Stuart and Helen Barclay Britain's Empty Homes

Across the country empty properties that could be homes are just 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 we'll be following the property detectives

who track down the owners of these forgotten houses

and help breathe new life into the communities blighted by them.

And 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 preserving and reinventing

Britain's empty homes.

Taking on a big renovation of an empty property

is a job that requires careful consideration.

It's a hard slog with plenty of stress

and yet if you speak to most people who've been through it

they'll tell you it's all worthwhile in the end.

On today's show I'll be meeting a family who've outgrown their current home

and want to take on the challenge of a much bigger but derelict dwelling.

I'll meet a passionate group of volunteers

who are hoping to bring a spectacular building back into the community.

It's desperate now.

We must get this project underway urgently in the next 12, 18 months.

And we'll be following one of Britain's Empty Property Officers

working to bring forgotten houses back into use.

It's quite a poor building block construction,

it's not even close to meeting any form of building regs.

This three-bedroom house in Surrey is home to

Stuart and Helen Barclay,

two-year old Ben and new addition, baby Skye.

As the family has grown so too has their need for space

and now the Barclays are gearing up to take on the challenge

of an abandoned abode that they can custom renovate.

At the moment we've got quite a nice location, it's quite rural,

it's quite nice looking out into the woods.

Unfortunately there's no room to expand it.

Not only do they plan to take on a sizeable renovation,

but their love of the outdoors

has inspired them to up sticks and relocate to a rural location

like the Peak District or the Yorkshire Dales.

We love the outdoors,

we both climb, we do walking and things like that,

and we want the children to be able to enjoy that,

and obviously it's a bit cheaper up north than here in Surrey.

Stuart carried out a lot of work on their current home,

but he's never taken on the challenge of a full-scale renovation.

It's a bit daunting, I suppose.

I've got friends that can do a lot of the work that I can't do as well,

so between me and contacts that I've got I'm sure I can complete the project.

I like the idea of just making it our own as well,

putting our own stamp on it, decorating it,

in how we see fit and what we like. That sort of appeals to me.

While Helen looks after the children, I'm meeting Stuart

at a derelict paper mill I'm keen for him to see in Loxley, Sheffield.

It should give him an idea

of how far his £400,000 budget will go

and the amount of work needed to turn a derelict building into a family home.

-Hey, Stuart. How you doing?

-Hello, very good, thank you.

-Good to see you.

Now this is the place I want to show you.

First impressions?

It looks really nice.

-Lovely location around here.

-Huge potential this place has.

-Right.

-Shall we go and have a look inside?

-Yeah, quite excited.

-OK, come on then.

The mill was built in the 18th century

and has been empty for the last four years.

It has Grade II listed status

and crucially it already has planning permission.

So...

-Wow!

-Here we are.

Much bigger than I thought it would be.

-It reaches out a lot further than it looks from the outside.

-Yes.

-Shall we have a closer look?

-Definitely.

So, Stuart, as we wander through this place

what strikes you about it?

First and foremost how big it is,

and how many rooms and how much space I can create from it all.

It is huge. Does that put you off? Some people are daunted by it.

Not really, I've got a blank canvas I can work from,

so I'm quite excited by it all, really.

There's some great features, you got the original beams,

and great stone all around.

And then, the piece de resistance, you've actually got your own water wheel through there.

-That is phenomenal, isn't it?

-It's amazing.

Let's talk about your experience.

-You've done a bit of renovation before.

-That's right, yes.

Particularly useful here when it comes to stretching the budget.

Absolutely. By doing a lot of the work myself that saves a lot of money.

-Good. Let's continue having a look round, shall we?

-OK.

There is no denying this mill is brimming with potential.

It's size and original features are impressive

and if Stuart can see past the rubble and ruins

the possibilities are infinite.

The mill includes an adjacent building

which is also covered under the same planning permission.

When you come in here it's clear these premises are never ending, isn't it?

It's phenomenal. It just seems to go on and on.

This has got to be 50 metres from one end to the other.

It's got potential for a second property, as well, to be built.

Funny you should say that because this place, the whole place,

-does have planning permission to create three dwellings.

-OK.

Two in the main mill area,

creating a courtyard in between,

and then this.

