Episode 7 Britain's Empty Homes Revisited

Over the years, Britain's Empty Homes has been

on a mission to show what can be done to revitalise and transform

some of the UK's estimated one million empty properties.

-Alison, hello, how are you?

-Good, thank you.

In this series, I'll be catching up with some of the people

who took the plunge and staked everything on turning

unloved houses into bespoke family homes.

Today, I will be catching up with a couple from an earlier series

who took on an empty property and I'll be seeing just how far

they have got with creating their dream home.

It is our first home together

so what is better than building it together?

We'll also be revisiting some of the derelict dwellings

that our property detectives have been working hard to save

in order to prevent them from spoiling the local landscape.

Wow, what a difference. Absolutely brilliant, isn't it?

New windows, new doors.

And we will see how a thousand homes have been revived

in one of Sheffield's most iconic and infamous housing estates.

I feel quite emotional.

Oh.

Over a year ago, I met Ros and Michael,

a couple who had recently got engaged and had set their sights on

transforming an empty waste metal workshop

into their very first home together.

The building Michael Donald

and Ros Havard fell in love with was in the village of Broseley

just two miles outside Ironbridge,

birthplace of the Industrial Revolution.

'I have always looked at it and always thought,

' "Oh, wouldn't that make a lovely little cottage." '

I never dreamt that one day it might become a home.

Ros and Michael got together through a shared passion for classic cars.

Two years later, they decided to take the plunge

and buy a place together.

It will be our first home together, yes.

And the renovation is our first, sort of, adventure,

-if you like, into building together.

-Together, yes.

Despite being in a conservation area,

the building narrowly escaped demolition.

'I couldn't see a bulldozer going through that property.'

'It really deserves to be kept going, doesn't it?'

'Yes. Yes. And we will do it.'

-Together.

-We'll try.

'I went to meet Ros and Michael

'to see for myself how big a project they had taken on.'

How are you doing?

'No-one has lived in these cottages for over 40 years

'and I was keen to find out more about our plans.'

-Now, I hear congratulations are in order.

-Yes.

-What happened recently?

-We got engaged.

-You got engaged.

-We got engaged.

-Wow.

Well, many congratulations.

Is this, therefore, the first property you are taking on together?

-It is.

-Absolutely.

-It is.

Fantastic. Well, look, all the plans are afoot.

-Shall we take a look inside and see what you have landed yourself with?

-Certainly.

The property dates back to 1740

and was originally a group of separate workers' cottages

before being turned into a scrap metal workshop.

Wow. Look at that. It's just a shell at the moment, isn't it, really?

-Yes. It is.

-And no foundations with a cottage this age.

They're straight onto bare earth.

OK. But, you know, on the plus side it is a very unusual space.

We believe that it deserves to be preserved.

Does that make you quite emotional?

The idea that you can keep this building going.

We are going to try, yeah.

-That is really nice to see.

-Yeah.

Ros and Michael bought the whole place for £200,000

and had a budget of 132,000 for renovations.

'They plan to turn the old workshop into a space for Michael to

'work on his cars and make the remaining cottages into their home.'

Ideally, we would like to bring a two-storey extension next to

where we are now with probably two bedrooms, actually.

So, these extensions, bearing in mind

we are in a conservation zone, what sort of style are you going for?

I'd like them to look like they are attachments to the cottage.

We will use the local tiles, obviously,

and we will build in keeping.

We want to build with Broseley brick, if we can.

Yes, I'm going to start a collection of Broseley brick

cos they are very difficult to find. So it's one of my only projects.

You will be a fun guy to be around for the next year or two, won't you?

'Ros and Michael plan to get contractors in to do

'the structural work but aim to do the rest themselves.'

Hey, I like this place, guys. Talk me through this space.

Originally, probably one cottage. As they have used it as a workshop,

obviously, they have ripped out the walls and ceiling.

Our plan is to keep the roof height as it is now.

It would have been very low, wouldn't it?

-You can see where the floors would have come across.

-Absolutely.

We are looking to keep this space as our living room,

if you like, with access to the outside into the courtyard.

When could you see it being finished?

I don't see it going, perhaps, beyond three years.

