Alison Grant Britain's Empty Homes

Across the country, empty buildings 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.

I'll be doing some digging of my own

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

and why we should both be reinventing, and preserving,

Britain's empty homes.

If you're looking for a home in a remote and picturesque location,

finding something that is affordable and suitable

can be an incredible challenge.

Then finding an empty property,

and thus something even more affordable, can be even tougher.

But if you can find one of these diamonds in the rough,

and you're prepared to put time and energy into it,

you could not just create a home that's perfect for you,

you could also wake up every morning with a view a little bit like that.

Today I am meeting a theatre director whose latest production

is proving trickier than she thought.

Everything I wanted in a house and haven't had

has had to take a backseat.

We'll find out how an intrepid home owner

transformed a derelict farmhouse in an extremely remote location.

There's a lot of builders that would not even consider this property

because it's too far out.

And we'll follow the property detectives

working to rescue unleaded and abandoned houses.

To be able to go along and see a problem

I can then personally do something about

brings me total job satisfaction.

Theatre director, Alison Grant,

has always dreamt of living in a quaint English cottage.

Especially after spending 25 years in the USA.

I longed for all sorts of things that England has

that America doesn't have. A lot of that is history.

What I want is the idyllic, English dream.

A cottage with chickens in the garden and a dog and a cat.

Alison recently separated from her husband and has come back to the UK.

Soon after her return she bought this abandoned Rangers cottage

in Cuckmere Haven, East Sussex,

paying £300,000 for it at auction.

Everybody dropped out of the bidding at a certain point,

and it was between me and one other lady,

and we were obviously both emotional bidders, not investors.

So, we bid each other up

and it finally came to the point where I went,

"I mustn't bid any more," and she didn't bid anything.

The joy of winning the bidding war

was soon tempered by the reality of what she actually bought.

I was very pleased to find that it was structurally sound

and had a solid roof that didn't leak.

What it did have was an infestation of death watch beetle,

which, apparently, nests in all the oak only.

Death watch beetles infest old timber

and over time eat away at them.

But if the timbers are treated properly it is possible to

eradicate the beetles.

There have been times over the last year

where I've wondered about my sanity.

There are times when I have woken up in the night and gone,

"What have I done?"

I'm meeting with Alison to find out more about her renovation.

Hello, Alison, I'm Joe.

-Hi, Joe, nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you, too.

This is it, what an incredible property in a stunning area.

Yes, that's why I bought it, obviously.

It had been empty for tow and a half years,

it was covered, you couldn't see the view because it was so overgrown.

It was pretty... it was pretty dire.

Let's have a look, then, you can show me around.

Crikey, look at this, it's all opened up.

It is, indeed.

What was it like before, when you first walk through the door?

Very closed, very dark,

which is why I'm going down the route of opening it up,

and we've raised ceilings.

To try and make it a bit more bearable to walk around in.

You've raised the ceilings on the ground floor?

Yes.

We were able to do it because upstairs it's got a sloped ceiling,

so there's more headroom.

We had to make the decision whether to go down

or to take the ceilings are up.

We decided we would take the ceilings up

because you get into a whole mess of problems if you try to go down,

I understand, with damp and so on.

OK, it feels the right height, it feels natural.

It's still quite low that it's, it's, for a cottage, it's OK.

Yes.

What is this behind you? It looks incredible.

Ah, this was entirely concealed.

It's too high for a fireplace, is it some sort of oven?

Yes, it is a bread brick oven, is what it is.

A bread oven.

It looks as if it is in working order, I haven't fired it up,

Jamie Oliver cooks with one all the time.

I'm keen to see what plans Alison has for the upstairs.

-So, this is going to be the master bedroom.

-OK.

The fireplace is going to be raised up,

so that it's a see through fireplace with a fire on both sides.

Then through there, there's going to be a whirlpool, spa bath.

Which is why we've had reinforcements underneath,

to bear the weight of that.

And built-in closets.

So, it is going to be this one magnificent...

So, a sweeping bedroom, all the way along the front of the house.

With the views, yes.

You look out there, and there is such a view.

-It is, it's iconic.

-It's just breathtaking.