The thing to say that's really important is this whole mill

-is Grade II listed.

-OK.

-That would possibly

place some restrictions on what you could or couldn't do.

Have you ever thought about taking on a listed place?

I haven't, it's a little bit daunting,

but in some ways I guess the council

wants to return it back to a liveable property,

it's a waste standing here derelict.

What is the budget?

The budget is about £400,000 in total,

that would include the purchase and the renovation costs.

Give or take a little bit.

Well, the price that this is on the market for,

-it's on at £300,000.

-OK.

How does that sound?

That sounds good, that's certainly within my budget

and gives me quite a large margin left over to play with

to at least start and get some way with the renovations as well.

Right, so you have got these things sorted out,

you are serious about this.

-Absolutely, we've got some ideas and some plans.

-Very exciting.

Having looked around, how do you feel about a whole place?

Yes, is a very interesting opportunity, really interesting.

-You are going into this with a young family.

-Yes.

Possibly them and your wife in a different part of the country if you were doing this renovation.

What sort of problems would that throw up?

I guess one of the problems will be convincing Helen it's a good idea,

and making it a safe habitable place for the children as quickly as possible

so that we're not spending weeks and weeks apart.

What I want to do is take you to an old property

that has been thoroughly converted and is now a home, it's an old barn.

The people behind it have been through all the challenges

you were talking about so they would be good people to meet

and hopefully they can help you along your way with a bit of help and advice.

-How does that sound?

-Really good, yes.

-Excellent.

Many areas across the UK

are blighted by disowned and derelict buildings,

often becoming an eyesore

and a source of concern for the local community.

But there are a dedicated band of officers

employed by councils who work tirelessly

to find out why these buildings have been abandoned

and to get them lived in again.

In Richmond, Southwest London, Jason Hall is doing just that.

He's investigating two houses on the long-term abandoned list.

Today, I'm basically going to have a look to see

if I can get access to the back of the property, have a look around,

to see if I can get some more information with regards to the properties.

Both houses have been vacant for at least ten years.

And as they're right next door to each other they're attracting some unwanted attention.

It's very overgrown to the front.

We got the trees growing right up the front,

you can see where the wall has been pushed over here.

I'll have a knock and see if anybody's there.

KNOCKS ON DOOR

Let's see if there's any other ways to get round the back.

That gate appears to be locked.

So I can probably get better access,

we'll probably have a better chance of getting round the back of the other one.

At the beginning of an investigation

Jason wants to confirm the neighbours' complaints

and identify an owner.

And the grievances from locals all suggest

there is a major vermin problem in both gardens

and the rear of the houses may not be secure.

Right, we've got a whole pane of glass missing out of this back door.

All of the ceiling is out.

It needs to be made secure because somebody could gain access

and perhaps get injured in the state the property's in if they get into it.

So, it's a shame because it could be a lovely family house,

it's a really good size,

it's a bit of a mystery as to why they're both empty.

But they may not be as deserted as Jason thinks.

There's a fox right down the bottom of the garden,

just going under the fence into next door.

Didn't bolt off or anything, it was quite happy,

so I'm going to try and make my way down and see what else is down the bottom of the garden.

It's become clear a major network of fox tunnels

has taken over this garden and the neighbouring one.

Basically we've got a whole fox den network here.

We've got holes everywhere where they all burrow underneath.

This is an absolute fox haven.

Without access to the house next door

there's only one way for Jason to inspect the damage.

The next door garden is exactly the same,

it's not quite as overgrown

but there's quite a lot of activity with regards to the foxes.

There's quite a few holes.

This is probably one of the worst cases

I've ever seen with regards to foxes.

The amount of holes there are,

they're going under either side into both side properties.

So it's really important

that I find who the owner is and get this sorted as soon as possible.

Jason is keen to find out all he can about the owners

so he puts a call into the office.

I just need the ownership details for each one.

OK.

Yeah, that's fantastic, thank you. Bye.

The two properties that we've been and looked at

are both owned by individual people,

that are, we believe, are business partners.

One of them has got quite a large debt lodged against it,

and one of them has been repossessed.

The only forwarding contact details and address that we've got

are the actual properties themselves.

So it's kind of difficult to try and track down the owners

when we don't have any other means of forwarding address.

