Michael Donald and Ros Havard Britain's Empty Homes

Across the country, empty properties that could be homes

are waiting to be brought back into use.

I'll be finding out why and what you need to do to rescue a house for yourself.

And along the way I'll be doing some digging of my own

to find out more about our housing stock, our heritage,

and why we should be both reinventing and preserving Britain's empty homes.

Restoring an empty home provides a unique opportunity to put your own personal stamp on a property,

but also, with a serious shortage of available housing stock in the UK,

more and more of us need to take the plunge,

and actually bring these derelict buildings back to life.

On today's show, I'll be meeting a couple who are about to embark on an ambitious renovation project.

Wow! Look at that!

Does that make you quite emotional, the idea that you can keep this building going and...?

-I'm going to try, yeah!

-Yeah.

Well, that's really nice to see.

I'll be finding out what's happening in the Brecon Beacons to combat housing shortages.

And we'll be joining one of the UK's empty property officers

on her crusade to bring unloved homes back to life.

My concerns are that it's such a prolific grower

and there's the potential for it to start affecting all of the other gardens in the area.

Michael Donald and his partner Roz Havard recently bought this empty waste-metal workshop

in the village of Broseley just two miles outside Ironbridge,

birthplace of the Industrial Revolution.

I've always looked at it and always thought, "Wouldn't that make a lovely little cottage?"

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

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

Two years later they've decided to take the plunge and buy a place together.

-It will be our first home together, yeah, that's true.

-Yes.

-And the renovation is our first sort of adventure, if you like, into buildings together.

-Yeah.

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'll do it.

We'll try!

I'm on my way to meet Roz and Michael

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

No-one's lived in these cottages for over 40 years, and I'm keen to hear more about their plans.

-I hear congratulations are in order.

-Yeah.

What happened recently?

-We got engaged.

-You got engaged!

-We got engaged.

-Wow!

Well, many congratulations. Is this, therefore, sort of the first property you're taking on together?

-Is that the plan?

-It is.

-Absolutely.

Fantastic. Well, all the plans are afoot.

-Shall we take a look inside and see what you've landed yourselves with?

-Certainly.

-Uh-huh.

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?

-It is.

-And no foundations with a cottage this age.

-Ah!

-They're straight on to bare earth.

Eek! OK. But, you know, on the plus side it's a very unusual space.

-We believed it deserves to be preserved.

-Yeah.

Does that make you quite emotional, the idea that you can keep this building going and...?

-I'm going to try, yeah.

-Yeah.

That's really nice to see.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Yeah...

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

and have 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 the remaining cottages will be turned into their home.

-Ideally, we'd like to bring probably a two-storey extension out to where we are now...

-Yeah.

..With probably two bedrooms, actually.

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 were 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're hard to find.

-OK.

-This is one of my projects.

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

-Collecting your bricks.

-"I'll be off. I'm just off for some bricks!"

The previous owner had permission to demolish the structures and replace them with new-build homes.

The interesting thing is, although it had planning permission to destroy it and build new,

it doesn't really have planning permission to convert it yet,

so you're going to have to wade into that process.

I have made some tentative inquiries with the conservation people who are very keen to help us

with information, certainly, and contacts to help us to keep the original structure as much as we can.

It's about getting to know the local planning officials, sharing your potential vision

and sounding them out, seeing what they think is possible,

and also starting that process really soon, that's the key, isn't it?

Roz and Michael plan to get contractors in to do the structural work,

but aim to do the rest themselves.

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

Er, originally probably one cottage.

-As they've used it as a workshop, obviously, they've ripped out the walls and the ceiling.

-Yeah.

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.

We're looking to keep this space as our living room, if you like,

with access to the outside and into the courtyard.

Yeah, lovely.

-When could you see it being finished?

-I don't see it going much beyond three years.

I think we could do it within three years.

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, "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're told we can't do this or we can't do that.

-We've got it in our head, so...

-Stoic!

-Stoic!

-That's what I like!

The calm, stoic approach.

Well, lovely to meet Michael and Roz.

Crikey! They've been lucky! These old cottages are just what they were looking for.