It's a beautiful sight,

but inside, with all these internal timbers,

I can see why Alison's concerned about

discovering death watch beetles.

Yes, OK, you had to take out some of the woodwork

because of beetles, and that kind of stuff,

but great that you've got these chimneys and the bread oven

and a couple of fireplaces.

-Plenty to work with there.

-Oh, yes.

Looking ahead, now, at the project, is the greatest worry money?

Yes, I would say the greatest worry is money,

not where the money is coming from eventually,

but how to utilise the money that I have got at the moment,

to make it work in the best possible way.

Later, we'll go to see a property that has been completely renovated,

by a couple, actually.

We'll meet one of the couple to show us round,

which is the important bit for you.

Because they are experienced in this,

they've done it more than once, I hope they will be able to give some really good advice

on how to make your money go as far as it possibly can,

and just point out if he thinks that maybe, you haven't thought of.

I can see it in my mind before we started,

and now we've started, the doubts begin to come in.

So, just to get a little bit of reassurance

and inspiration would be brilliant.

Well, for me, this is what taking on an empty home is all about.

Alison is going for it, complete overhaul, total renovation.

I think she's striking a nice balance between making it her own,

you know, raising the ceilings so she's not always hitting her head.

But also, bringing the best out of the history and character

of the building.

Now, Alison doesn't have any experience in this,

and clearly she is worried about her budget, her money, her cash flow.

Hopefully it's going to help her to meet an experienced home renovator,

and hopefully he'll have some tips

on how to make her budget go as far as she needs to.

Not every neglected property is so fortunate

to have someone like Alison give it a new lease of life.

Across the country it's the job of our councils empty property officers

to try and bring Britain's forgotten homes back from the brink.

Paul Palmer is the empty property officer

for Corby and East Northants.

I love properties, love buildings, and I love people as well.

So, to be able to go along and see a problem that

I can then personally do something about,

work with an owner to see that property brought back into use

brings me total job satisfaction.

In his 20 years on the job,

he's saved 800 houses from dereliction

and put them back into use.

Today, Paul is visiting an empty house

in a remote, rural part of East Northants.

The owner is absent but is considering redeveloping the plot.

There have been reports that someone may have gained access to the house,

so, Paul's first challenge is to work out how people are getting in.

One of the main reasons we are here is cos the owner is concerned

about the property being insecure.

So, the obvious place to start his front door.

That seems OK.

And, it's not long before Paul finds the potential access point.

Aha!

Now I'm inside the property, I am doing two things,

one, looking for other points of entry

so I can advise the owner where they are

and what he needs to do to secure the property.

But, two, I'm also looking for a short-term solution

to this empty property.

I'm looking to see what work need doing

and perhaps we might be able to bring this property into use

quite quickly and fairly cheaply.

Well, that's not a bad kitchen.

What fantastic views out of the window.

This kitchen doesn't look bad at all,

little bit of a tidy up...

..I think we could get this commissioned and back into use.

Bit too well ventilated with that huge, broken window behind us.

Upstairs, Paul gets more clues about who is potentially using this house.

So, clearly this is where

whoever's getting into this property is coming.

And think they're using it as, sort of, a chill out zone,

to be honest with you.

It's obviously not squatters, cos there's no evidence of occupation

that squatters would normally do.

There is no bedding, there's no beds, there's no materials,

there's no food, clothing, or anything like that.

I suspect it is just local youngsters getting in here,

having a good time.

Having said that, of course,

we have to secure the property to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Job done.

Paul will now put a list together of the work required

so the owner can renovate the house and get it rented out soon.

I feel really positive about this property.

Clearly it was a much loved family home,

and I think it can be again fairly quickly,

and for not too much money, either.

So, I'm really pleased that were on the first steps

to seeing it brought back into use.

And I'm going to make sure it happens.

Since our filming,

a local developer has come to an arrangement with the owner

to do this house up.

The developer and his renovation team are now living in

while the work takes place.

Buying an empty home is a bit of a leap in the dark.

Years of neglect can lead to unforeseen problems,

but if you're brave enough to take on a property

that others have given up on, you hold your nerve,

you take the right advice,

and you have the patience to see through to the end,

you could become the owner of your dream home.