I think we can do it within three years if we phase it.

I know how much you both love this building.

Is there a worry that when engineers and builders come in

they might say to you, "I'm sorry, that's got to go.

"We can't save that part of the building?"

The thing is not to worry about it until such time as we are told

-we can't do this or can't do that.

-We have got it in our heads...

Stoic. That's what I like. Calm, Stoic approach.

'This determined couple certainly had their work cut out

'and already knew it wasn't going to come together overnight.'

Later, we will see what happened when I took Ros and Michael

to meet a couple who had painstakingly spent

22 years building their dream home from the ruins of an old mill.

Does that seem a bit of a reality check?

I think we have 22 years to get it done.

Throughout the country, it is not just private buyers

like Ros and Michael rising to the challenge

of turning deserted properties into functioning homes.

Local council empty property officers work tirelessly

to track down the owners of abandoned homes

and use their powers to bring these properties back into use.

In Birmingham alone, there's around 70 houses added to

the empty property register every month.

Over three years ago, we met Matthew Smith,

one of the city's empty property officers,

as he followed up one of his ongoing cases.

The owners of a house in the west of the city

had left it empty for six years and after a fire caused damage

it had become a real eyesore.

Matthew had decided it was finally time to serve an enforcement notice.

Legally, we need to attach the notice to the property

to say it is formally served.

We need to start getting real with this one now.

Having tried and failed to get the owners of this semi-detached house

to improve its appearance,

Matthew had decided the only option was this hardline approach.

If the work isn't carried out we'll carry out the work in default

and hopefully it will be the end to the problems for the neighbourhood.

Today, over three years on, Matthew has come back to see

what's happened to the house that was once such an eyesore.

After the enforcement notice was served, the owners sold

the property and Matthew has come back to meet the purchaser.

-Hiya, how you doing?

-Hello.

-Good to meet you at last.

Margolicia Kurdat is a property developer.

She stayed in touch with Matthew throughout the renovation.

What a difference. Absolutely brilliant, isn't it?

-New windows, new doors.

-It makes a difference, doesn't it?

-It does.

It's brilliant. Back to its former glory, if you like.

-Shall we have a look inside?

-Yeah, yeah, of course.

The interior is immaculate,

just waiting for someone to move in and make it their home.

-Wow, look at this.

-It looks nice, doesn't it?

-Brilliant, isn't it?

Last time I was here, it was all fire-damaged

and totally black with all the soot and everything like that

that was from the fire so it is absolutely brilliant.

From the outside point of view, there was a lot to do

but when we got actually to inside,

there was more smoke damage than fire damage.

I remember looking over the fence of the neighbours

and it was all overgrown, wasn't it?

So, you've obviously cut down and done some work, well,

a lot of work, obviously, in the garden, yeah?

It is a superb family house. Superb inside.

New family's going to move in shortly. Everybody is a winner.

So, finally now, that eyesore from the street has been removed.

And it is looking fabulous.

Transforming an empty property has its rewards,

but it is never going to be easy.

However, when you speak to people who have been through for it,

they will tell you the hard work, the stress,

the sacrifices are all worth it in the end.

In Bath, author Joe Abercrombie and his photographer wife Lou

bought this unusual art deco style property for £400,000.

We were looking for somewhere that we can do some work to.

Maybe not as much work as we ended up doing, but we were

looking for somewhere that would be a little bit of a project.

After an 18-month-long building project,

Joe and Lou transformed it into a strikingly modern family home.

But it came at a cost.

We started with a ludicrous budget of 150.

By the time we started to build, it had mushroomed to about 420.

And then it did go a bit further. So, we probably spent 450, 460.

But we don't know whether we have recouped it.

-We don't know what it is worth.

-We don't know.

I'd rather not know, in a way.

Throughout the spectacular renovation,

Joe and Lou took on many design challenges together.

We wanted a very modern, contemporary kind of look.

It was really nice to come to a house that was really light,

where you could have some real modern touches, but keep

some of the more art deco sort of features that the house already had.

There are some quite interesting materials which are very modern

in contrast to the Bath stone.

The circular extension has been clad in wood.

