs in the two years they have lived there amount to £70! That doesn’t include the free electricity they generate to power their electric car!
More than that though, is the real sense of living entirely in harmony with nature; the setting means an incredible array of wildlife call the woods home as well as our clients, who are delighted with their new home.
LOCATION: Dorset
GIA: 199sqm
STATUS: Completed
STAGE OF INVOLVEMENT: Full Planning & Technical Design