They came up at the right time.

So to give them a steer on how to proceed, later I'm going to take them to meet a couple

who have transformed a very unusual empty property into a wonderful home.

And, I tell you, it wasn't an easy ride.

With housing shortages in the UK, it's a travesty that so many homes are left uninhabited.

But there's a team of people up and down the country who are dedicated to tracking these places down

and ensuring they're put to good use.

Sue Li is the local empty property officer for Amber Valley in Derbyshire,

where she's got around a thousand empties on her books.

When I see a new empty property, well, of course, I'm interested to know why it's empty,

what position the owner's in and what we can do to help them.

Her aim is to turn vacant homes into affordable housing,

helping members of the local community on to the property ladder.

Today, Sue is on her way to an abandoned house in Alfreton

which has been on her radar for some time.

The owner has so far been unresponsive,

so the council's been forced to carry out essential works

to prevent it from falling into further disrepair.

Just by looking at the old rotting window frames and doors,

it makes it obviously look like an empty property.

By changing those and having new ones installed,

it will completely transform the front of this property.

Sue's in the process of enforcing a sale to get the house back into use.

In the meantime, she needs to keep a careful eye on it to prevent any further damage.

Looks like the guttering's leaking up there.

Look at these trees now... growing up the side of the property.

At the end of the garden Sue spots what she thinks may be a potentially dangerous plant.

I'm not an expert, but that might be Japanese knotweed.

The weed spreads at an alarming rate and has been known to rupture manmade structures.

My concerns are that it's such a prolific grower

and there's the potential for it to start affecting all of the other gardens in the area.

If Sue's suspicions are correct, it's crucial that she acts quickly.

I need to take this back and have somebody identify it for me properly.

More investigation needed.

Back at HQ, it's over to landscape officer Chris Beale for his expert opinion.

Yeah, the tall stuff there, that is definitely Japanese knotweed.

-Bamboo-like stems, and that's just its yellow autumn colour.

-Right.

-OK, so good luck with getting rid of that!

-OK, thanks.

Once Sue's arranged to have the knotweed removed, the enforced sale of the property can go ahead,

and the house can become a home once more.

Renovating an empty property can certainly drain your financial resources.

But much more than that, it requires time, energy, patience,

and, of course, plenty of support from your friends and family.

But for those who aren't deterred by the long hours and the inevitable stresses,

the results can be truly breathtaking.

Six years ago, Tim and Lindsay Keyes bought this abandoned former chapel in Flintshire,

with plans to turn it into a luxurious family home.

-It was derelict.

-Empty shell.

-An empty shell, yeah.

-Nothing in it.

-No floors...

nothing, basically.

We had to try and imagine putting the floors in, dividing the rooms up...

It was a blank canvas, you can do with it whatever you want.

Built in 1865, this Gothic building was attached to the nearby convent.

It was used as an orphanage until it closed its doors in 1977,

and has lain empty ever since.

The Keyes paid £160,000 for the church and had the same amount again for renovations.

But a build that was supposed to take 6 months ran behind schedule,

and ended up taking 11 months to complete.

You expect to see progress every time you come

and it can get you down, it can be disappointing.

There are times when you just think, "What am I doing this for?"

you know, "What have I let myself in for? We're nowhere near finished."

But there are also times where it makes massive strides.

The creative vision is all down to Tim and Lindsay.

They only called in an architect once it was time to draw up the final plans.

The couple installed a second floor to create a more intimate space upstairs,

but decided to leave the ground floor open to show off the building's Gothic grandeur.

It's difficult to get the balance between old and new.

We kept downstairs old more, didn't we, and the upstairs a bit more up to date.

-My favourite room is...

-The cinema room!

-Cos I'm sport mad!

I could sit there all day, every day, and just watch sport.

I love it in there. Fantastic room.

I like it still looking like a chapel from the outside.

-Yeah.

-And then when you walk in you've got that wow factor downstairs,

and then upstairs is just like a normal family home, isn't it?

But from the outside still keeping its original features, really.

This is a fabulous place to live, fantastic place.