The stainless steel roof, I think, it makes it more than just

a stone house, really, which there's a lot of them around here.

The Abercrombies have breathed new life into an empty house

and now have an amazing family home.

One of the most important design aspects was to be able to entertain.

With the kitchen sitting out,

looking over this big semicircular patio, we have had a few parties

and it fitted it perfectly.

Everyone was sat out on the lawn, on the patio,

milling around in the kitchen. It is like the perfect space for it.

Bringing an empty property back to life may be a worthwhile pursuit

but it is never going to be easy.

Earlier, we met a couple

who were planning a major renovation of an old workshop.

To inspire Ros and Michael, I took them to see

Ruth and Martin Johnson, who bought a ramshackle old mill at auction

and then dedicated themselves to turning it into a picture-perfect home.

-What do you think?

-It's amazing. It's beautiful.

-Lovely.

-It really is.

-So, it is quite a building.

-Yes.

-It clearly has an industrial past.

It has been a working mill. It's a William Hazeldine design.

He was responsible for many of the mills in this part of the country.

-And it looks gorgeous.

-Yes, it does.

-But it didn't always look gorgeous.

-Really?

-To help you visualise.

That is incredible, isn't it?

-So, not only has it been lovingly restored...

-They have extended it.

They have extended it. Very good. Very observant.

So, some similarities here. Some big similarities.

-Let's go and say hello. Come on.

-Lovely, thank you.

-Thank you.

When Martin Johnson saw the old mill at auction back in 1989,

he was so sure it was the one

that he bought it without even consulting his wife Ruth.

I got home from work, the phone went and you rang to say that I better

come and have a look at this mill because you had actually bought it.

-Yes.

-So I packed the kids into the car, came down and

saw, as far as I was concerned, a pile of rubble.

But Martin could see greater things.

That was 24 years ago

and Martin and Ruth paid £62,000 for the Shropshire mill.

To me, this was a bargain cos it was a wonderful building.

Although it was derelict, it had a lot of what I was looking for.

To afford the building or what was left of it,

Martin and Ruth had to sell their family home which meant

they had no choice but to live in a caravan

with their two young sons for the first six years of the build.

We didn't have a great pot of money.

We were both working full-time.

We did it as we could afford it - a lot of it ourselves.

I am a firm believer that the best things in life are hard-won.

That one can go on my gravestone.

-Hi, guys, how are you doing?

-Very well, thank you.

Michael and Ros here have just been looking at your lovely home and garden

and we played a bit of spot the difference with the original.

Here's one we did earlier.

The first thing we noticed was that it has considerably grown in size.

-So, this is all extension, isn't it?

-Yes.

These guys are thinking of also extending and they're struck,

I imagine, by the similarity of style that you have kept this

look and feel. How have you done that?

Well, it's a lot to do with the bricks.

We went to pains to source exactly the same colour and size of brick.

Ruth and Martin made sure they conserved the mill wheel

and all its original wooden parts take pride of place inside the house,

which has six bedrooms, a lounge, a dining room

and a cosy eat-in kitchen.

Well, you have already admired outside and now, coming in here,

you can see they have retained the inside as well.

Very impressive. What do you think?

It's beautiful. Like we were talking about before,

about retaining something of the history.

How long did this project take?

-22 years.

-Right, we don't have that.

Is that what you'd have imagined?

Does that seem a bit of a reality check?

Well, I don't think we have 22 years to get it finished.

Tell me about your planning. Was it in place when you got the mill?

-The planning permission?

-Yes.

We bought it with a suggested plan and, for lots of reasons,

for us, the plan didn't work.

We didn't like it. It wasn't big enough.

We were sitting in a caravan for about six months

waiting to be able to start.

-For new planning.

-We couldn't start.

-We resubmitted new planning.

You might not be in a position to start building immediately

but as long as you have planning permission in place you can start when you want.

Otherwise, when you want to, you might not have planning permission

and that gets frustrating, as you had for six months.

Well, look, it's been amazing to see.

-Shall we peek our heads through to the next room?

-Yes, please.

-After you. Lead the way.

-OK.

They sourced reclaimed materials for the extension

so the look and the feel of the new rooms

would mirror those of the old building.