In Northumberland,

Mary Almond has always dreamt of renovating a derelict house

in a remote location.

When we first came to see the farm,

we were just driving along with the farmer, and I said,

"Oh, that property over there, is that part of the farm?"

And he said yes, but it is a separate lot.

And I said to my partner,

"Well, I really don't want to buy the farm if we can't buy that property,

"because that's what I've always wanted to do."

It hadn't been lived in since about the 1930s,

the roof of the barn had fallen down, it was very derelict.

But, before Mary could start renovating this house,

she had to find a way of actually accessing it.

When we first came to see the farm,

the owner said the only way you could get to this house

would be on a quad bike.

It was only once they have built a road in mile long,

that they could bring in their basic utilities.

We had to get water from a nearby farm, from a borehole.

It was it was prohibitively expensive to get electricity here,

so, what we have is a wind turbine in combination with a generator.

Renovating a house in such a remote spot made getting builders hard too.

You find if you want to do a property in the middle of nowhere,

a lot of builders would not even consider this property,

because it is too far out.

During the year-long build, Mary lived in a mobile home on site.

We bought a caravan

and thought that the project wasn't going to take very long,

so we didn't spend a lot of money on the caravan.

And when it got to winter, the caravan started leaking

and when the television blew up I said,

"I have got to move into a house."

In total, Mary spent £180,000 doing this old farmhouse up.

But, for her, it was worth every penny.

When the weather is very windy you come in from outside,

you've got to coal in, and you've got your logs in,

it's lovely and warm and you just batten down the hatches.

Those are the moments that I love being here.

I was meant to build this house, I was meant to rescue it

and it is my legacy, I suppose, I feel, that I've saved this house.

Every time I drive over the hill and see it from the skyline I think,

yes, that's special.

Abandoned homes don't just affect the remote areas of our countryside,

empty houses also have a serious impact on our inner-city areas too.

Post-war Britain was the age of the tower block,

in the 1950s through to the late '70s,

many large, concrete housing estates were built

in the boom of what was seen as brave and challenging architecture.

Unfortunately,

many of these model estates haven't stood the test of time,

and towns and cities are looking to rebuild or renovate

these decaying structures.

The problem is, is that regeneration schemes don't always go to plan

and can lead to thousands of properties being left empty

to go to rack and ruin.

Across Britain, hundreds of council estates have been left in limbo

because of stalled regeneration plans.

These ghost estates often only have a few families left

living in them and can fall into total disrepair.

The Empty Homes Agency is an independent charity

that campaigns to get empty buildings back into use.

I'm meeting with the chief executive, David Ireland,

to find out why so many council estates are empty.

A lot of redevelopment programmes were started

when the money was available,

and all done for the right reasons,

but what we've had, is we have had an economic crash,

and we have had a big cut in public expenditure.

Which is meant a whole load of those programs now can't be finished,

the effect of that was that it left thousands of properties empty

across the whole country, north to south.

Some post-war estates have definitely had their time.

But, there are also many that can still

fulfil their role as affordable housing.

50 years ago, we looked at Victorian houses

and thought they were rubbish and needed to be got rid of,

now we value them.

So, I think it is easy to condemn them

all as a genre of something which needs to go.

But there's lots of people who live in these houses,

it provides very good housing for lots of people.

Actually, maintaining them and improving the quality of them

is what we need rather than tearing them all down.

And when you see these big estates that are empty,

what impact does that have on the area?

It's very expensive to leave a property empty.

What you therefore have to do, is spend a whole lot of money

on security and boarding the place up

so, there is a cost to it in the first place.

The second thing is, it looks terrible,

it sends such a bad message out to the community who are still there

and the community at large.

The Empty Homes Agency estimates that

there are over 40,000 council flats left unused in the UK.

In total these empty homes could potentially provide housing

for 120,000 people,

so, utilising even some of them is still a very sensible solution.

Now, we see that the economic crisis is going to go on for a long time.

And we won't have public money back for a long time.

Looking at how we can get these properties reoccupied,

even if it's just for five years or so,

could make a huge difference

and provide loads and loads of homes for people.

When properties are earmarked for development,

they're often left empty.

Derelict, they can attract antisocial behaviour,

but much more importantly, it's just such a waste of potential housing.

Now, clearly, not every building can be rescued.

But, on the other hand,

this push for regeneration often results in unnecessary dereliction.

Earlier, I met theatre director, Alison Grant,

who recently bought this old rangers cottage in East Sussex.

Alison's discovered some unexpected surprises

lurking in the wings of the house

and has fallen behind schedule on the build as a result.

What it did have was an infestation of death watch beetles.

I'm taking her to meet a couple

who've tackled a similar renovation project

to get some guidance and inspiration.

In June 2008, Ian and Jan Lore fell in love with this derelict

barn in Sedlescombe, East Sussex.

We were going down to Hastings for the morning, and we saw it

advertised in the estate agents window, liked it that much that we

round the agent again the following morning and came in and had a look.

It was then that they told us it was also going up for auction.

Ian and Jan were given a six-week deadline to

get their finances in place or the barn would definitely go to auction.

Just in time, the Law's got the money sorted.

And then realise the full extent of what they had taken on.

It was looking sorry for itself,

but you could see that there were a nice lot of beams inside.

You know, it got a nice lot of potential.

The actual reach of the thatched roof, the straw, had all gone,

so it was leaking inside.

Every weekend John would be working with us.

You know, we would be humping beams about on blocks and tackles.

A digger was sat here holding beams up

while we were trying to jiggle them in.

This was Ian and Jan's second barn renovation

but, like Alison, they had to deal with some unexpected issues.

What we hadn't budgeted for was the costings on the thatch.

We ended up spending a lot of money on the bespoke windows and joinery.

But the windows and joinery with the least of their worries,

in total they went without mains electricity for around 18 months.

And that was a nightmare, ha ha!

Barn was nearly finished before we got our electric supply connected.

Despite all these challenges, Ian and Jan now have a spectacular home.

We have actually said now,

it's something we ought to have done years ago.

Although this build was on a different scale to Alison's,

there are many similarities,

and I'm hoping she will be able to take on some useful advice.

Hello, Ian.

Hi, can we come in?

Great, thank you.

As soon as you walk in,

it's clear that it was a huge restoration project.

Was this just one, big open barn?

Yes.

-There were no levels in it at all?

-No levels in it at all.

Just the open space with the lower levels on the outside,

which were cow pens and animal runs.

So, where you have got the kitchen, that was another outbuilding?

Yes, just like a lean to on the side, which was just animal pens.

Alison's especially keen to discuss a specific issue relating to

old timber framed buildings.

I see you've got some wonderful beams

that look like they've had some sort of infestation in them?

Can you tell me a bit about that, because I have that problem.

Yes, we had them all treated after we have them all sandblasted.

They come in and put it treatment on all the timber, the old and the new,

because you are importing more bugs in, in the new timber.

You bring your new timber in, you put it up alongside your old timber,

and then you just treat the whole place?

I know some of your wood had to be taken out,

but there's definitely hope for what's left,

I'm sure you can treat it and it'll be fine.

Yes, and I would really love to save as much as I possibly can.

One, for the looks, but also for the authenticity of the building.

So, it's really good to hear that I might be able to say some of it.

Shall we have a look at in one of the bedrooms?

That is probably the biggest one.

So, this is the master bedroom, right?

Yeah.

Great head height, there's a lot to play with here.

To bring it all back down to earth,

and which did it cost, and did you have to go over budget?

We thought we could do it for around about 100, 110,

and it ended up at 160.

Wow. That's half as much again, on the budget.

Were there any sacrifices you had to make

to allow your budget to go that little bit further?

Kitchen units, just bits and pieces

where we haven't quite spent on quality there,

that you would have liked to have done.

But the budget forces you into those little areas,

it still looks nice

but not quite how you would have done it the first time

round, but it's something you can always alter at a later stage.

I think the key example is just over my shoulder,

you put a flue in but there's no wood burner at the moment.

But it's there for when you want it and you can afford it in the future.

That's it, once we have saved the pennies we can pop it in.

I don't want to do something that has got to be redone,

but upgrading, I think is a really good way to save money in the moment.