Other options we've got are potential for sale or compulsory purchase order.

Jason has since written to the owners and is awaiting a response

before he takes further action.

Empty properties come in all shapes and sizes

and various states of dilapidation,

but the one thing they have in common

is their potential to inspire creative thinkers who can see past the decay.

So if you can view a run-down ruin with optimistic eyes

then you too might just discover your perfect home.

Seasoned renovators Michael and Jill Willetts

are used to doing just that.

When they saw two run-down 17th century mill cottages for sale,

they instantly saw their potential as one big family home.

It looked like an awful lot of work.

I mean, no-one had lived in the house for about three years.

It was dark, damp, it was falling apart.

But, I think we could see through that and with plenty of work we could turn it into something.

But it was going to be a big, big project.

This house was built in 1683

and we wanted to retain

the history and the character of it, but bring it into the 21st century.

The couple spent over £600,000 buying the cottages

set on two acres of garden and woodland.

15 months and £300,000 later

they have a stunning yet sympathetic modern home.

And the icing on the cake is the River Rother running through the garden.

Even with four previous renovations under their belt,

the Willetts weren't immune to the trials and tribulations of a project of this scale.

When you're doing something like this

you have to think on your feet,

and you have to be prepared to change direction very, very quickly.

Because something will crop up that was totally unforeseen.

Probably the biggest low point was on my 50th birthday.

My mother, sister and brother-in-law had come down from York.

My mother couldn't see or envisage what we were trying to do,

but I remember we came to the back door and she said to me,

"I can hear water running."

And I thought, "Isn't it wonderful?

"We've got a river running through the garden, that's what you can hear."

She said, "No, I'm sure the water's coming from inside the house."

So I opened the door and sure enough the ceiling had come down,

floods everywhere, pipes had burst,

it was a really cold winter,

and that was probably the down point on my 50th birthday.

What had we really taken on here?

With the renovation behind them, Michael and Jill couldn't have hoped for a better outcome.

We've achieved what we set out to do.

This house will be standing

in the another 350 years, most likely, long after we've gone.

And I think we've done our bit in its history,

and we've brought it up to date.

It is a really beautiful family home

in an absolutely stunning part of the world.

We are very lucky to live here.

In North West Lancashire a spectacular building

that was on the brink of ruin

has been saved by an inspiring group of locals.

Bank Hall is part-Jacobean mansion originally built in the 1600s

and extended during the 19th century.

Various titled families lived in this imposing building during its heyday.

Vacant since the 1970s,

Bank Hall has been on a downward spiral ever since.

However, more recently the fortunes of this grand old building

have changed for the better,

thanks to an organised group of local people

who are determined to bring it back in from the cold

and put it to good use.

Over the last 17 years a passionate group of volunteers

has worked tirelessly to save this historic landmark.

I'm here to meet Janet Edwards,

chairwoman of the Bank Hall Action Group.

How is it, it's got to this state?

Well, it's got into this state

because it a massive building

and there's limited use for a building of this nature

in the 21st century.

So it's finding alternative uses for these old buildings

and I think that's been the big challenge.

So what is the plan, what's the strategy?

To develop this building into a series of apartments and two houses.

But the central part of the building, including the Prospect Tower,

will be for the public to have access to.

However, this is a listed building,

and so visually the external fabric

will look like the beautiful building that it once was.

How urgent is this? Is this deteriorating day-by-day?

-It looks like a should be because there is no roofs, no windows.

-No, it's desperate now.

we must get this project underway urgently in the next 12, 18 months.

Buildings aren't static,

they do evolve over the years.

And although it would be lovely

to wrap it in mothballs

and take it back to a previous time

that is not going to happen.

So it will be a building that has changed.

But I still think there is beauty

in what we'll have when it is finally restored.

Through sheer passion for the building

Janet and the action group have fund raised and campaigned

to get Bank Hall back on its feet.

They recently received the cash injection they need to get started -

£1.6 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

But with total costs estimated at £6 million

there's still a considerable shortfall.

They've enlisted the help of regeneration expert Tom Fenton.

To bridge the funding shortfall that exists

we are doing a new build enabling development within the site.

The profit that comes from the 23 homes we're going to create there

will be put towards the shell repair here.

That completes this building and the two cross-fund each other. That's how it works.

And if we didn't do this, if it was another five years

and the whole building had finally collapsed in on itself,

what would be missing?

What would people in this area lose?

I think people would lose a building of extreme character.

Too many buildings like this have been lost

because people haven't cared about them and that's not the case here.

There's a lot of people that care about it,

but it's still an extremely difficult scheme to make work.

It will take at least three years to complete

this ambitious and inspiring rebuild

bringing an abandoned building back to life.

I'm with Stuart Barclay

who, along with his family,

hopes to up sticks and find a derelict building

that they can renovate into a family home.

We're just outside Chesterfield where I'm going to introduce him

to a couple who've recently completed a project

I feel sure will inspire.

Stuart, this is the property I've brought you to see.

Ignore these, these are farm buildings that have been lived in for some time.

But the building right at the end there,

that was a barn.

About 400 years old.

It's been fully converted into a home.

Architect John Botham and his wife Debbie are the proud owners

of this barn, which they share with daughters Kira and Lydia.

It was a farm building.

When we first came to it, it was still full of calves and corn.

I was very dubious about the whole project, I suppose, to start with.

John grew up on the farm where the barn stands

so it's a place close to their hearts.

As an architect, he could visualise what their dream home would look like,

but it wasn't such an easy process for Debbie.

John had told me the living room was going to be upstairs

and the bedrooms were going to be downstairs,

but that was about it. That was about as far as I could understand.

I did find it very difficult to get it right in my mind.

So it was quite hard for me to visualise it completely.

It was a bit depressing because I'd invite Debbie

and with great enthusiasm say, "Come and have a look. I've done this."

And she'd say, "What's different?" And it was really frustrating.

Until it was nearly finished, she couldn't really see it.

It is an amazing place to live.

I'm really lucky. I'm very lucky John designed it so beautifully

and the surroundings that we're in...

I mean, there's not very many people that can look

out of a window like that and see such an enormous space around them.

-It's a lovely house to live in.

-It was the best thing to do.

We really like it.

John and Debbie's barn conversion and their experience will hopefully

give Stuart some useful guidance and inspiration.

John, it's lovely to walk in here for the first time

as there's so much light and you've got this incredible height.

Stuart, when you walk in here, what springs to mind?

Fantastic. I like the fact it's got a really high, open plan ceiling.

-It's really nice.

-So, this is an extension?

-Yes.

-You've done it very sympathetically then.

-Yes.

You wouldn't get permission for it if it wasn't sympathetic,

-not in the countryside.

-So, tell me about that then.

What advice have you got for Stuart?

-The building we looked at earlier is grade II listed. I don't think this was listed.

-No.

But even so, you had to work very closely...

What sort of advice do you have in terms of working with planners

and I suppose compromising if you have to?

Yeah, I suppose you do have to compromise, but the key thing is

to understand the reasoning and the spirit of the thing.

If it's listed, first, you need to find out why it's listed

and what it is they're looking to preserve.

-When you did this, you had two young girls.

-Yes.

And you have a young family as well.

Any advice about taking a young family through this

and living on-site, potentially, as well?

It was a lot easier when we were living on-site.

When we were living off-site, my wife didn't see much of me.

But when we moved in, it would have been quite fun, we would have

really enjoyed it except we set ourselves a deadline of Christmas

to have the whole place finished, which put a lot of stress on it.

OK. You've got a base you can have the family while you work.

You don't necessarily have to have them living here.

But if you do that, you might not see your family.

I think that's one of the pitfalls. They're living down in Surrey,

-I'm here working on the property...

-You'd never see them at all.

..which would obviously be quite a strain on the relationship.

-That's something we need to work on and work out a compromise.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

It took John and Debbie two years and £99,000

to complete the renovation,

which includes four bedrooms and an open-plan living room and kitchen.

But the most interesting aspect of the renovation is its layout.

So here we are upstairs and unusually this is where

the kitchen and the living room is.

So, explain how you ended up with that.

What was the process of decision-making?

There's lots of reasons why it's upside down.

The roof up here is quite low, so if we'd tried to partition it off

and put a corridor in it, it would have been very cramped and small.

Stuart, how do you find this?

It's lovely. I love the open plan-ness of it all. You can see

from one end of the house right across to the other,

20 to 30 metres away. It's really nice.

Now, let's move on to budget.

How much did you budget for this

and then how much did it actually cost you?

Well, my first budget was 82,000 and it ended up costing me 99.

OK. Obviously, you did a lot of the work yourself.

That's what Stuart would like to do.

Anything else that is worth bearing in mind?

You have to try and be creative with building and making things yourself.

The staircase, which looks fantastic, we made

-and it cost very little.

-Wow.

Stepping back from it,

what is it you have to bear in mind all the way through?

-What is it that keeps you sane?

-When you see some piece of it finished

and you stand back and look and think, "That looks really good,"

it does give you that feeling of satisfaction.

Back in Richmond, empty property officer Jason Hall

is checking up on a large semi-detached house that's long been

a thorn in the side of local residents.

The owner is hoping to receive a grant from the council

to turn the house into two flats.

Before the grant can be given, Jason must find out

if the owner has complied with the measures ordered by the council.

From the outside, it looks like it's a building site in progress.

This has been like this for six months now.

There's still a huge amount of debris in the front here,

plus there's some food stuff

in and around. It all provides harbourage for rats or anything else.

The site really needs to be kept tidy and kept secure

and at the moment it's not. We've got a window open.

There's clearly a list of works I need to pass on to the owner,

things that he needs to comply with in the meantime.

Over the last two years, a renovation has been under way.

But Jason has some serious concerns about the work already done.

Right. OK. Down the side here,

we've got the extension off the original building.

It's quite a poor building-block construction.

On top of it, we've got chip-board construction, first floor.

It doesn't match at all with the original building.

It's not even close to meeting any form of building regs.

To get a fuller picture of the current state of the house,

Jason talks to those most affected by it.

-Hiya.

-Hello.

-I'm Jason Hall.

I'm from Richmond Council, empty property officer.

I'm doing some investigations into next door.

I'm just after some more information, really,

on what the main issues are for yourself with it.

Before it was all fenced off, I saw several people go into the property

to have a look let alone to urinate and things like that as well.

Certainly, in the last couple of days, I've seen

a huge rat go past, coming from that property across my patio area.

Now, if my baby was sat there, I would not be happy at all.

There is action being taken and we will be dealing with it.

So hopefully soon we'll have you living next to a nice property again

instead of the one you're looking at at the moment.

-Thank you.

-OK.

-Goodbye.

-Bye-bye.

'Now I've been to the property and carried out an inspection

'and spoken to the neighbours as well,'

now all I need to do is go back to the office

and put together a schedule of works so I can get it off

to the owner ASAP so he can carry out the works as soon as possible.

Work is now under way and the owner has since demolished the extension.

I've been with Stuart Barclay who hopes to find

the perfect disused building

and turn it into a dream home for his young family.

He's been getting some useful advice from a couple who took on

a similar project with wonderful results.

Stuart, having seen this place,

how are you feeling about taking on a project like this?

Really optimistic. Having seen what John's done

and the budget he's managed to do it for,

I'm really optimistic about taking on a new project and a new life, really.

Yeah, fantastic.

He did a lot of the work himself and the figures are very encouraging.

Definitely. Really, really encouraging.

That means that potentially at least part of what I saw earlier

I could do within budget.

-So it is a place you'd consider?

-I'd definitely consider that, yes.

Very good. OK. It's a one-off, it's got a tremendous amount of history.

-It would be really interesting if you do take it on.

-For sure.

Great you're interested in the place you saw earlier

but whether it's that one or another one you take on,

I'm sure with your enthusiasm, determination and ambition

that you'll turn an empty property into a home very soon.

-I hope so. Thanks very much, Joe.

-Thank you very much. Cheers.

Well, some great advice today for Stuart to take away with him

as he begins his journey to convert an empty property.

And you know what, we need people like Stuart,

ambitious, focused, determined,

if we're going to convert

empty properties in this country into homes.

So I'm really pleased he liked the look of the paper mill.

And perhaps more importantly, that he wasn't daunted

by a project on that scale.

So whether it's the paper mill or another project,

I'm sure that Stuart very soon will be creating his dream home.

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