Well, the first thing to say is we are in the extension here

but it doesn't necessarily feel like that it is a new addition.

Well, we didn't want just to put a square box on here

and then Martin came up with the bright idea of, you know,

using timbers and just making it a bit more interesting.

It just makes it feel as though it belongs

a little bit more to the mill.

We walked in and then I suddenly thought,

"Hold on a minute, we are in the extension here."

It just follows. It flows.

What we'd like is to end up with a building that basically

looks, from all angles, like it has been there a long time.

Well, guys, it has been amazing to look round your home.

It is breathtaking inside and out.

So, thank you very much for taking the time to have us today.

This place is a fine example

of just how dramatic a transformation can be.

So, how useful has it been to see it?

I mean, we have always had our vision, but what it shows you is

the fact that our ugly little brick box can be transformed, if you like.

-Are you leaving here now just raring to go, to get stuck in?

-Yes.

-We'll get started when we get back, shall we?

-Well, why not?

-Why not?

I mean, what it does tell you is the fact that you do need to

push on to starting parts, which we have been sort of thinking,

"Well, we have got to do this." And we do need to make things happen.

There will be lots of challenges along the way but your cottages are

something quite special and I know

you will turn them into your dream homes so I wish you every success.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

Buildings in need of being saved and restored aren't just found

in the idyllic English countryside but also in the busy inner cities.

A controversial decision by English Heritage to protect

an unpopular Sheffield housing estate laid

the foundations for a huge regeneration project.

Designed in the late 1950s,

the Park Hill estate married social housing with cutting-edge design.

But, by the 1980s, it had fallen into decline.

With 900 flats lying empty,

it was on the brink of demolition until English Heritage

stepped in to save it, giving it a Grade II* listing,

which made it one of the largest listed buildings in Europe.

I came to see this unique structure for myself just over a year ago.

The deck access scheme was seen as revolutionary at the time,

described famously as resembling streets in the sky.

The estate was undergoing an impressive £100 million renovation.

I met Mark Latham from developers Urban Splash who are working

with Sheffield City Council on the project.

So, Mark, Park Hill fell into decline.

Why wasn't it just knocked down?

That happened in so many other modernist housing developers.

Well, I think, principally it was recognised as being really

a special example of this kind of building. It is a landmark.

It is something that is absolutely unique in the world to Sheffield.

And people travel from all over the world to come here and see it.

Now everyone can see they might not like it in its current decline,

dilapidated state, but if you talk to people who have lived here

there are some key things that they all talk about.

One being fantastic views, another being great space standards,

so they are quite generous inside and the other key thing is

this sense that this place creates a sense of community and that this

place is too important to, kind of, just let fall away somehow.

So, tell me about the renovation. When did it begin?

I know it is going in phases,

but how long has it been going for and how far have you got?

Well, basically, the block that you see behind us which is all

the colour panels, that is more or less a third of the physical space

of the entire estate and we have completed the full envelope of that

so the walls are on and it's all watertight and we are beginning

then to fill up the inside with fitting out the flats themselves

and we will just move on, phase by phase, block by block.

The developers had installed a show flat for prospective buyers.

Two thirds of the new properties were for sale

with one third being saved for social housing.

One of the major changes had been to make the walkways

or streets in the sky residents only.

Previously, with no security or surveillance,

they were used as rat runs by criminal gangs -

just one cause of the estate's decline.

These are the famous streets in the sky,

one of the defining features of Park Hill.

They will actually be closed to the general public but there will

still be, you know, plenty of people coming and going, other

residents so that you get a sense of public and then private space.

And in this tall block you have three of those streets.

Each have different names and they have remained as really

-a centrepiece of the vision here, haven't they?

-Absolutely, yeah.

And it is actually essential anyway

because it is how the building is sort of put together.

It's part of the pleasure of it and what makes it unique so

we were very keen to keep it.

Now, one year on, we have come back to the Park Hill estate to see

just who is occupying its famous streets in the sky.

Of the 78 flats finished so far, over half have been sold

and among the very first of the new residents is retired couple

Cathy and David Price.

I feel quite emotional. I'm sure David does.