It's been wonderful to look round your home, thank you for letting us.

Yes, thank you.

And, I trust, they have been the right balance of inspiration

and some good advice coming across?

Yes, it is really helpful to me,

because I do tend to lose sight of where I'm going

because it is such a construction site at the moment.

So, to see the end result and to see the marriage of the old

and the authentic with the new is very exciting to me,

so, it has been inspirational.

Plus, you've told me a few things that I will definitely use,

so, thank you.

-Oh, my pleasure.

-Thank you very much.

This has been a useful visit for Alison,

and I'll be hooking up with her later on

to find out how she feels about him renovation project now.

In Corby, Northamptonshire, empty property officer Paul Palmer

is visiting a house which has been empty for two years.

Following a fire, the building became derelict

and the owner refused to cooperate with Paul to bring it back to use.

Under the threat of compulsory purchase, the owner finally relented

and sold the house to a local property developer.

The developer secured an empty property grant from the council

and has now brought in a new tenant.

We actually approved the grant about six weeks ago,

and already, he's rung to tell me he has finished the works

and there's a tenant inside which is fantastic news.

Today Paul is meeting the developer, Mark,

and the tenant to sign off the work.

Can we come in and have a look round, if that's OK?

Yes, come in.

Thank you.

We're going to go round the house, sign off the work,

and make sure everything's OK.

-I'll leave you to it, then. I'll be next door.

-Thanks a lot.

This house was almost totally destroyed by the fire,

and fallen into serious disrepair.

Paul is keen to see upstairs.

Ah, now, I remember this room,

this was the worst one of the lot, from memory.

If I recall, there was a mattress that had been set on fire,

and had literally burned through the floor,

and there was a whole looking down below.

So, what did you have to do in this room, Mark?

Yes, so, we have had to replace all the joists,

and put all new flooring in, and obviously the carpet,

decorate, this was easily the worst room in the house.

Whilst the bedrooms were severely affected by fire damage,

it's the kitchen that has really been transformed beyond recognition.

This is the kitchen, this is nice.

Yes, so, we put all new units in, worktop, integrated hob,

windows, new electrical system, top to bottom refurbished and refinished.

Well, the tenant should be pleased, it is really, really lovely.

You've done a fantastic job on this property

in a relatively short period of time.

I know you had a lot of work to do,

and you've put the effort in, and it's paid off.

I can see the tenant is very happy as well,

obviously, all I need to do now, is do the paperwork,

sign off everything, and everyone's happy.

So, thanks very much.

Well, you're very welcome, thank you.

Before Paul signs of Mark's renovation work,

he has just a couple more things to check.

I think it's really great when they take over these empty houses,

cos there's so much shortage of homes for people

and they take something that is like a shell

and they turn it into something nice.

I think they've achieved that with this.

I'm really happy with today, this was one of our worst cases,

and we were under a lot of pressure to get it brought back into use,

I'm really pleased, positive outcome, happy tenants.

I'm over the moon.

Back in East Sussex, theatre director, Alison Grant,

has hit a few delays whilst doing this abandoned rangers cottage.

I took her to meet a couple who have taken on a timber frame restoration

of a similar scale.

And I'm keen to see what Alison will take home from this visit.

How are you feeling about your project,

is it encouraging to see this?

I think it is been incredibly useful,

to actually see that old wood can be used again

and more old wood brought in,

and actually get the look that I want, has been quite inspirational.

Just reminding me of what I... to keep the vision.

Ian has done this before, but, still went over budget,

so, he had to cut back,

he had to sacrifice and to some extent do things in stages.

Yes, it was good to hear that,

and to know that somebody who's done it before

is struggling with the same thing that I'm struggling with.

It's a wonderful property you've got there,

so much potential, in a great location.

-It'll be amazing when it's done.

-I wish you the best with it.

Thank you very much, it has been lots of help and lots of fun.

It's been really great for Alison to get some good, practical advice.

And, also, remind herself how lovely a completed project can be.

And, as for her cottage, it's in an incredible location

with those views out across the country park.

She is in the process of rescuing a beautiful building

that will, once again, be a key part of the landscape and the community.

That really will be a special home.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]