The Brecon Beacons in rural Mid Wales is one of the UK's most stunning beauty spots,

and thousands of tourists flock here every year. However, for those born and bred here,

there's a real housing crisis, and the shortage of affordable homes is a major issue.

When people can't afford to buy or rent a house or flat in the place they were born and raised,

it can threaten the very existence of our countryside towns and villages.

And if we don't find solutions to this problem soon,

it could change the character and the way of life of places like this for ever.

As a national park, the Brecon Beacons are a protected conservation area.

This means the building of new homes is discouraged,

so getting empty properties back into use is a fantastic solution to creating new homes for local people.

Well, I'm on my way to meet someone who feels passionately about keeping the Brecon communities together

and tackling their empty properties to create much-needed homes.

Hi, David, how are you?

David James is the rural housing enabler for the area.

He liaises between Powys Council and the surrounding community to create affordable housing.

Now, tell me a bit about the housing crisis that rural communities like this one are facing.

We haven't built enough housing or the housing that we have built has been largely executive housing,

and we haven't built enough affordable housing in particular

to retain younger people in the communities.

So how important are empty properties in providing a solution to that problem?

Massively important.

So when you see small empty properties just left empty,

when local people could be housed there, it's...I really get upset.

In this little town itself there's probably a dozen properties that could be brought back into use.

And that caters for local people who otherwise will move elsewhere.

It's quite a lot for a small place like this.

And there's a couple that you're particularly proud of because they have been turned around.

Yes, they're really fantastic.

Brilliant. Well, I can see your face light up when we talk about them.

-I think we should go and have a look. Are they just up here?

-Yes.

David's extremely proud of a recent renovation of two derelict cottages,

a project completed using an interest-free loan from Powys Council.

David, these look lovely.

-Let's pop inside and see what's happened to them.

-OK.

All right, well, look at this.

It has... I can see a new floor, you've kept the old fireplace.

New doors, new everything.

It has had a complete overhaul. It was in such a terrible state of repair,

it just needed everything new.

If I was just starting off, I think this would be fantastic as a starter home.

-And are people now looking round this?

-Yeah, they are.

Only yesterday there were viewings all day, so any time now we're going to see people move in.

I'd love to be here when they get the keys because they are the part that really make my job,

and I know it makes the community proud as well, because, you know, you're helping somebody.

It's really inspiring

to see empty properties being saved here, and not just their being brought back to life.

Importantly, they're being made available for local people,

which is helping preserve the local community.

With people as passionate as David on the case,

there really is every reason to be optimistic here.

Earlier I met up with Michael and Roz at the old metal workshop

which they plan to make their home.

Now I'm taking them to meet another couple who painstakingly restored an industrial building.

Hopefully, Michael and Roz can pick up a few tips.

What do you think?

-It's amazing, it's beautiful.

-Lovely.

-So...it's quite a building.

-It is.

-Yeah.

-It clearly has an industrial past.

-Absolutely.

-It's been a working mill.

It's a William Hazledine design. He was responsible for many of the mills in this part of the country.

-And it looks gorgeous.

-Yes, it does.

-Doesn't it? Yeah.

-But it didn't always look gorgeous.

-Oh?

-Really?

-To help you visualise...

That is incredible, isn't it?

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

-They've extended it.

They have extended it. Very good, very observant.

So there are some similarities here, some big similarities.

-Let's go and say hello.

-Thank you.

-Lovely, 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 I'd better come and have a look at this mill

-because you'd actually bought it.

-Yes.

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

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

But Martin could see greater things.

That was 22 years ago,

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

To me, this was a bargain

because there 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.

We did a lot of it ourselves.

I'm 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?

-Good.

-Very well, thank you.

Michael and Roz here

have just been looking at your lovely home and your 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. This is all extension, isn't it?

-Yes.

-Wow! These guys are thinking of also extending,

and they're struck, I imagine, by the similarity of style,

that you've 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 painstakingly conserved the mill wheel and all its original wooden parts,

which now take pride of place inside the house, which has six bedrooms,

a lounge, a dining room and a cosy eat-in kitchen.

Well, you've already admired the outside, and now, coming in here,

-you can see they're retained the inside as well. Very impressive. What do you think?

-It's beautiful.

It's what we were talking about before, about retaining something, a bit of history.

-How long did this project take?

-LAUGHTER

22 years.

Right. Please don't say 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 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 the caravan for about six months, waiting to be able to start. We couldn't start.

-We resubmitted new planning.

-You might not be in a position to start building immediately,

but as long as you've got your planning permission in place, you can start when you want.

Otherwise, when you want to start,

you might not have planning permission and that gets frustrating as you had for six months.

-Well, it's been amazing to see in here. Shall we go into the next room?

-Please.

-After you.

Lead the way.

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're in the extension here,

but it doesn't necessarily feel like it's 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 a little bit more that it belongs to the mill.

We walked in and then I suddenly thought, "Hold on a minute! We're in the extension here."

It just follows. It flows so nicely.

-It's like a wider version of ours, isn't it?

-Yeah.

What we'd like to do is end with a building that basically looks from all angles

-like it's been there a long time.

-Always been there.

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

It's breathtaking inside and out, so thank you very much for taking the time to have us today.

Back in Amber Valley, Sue Li is continuing her mission

to get Derbyshire's empty homes back into use.

Today she's received complaints from neighbours about a vacant property, so she's come to investigate.

I'm here today to see a property that's been empty for around five years.

The owner has carried out work to it but neighbours are now concerned,

with nothing being done for the last year, that that's been abandoned.

They're worried about vermin and that it's looking unsightly.

Sue last visited this house back in 2007,

but the situation at that point wasn't bad enough to warrant action.

It's obvious work has taken place. There's a new kitchen. That wasn't there last time I came.

There are no tools. It's just abandoned.

So...

it's a bit of a mystery.

Sue needs to ask the neighbours if they've spotted any activity at the house recently.

-Good morning.

-Morning. I've been looking at an empty property down the road,

and I know work was ongoing at some point, but nothing seems to have been done for a while.

It's about a year since anybody was there last.

-I know they've done the drive.

-Yes.

-And they've done some work in the house.

-Yeah.

-But since then, I've not seen anyone there.

-OK.

-Thank you.

-All the very best.

-Thanks.

-Thank you. Bye-bye.

It's a shame, really, because it's such a nice house, and such lovely surroundings.

We could do with people in there and I hope the council can sort it out.

Determined to find out more, Sue heads round the back to verify neighbours' reports of mice.

There are no obvious piles of rubble or rubbish or furnishings

that might provide nesting materials or a place to live.

There's no food waste. I can't say that this garden provides harbourage for vermin.

But Sue quickly makes a link to where the unwanted guests may be coming from.

What I can see here is lots of lovely open farmland and fields,

which I would expect are full of mice.

I think you have to accept that, living at the back of this,

mice will come from these fields, rather than from an empty property.

This house seems completely deserted.

Well, almost!

A least it provided a home for a bird at some point.

I think it's really important now that I open up a dialogue again with the owner,

and find out what their plans are and what their barriers are, so we can support them

and bring it back into use,

because otherwise this may be the start of a more serious spiral of decline.

Back in Shropshire, Michael and Roz have been getting some invaluable advice

from a couple who've taken 22 years to complete their labour of love.

This place is a fine example of just how dramatic a transformation can be.

How useful has it been to see it?

I mean, we're always had our vision,

-but what it shows you is the fact that our ugly little brick box can be transformed, if you like.

-Yeah.

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

-Oh, yeah.

-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 with the starting parts of it,

which we'd been sort of thinking, "Well, we've got to do this..." and we do need to make things happen.

There'll be lots of challenges along the way but your cottages are something quite special,

and I know you'll turn them into your dream home, so I wish you every success.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

What a place this is! There's only one word for it...

inspirational, and I know that Michael and Roz are going away very inspired.

I hope too it's given them a sense of the timescale.

These projects really can run on for years if you let them.

But I know they'll be motivated to get started now,

to get their planning in, to get building going,

so hopefully before too long they can turn those lovely cottages into their prefect dream home.

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