-Pretty much.

-It seems to have been a long time coming.

-I will give you the homeowner pack to take.

-Thank you very much.

-And, David, I will give you the keys.

-Thank you.

I'm very excited, like my wife said.

I just can't wait to move in here and start living in Sheffield.

It is the beginning of a dream, I guess.

Oh, exciting.

Ooh!

Oh, wow. It looks amazing.

Yeah, fabulous. Look at the view.

Just working out where the sofa will go.

Oh, that's open.

Instead of wooden beams, we have got concrete.

All our hopes for the future are pinned on our life in Park Hill.

Once, this estate would have been a no-go area for Cathy and David,

but now it is a safe and welcoming environment

that they can't wait to move into.

The fact that this is, you know, something old,

been brought back to life and regenerated,

rejuvenated and we hope that is what is going to do for us too.

Whether it is a whole housing estate or just a single property,

embarking on a renovation project requires determination,

vision and an ability to take setbacks on the chin.

Qualities that were very evident

when I met Ros Havard and Michael Donald

before they had started renovating the old industrial building.

'I couldn't see a bulldozer going through that property.

'It really deserves to be kept going, doesn't it?'

'Yes. Yes. And we will do it.'

-Together.

-We will try.

I am back in Shropshire to catch up with Ros and Michael.

Now, when I first met them, it was a clear to me they

had an emotional attachment to this building.

It wasn't just an investment in bricks and mortar -

they really cared about saving these old cottages.

Now, from the front, it all looks quite similar,

but let's have a look round the back and see what has changed.

We have seen many examples of great transformations across the series,

but I'm sad to say

sometimes the challenges presented by a particular building

defeat even the most passionate and determined of would-be renovators.

Ros, Michael, here I find you ankle deep in snow.

Lovely to see you again.

But down to business.

I was kind of half-expecting to come round the corner there

and see a new extension.

Things look remarkably similar to the last time I was here.

-What has been going on?

-The footprint of the building,

if you like, the structural integrity of it is basically rotten.

We were trying to keep the front wall but that, actually,

is too small to get a living space so we have to come to

-a compromise that basically the thing has to come down.

-Wow.

-It has actually got to come down.

-Sadly.

-You have to start again.

The structure of the 400-year-old building was

so bad that it was simply beyond repair.

We have tried everything to try to keep it, but...

It has just got to go.

How does that feel? This was a building you guys fell in love with.

This was, you know, something you were really attracted to

and drawn to and that has been at the heart of this project.

Yeah, I was... I don't know.

It's difficult to say.

-Emotional, isn't it?

-It is.

-They do get you, these buildings.

Yeah, yeah.

But Ros and Michael aren't giving up.

They are determined to salvage as much as possible

of their beloved building.

They have gone right back to the drawing board.

There is room here to incorporate your spiral staircase.

And local architect Francis Turner has come up with a scheme to

rebuild the old cottages from scratch,

saving some of the materials from the original structure.

The difficult thing was to convey to Ros and Michael,

without upsetting them, that we

really have to think more broadly as to how we can actually do it.

So, it is a last resort

but you really think some of this character, some of this history,

some of this heritage can be projected into a new building.

Definitely. Definitely.

'And now, with the right architect in place,

'I really feel that Ros and Michael have turned a corner.'

-What is it we're looking at here?

-We are looking at a staircase.

-It is a staircase.

-Yes, indeed.

-How bizarre.

They have been busy scouring antiques yards, determined

that one day they will create and furnish the home of their dreams.

You've had a setback, yes, but now you can get really excited

about what you're going to create here.

You're going to keep some of that history,

you're going to keep the feel of the place,

use some great original materials and you will have that amazing home.

It is our first home together

-so what is better than building it together?

-Amazing.

Well, guys, good luck. It is all going the right way

and you're going to have a great first home as a married couple.

-We are. Thank you.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

Michael and Ros desperately wanted to save this building

and they looked at every possible solution,

but in this exceptional case reality intervened

and it just wasn't possible, but they are doing the next best thing

which is staying positive and then taking the history and character of

this building forward and projecting it into a brilliant new home.

And you know what? I think they will be just fine.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd