Spencer and Weir 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, 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.

Taking on an empty property is certainly not for the faint-hearted.

They can require a huge amount of dedication, long hours and hard work.

But for those brave enough to take one on,

there are plenty of rewards,

and for first-time buyers, it can be that all-important step

onto the housing ladder.

On today's show, a couple renovating not one, but two, derelict cottages.

Did you get a bit carried away? Did you mean buy both? I did, really, yeah.

An all-singing, all-dancing project to regenerate this vacant town hall.

Part of the thing was the community side, especially based on Elaine's dance school.

Some of my pupils think it looks like Fame or something!

And an Empty Property Officer helping breathe new life into an abandoned abode.

'I can see the tenants being very happy there.'

This is just such a positive outcome.

Near Stamford, Lincolnshire, agricultural engineer Josh Spencer and his girlfriend Samantha,

thought they'd sniffed out a bargain when they bought these two derelict neighbouring cottages.

We walked into the house, and the first thing that caught us was the smell.

It was quite pungent when we first came in.

It had obviously been empty for a number of years. Quite dingy.

But you've got to see past that.

From the outside, it's an ideal property.

but from when you first walk in, it's not that good.

It's a blank canvas, though, from the inside.

They're clearly in need of plenty of work, but that's why these first-time buyers

were able to pick up two cottages for ?130,000.

The reason I bought these properties was that they were affordable

and in my reach.

Also, the location was ideal for work.

We also liked the property as it's on quite a large plot

which, especially in the price range we were looking at,

you're quite restricted on gardens and outdoor space.

Yeah.

The couple have grand plans,

but a very modest renovation fund.

We've got quite a small budget to do the house up on.

It's...about five grand?

Yeah. The budget I've given, everyone's a little bit negative on it

and say that it can't be done.

But I'd like to prove them wrong that it can.

So we are going to go down the route of reclamation.

Obviously if we can get things at a cheaper price,

and also because we're going for the shabby chic kind of look.

Older the better, really.

We'll probably use that to our advantage, won't we? Yeah.

This is Josh and Samantha's first restoration project.

Despite their inexperience and only ?5,000 to spend,

agricultural engineer Josh feels he's pretty handy, and is determined to crack on.

The dream is to get on and get it done and see the finished article.

I personally find it a bit unbelievable at this point,

but Josh reckons he can do it

and I believe in him, so we'll just have to keep everything crossed!

I'm excited to hear the couple's plans for these two derelict dwellings.

Did you get a bit carried away? Did you mean to buy both? Yeah, I did, really.

A bit in the excitement, yeah. How long have these properties sat empty for?

About 18 months, two years. So a little while.

Shall we go and have a look inside? Yep. Sounds good.

'From the outside, this is an impressive-looking pair of houses.

'But it's the state of the interior that will dictate the scale of the renovation.'

Goodness!

It's quite a striking appearance, isn't it, particularly run down.

What was your first impression when you came in here?

When I first came in here, I'd really noticed the outside more than the inside,

so I wasn't too put off by the inside.

We wanted something we could put our own mark on,

and because we wanted to get on the property ladder in the right area,

sometimes you have to take the hit.

Let's start at the beginning. What's the big plan?

The main plan is to take all the walls out

and start with a blank canvas, really.

A lot of these are only studded walls,

so they'll all come out fairly easily.

When you say all the walls, literally every wall?

Obviously not this one cos this is the middle of the two houses.

But there will be an archway through there.

We're thinking that the whole of this side will be a large lounge,

maybe with some sort of hallway and stairs,

and the other side will be a large kitchen diner.

And then upstairs you've got two bedrooms at the moment.

Is there a bathroom upstairs? There's three bedrooms in each... Three bedrooms?

Three bedrooms upstairs. But there's no bathroom upstairs. OK.

'So, the grand plan, after knocking through,

'is to create a large four-bedroomed house

'with one main bathroom upstairs,

'an en-suite in the master bedroom,

'and a wet room downstairs.'

What is it that you're keeping? Are you keeping things like fireplaces?

Yes, we want to keep both fireplaces.

I keep saying to Josh, you've bought old cottages. Why do you want to turn them into a new house?

If you wanted a new house where it's all very square and very regimented,

you should have just bought a new house. Or bought a plot and built one on it.

If I had the budget, I'd knock 'em down and build a house further back.

Right. Expensive building plot!

This is the conflict between you, I can see.

You want quite simple, quite clean, quite modern.

And you're more sympathetic to the buildings themselves

and wanting to keep a few things as they are.

'Josh and Samantha may have a difference of opinion on how to decorate,

'but the first thing they need to consider

'is how best to merge these two homes.'

Presumably, whoever last lived here just left this behind.

'It's evident the second house was occupied more recently than the first.

'But it's still going to need major work to make it habitable.'

So this would be opened up. You've got bathroom, kitchen, this front room, all as one.

Yep. And a big open kitchen diner.

Who's going to be doing all this work? Josh.

Josh? Yes. Mm.

Well, as much as I can do.

Most of the jobs, like re-roofing and that, it's just hard labour.

You also need a lot of confidence.

You feel you can just tackle it and give it a go? Yeah.

The only thing I'd drop in is that mistakes can be quite expensive. Yes.

So what's the budget looking like for this?

The budget's small. It is small. OK.

How small?

Five grand. OK.

Yeah. Max. There's not a lot to play with,

so we've got to be quite careful.

But most of that is going to be on materials as opposed to paying people to do stuff.

Josh will do most of it.

I understand that you save money by labouring and doing as much of the work yourselves as possible.

Even so, that's particularly small for... It's all we've got.

When you go down the reclamation route, it does make things an awful lot cheaper.

Tell me about that vision, then. How would you like this place to be? Is there a different vision here?

When you say reclamation, you want nice features? How's it going to be?

I want it to be quite rustic. OK.

I don't really like anything too modern. OK.

It's not really my cup of tea. I don't think it's Josh's, either.

He thinks he is... I don't like clutter.

Because of that, you're thinking, clean, simple, modern inside. Definitely.

OK. A lot to think about there. Let's see a bit more, shall we?

'There's no getting away from it.

'?5,000 is a miniscule budget for such an ambitious project.

'However, a property like this round here in a good condition

'could fetch around quarter of a million pounds.'

Looking ahead at the project,

how are you feeling about it? It's huge and obviously there's a lot to do.

You want to do it yourselves, first time you've done this

and there isn't much money.

Does that worry you?

It only worries me when I think about it!

When I turn up and look at the jobs, I think, "Should I have done it?"

It's more wondering where to start, isn't it?

Lots of things to talk about there. What'll be good is to see a property

that has been completed, has been renovated.

There are loads of similarities in terms of two into one,

being done on a shoestring budget,

in terms of them doing a lot of the work themselves.

So hopefully some great inspiration,

but also some really good advice. Maybe the practical side of things, Josh. Definitely.

Does that sound good? Yeah! Brilliant.

This is a brilliant project for Josh and Sam. Such a unique opportunity

to create their first home together here in the country.

However, as challenges go, they don't come much bigger.

Josh is doing all the work himself,

the budget is so small, and, frankly, there's so much to do.

So it'll be really good for them to meet a couple who've been through all this before

and importantly, they've taken on a similar-sized project

also on a shoe-string budget.

Not every vacant house is lucky enough to get snapped up.

All across Britain, there are buildings left empty and abandoned

waiting to have life breathed back into them.

And the people whose job it is to seek out these buildings

and get them back into use are local council Empty Property Officers.

In Maidstone, Kent, Katrina Hurton is visiting a building

that's sat empty for over two years

and had been attracting a lot of anti-social behaviour.

Today I'm visiting a property.

It's a purpose-built block of four flats.

Because of the antisocial behaviour that was happening around the property,

when the tenants moved out, they weren't replaced and the property was falling into disrepair

and soon became unoccupied.

To tackle the problem, the council were able to give the owner

a one-off grant to bring the building back to life

and create new homes for social housing.

Today I'm checking to see if everything in the flat meets the council's standards

as we are housing tenants that were previously on our waiting list.

Katrina is joined by her colleague Julian Watts

to inspect the renovation and make sure the work is up to the council's high standards.

I remember seeing these windows, completely smashed. Yeah.

And all the lights were hanging off.

Yeah, it's got new lighting. That's good.

It's got the gate now. That's good.

So people can't get round the back.

This is... I like this. Instead of going in there.

To put their post in. That's good.

Mr Dowling. How are you?

'Alan Dowling is the owner as well as being a developer,

'and is here to meet the council officers.'

The door opens outwards now. It used to open inwards,

so it could be sort of kicked down. That's good.

Yes, it's got a safety feature on it so it should automatically close.

Yep. Exit is on a fire security thumb-turn opener.

And you've got your push... So it's quite easy to open.

To shut it. Lock it. Great.

The mechanism's internal. Yep. So you don't have any intruders at night.

You've done a grand job. I remember when there was a big hole here.

And the carpets were all burned.

There was a fire. Smashed windows. It's just amazing.

You've done a grand job.

It's a pleasure to bring empty homes back.

Definitely. It's one of our core businesses at the moment.

This building has been split into four separate flats.

Katrina is keen to meet one of the tenants and have a close look around.

Hello. Hiya. I'm Katrina and this is Julian.

We're from the council. We're just inspecting today. OK. Come in.

Everything working OK? Yep. Electrics, heating, hot water.

Yep. Is it OK to have a look around? Yes, fine. Brilliant.

Katrina and Julian carry out a detailed inspection of all the renovation work.

Everything seems to be in good order.

Now to make sure the tenant's happy, too.

How's it been? It's fine, I really like it. Yeah?

No problems? No.

Is this nicer here than where you were before?

It feels like I'm at home now. OK. It's more homely for you.

Much better. I'm more in a routine now.

With social housing thin on the ground,

these transformed flats have made all the difference to the people that need them.

When I was in the hostel, I saw a lot of empty places

and I was thinking that me and Freddy could be living in them.

Now I've got my own place, I really like it, yeah.

Mr Dowling has done it all to a high standard, which is brilliant.

I can see the tenants being very happy there

and this is such a positive outcome.

And it's really good for the community.

If you're interested in tracking down a disused house to turn into a home,

then your local Empty Property Officer should be one of your first ports of call.

Also ask around the local estate agents and keep your eyes peeled for signs of abandoned buildings.

In East Hanningfield, Essex,

David Cooper was looking for an exciting renovation project

when he paid ?200,000 for this barn and surrounding land.

To me, it looked like an ideal project,

rather than just a house to alter.

I wanted something I could really alter or really build.

Having been empty for 21 years,

it was totally uninhabitable.

When I first saw the barn, it was completely covered with brambles

that went right up to the roof.

I had to force the front door open to look inside.

But fortunately, most of the roof was still intact.

And there wasn't that much damp that had actually got into the building,

which saved it over the years, to be honest.

There was definitely a lot of potential there.

My family, my children, all thought I was a bit mad,

but I didn't think like that at all.

So I just carried on.

Initially, it looked fairly sound.

I must be honest, it looked more sound than it was.

Until later, on full investigation,

I realised how poor the building was.

Basically, the frame of the barn was pretty rotten.

That's the critical one, because everything stems from that.

Being an electrician, David is handy,

but installing a new timber frame meant calling in professional help.

I was thrilled when I was introduced to a chap that does Essex barn builds.

He's actually done his own one.

It really made all the difference and made my life much simpler.

The initial price was ?200,000

and then I paid about 150,000 to actually get the development done.

The value of my home now is 775,000 so it's increased quite considerably.

And not only has it been extremely rewarding,

more importantly, David has created his dream home.

People have said to me, "Is it as good as you thought it would be?"

And I can honestly say I think it's better than I thought it would be.

As I do love the whole barn.

We've got a nice kitchen, we've got a nice lounge.

We've got some nice bedrooms. I put a library in.

Pleased about the library. That was a later thought.

The whole thing has worked out really well. I'm really pleased with it.

It's better than I could possibly have thought, to be honest.

In Newburn, near Newcastle,

some creative thinking has saved a historic council building from dereliction.

From the outside, this is a stunning Grade II-listed town hall

that would have been at the heart of Newburn when it opened in 1904.

I'm keen to have a look inside and hear about the plans in store

to bring this place back into use.

New owners David and Elaine are here to tell me more.

Hello!

Right. So this is the old council reception?

This is the entrance to the building?

Yes. I have to say that the thing that strikes me coming in here

and seeing it from outside as well,

it's massive!

Mm! It is! What have you taken on?

Well, we took on quite a bit, I think,

but there's no going backwards now.

It's something we've wanted to do for quite a while. A few years.

'The council was particularly happy to sell to David and Elaine

'because they're bringing this space back to the community.

'Here, there'll be a new coffee shop, offices and studios for Elaine's dance school

'as well as a home for the couple at the back of the property.'

You've both got businesses. You do a dance school and you do design.

Yeah. Yes, and then to live here as well.

Even so, there is looking for a new dance studio

and then there is taking on one of the biggest buildings in this area.

Yes. And you put the two together there, didn't you?

The thing is, when I rang, at first we said can we have a look around?

We're not going to make a bid unless we can look around.

So they did let us in before it went to sealed bids. OK.

And when we got in, we realised the potential.

As soon as we saw it, from the outside, it was perfect.

It looks like such a regal building

and some of my pupils think it looks like a dance academy,

you know, Fame or something, with the pillars and everything.

Yeah, absolutely. It does, really, I suppose.

Let's have a look round. You can tell me your plans as we go.

Shall we head through? Yes.

'The first thing they're going to show me is the residential side of the building,

'which they will call home.'

From here onwards, this will be the start of our home.

So your residential part of this building is going to be on how many floors?

You've got ground, you've got minus one and plus one.

It'll be on all three. OK.

So another staircase needs to be put in at the far side there

and this will be an open plan kitchen, living room,

and we'll get a nice wide window

and put it in the wall, which looks over the Tyne Valley.

Amazing! It should be really nice.

A lot of light will come in, won't it?

You can see it in those windows. It'll stream through. Fantastic.

When you got this, you must have been up against developers. Do you see yourselves as developers?

People must be thinking, "We can turn this into loads of flats."

There was some interest. There was interest.

But I think part of the thing was the community side of... What was coming in.

What we were going to develop it into, especially based on Elaine's dance school. OK.

I think that did play a big part. And the coffee shop and all that side of it.

At the minute in Newburn

there's not really a centre for people to go to. Right.

I think that was part of the council's thought process.

OK. Let's see a bit more, shall we?

I'd be interested to see where everyone's going to dance. Yes.

'This being a town hall, I'm looking forward to hearing how the couple plan to get the community involved

'with this great building once again.'

Wow! This is a huge space.

Brilliant. This is going to be a dance studio?

This will be the main dance studio, yes.

Isn't that fantastic?

The idea that there aren't many people or many businesses

that would have a use for a room exactly how this is,

and you love the space. It'll suit you perfectly.

Are these some plans we can have a look at? Yeah.

So the residential stuff's at the back,

and the business stuff the front.

The main dance studio.

We'll have a meeting room and a small shop for the dance school

and a coffee shop at the front. And a waiting area here.

Perfect. That is having the community right at the front of the building.

How important is the community focus to this project for you two?

Very big. Very important. Yeah, very big.

I've always been very involved with the community, doing what I'm doing.

Obviously we want to try and broaden that even more.

Sort of mobile - mobility classes during the day. OK. For older people.

This is going to be more of a community centre area

where people can come and meet and have a chat and get a coffee. Yeah.

I think hopefully it might generate more interest in the village.

Yeah. Hopefully. It'll definitely bring more people into the village.

With the number of people Elaine has at the dance school who'll come in to Newburn who wouldn't before,

and I think some of the businesses will benefit further down.

Local shops. In the village.

It's great that Dave and Elaine are able to make a home out of these old council offices.

But it's also really interesting just how well their plans fit this space.

A design office, a dance studio,

and even a coffee shop.

And lovely to think that this old municipal building

will once again be a focal point for the community.

Back near Stamford, Lincolnshire,

I'm with Josh and Samantha, who've bought two derelict cottages

and want to knock them through to create one single unique home.

They've big ideas, but a tight budget of just ?5,000. To help them,

I'm introducing them to a couple who have completed a very similar renovation.

Guys, this is the place I've brought you to see.

What are your first impressions?

It's lovely. Fantastic. Really, really nice.

And it was two cottages, so a lot to talk about.

I think they'll have some really good advice for you.

And just bear in mind that because it was two cottages,

there might be a few hints as to how you can open up a space in your two cottages.

Ideal. OK. Let's go and see it.

'In 1993,

'Philippa and Phil Heath were looking for a permanent family home

'when they bought this derelict cottage which was originally built

'as two homes in the 1800s.'

Taking on an empty property for us was not only a challenge,

but something that we could make our own.

We were ready to settle down, have a bit more space, stability.

I loved the idea of living in an old building.

Bringing on a new generation where generations have been before.

'This ex gamekeeper's cottage had sat empty for about a year

'and was completely uninhabitable when the couple paid ?120,000 for it.'

It hadn't been lived in, so the plaster was falling off.

Ceilings were dropping down. Moss was growing on the walls!

It was really a positive, in a way,

because if it had been perfect,

then it wouldn't have needed any work and we wanted a place to have a go at, put our own stamp on it.

In order to keep costs low,

they were determined to do most of the renovation themselves.

We did all the work with the exception of the electrician and the plastering work.

But all the skivvying, cleaning... All the labouring work.

All the dirty work, we did it ourselves. And we enjoyed it. Yeah.

Clearly this was a real labour of love.

The home we've built I feel is like a child.

It's been something that we've put energy in together.

We've watched it grow, watched it evolve,

and there are times that you can sit back and think,

"It's all been worth it. The effort we put in has paid back dividends."

But the main reason I brought Josh and Samantha here

is because Philippa and Phil managed to renovate this whole place

for thousands of pounds, not tens of thousands.

Hello! Hello! How are you? Would you like to come in? We'd love to.

Thank you.

Into the kitchen and follow us.

So this is the main living area here, really.

Lovely. We've knocked through to make one workable kitchen.

What was it like here, when you first took it on?

It had been unified into one, but you still had to knock through?

We wanted open plan living so we knocked walls down,

so we opened up - there was just one small pokey window on the end.

So we opened it up onto patio doors so we got the lovely view.

Another window, lots of light, lots of space.

We found RSJs from other projects that friends were doing

so we pinched bits off them.

All the time we were on the scrounge for what other people had got.

The beams are 500 years old.

It's old oak. It was waste to him. He'd finished what he was doing.

How long has it taken you to get it to this stage?

Is it finished? It looks finished. It's revolving and continuous.

It never ends! We were in within the six months, originally.

But it's never finished!

We've got the outline plan of how we think we're going to do it,

and to see this is really good,

because it's very similar to what we've got in mind. Yeah.

Which is quite scary, actually!

It's really good because it's kind of backing up our intentions, really,

and we've had a lot of people tell us we need an architect

and you'll never do it on that budget and one thing and another.

So it's really nice to meet people that have done it.

It is nice to listen to other people's advice,

but ultimately, it's your decision and it's your house

and you're going to live in it.

Everybody has got different ideas.

It's worth listening to them, then do what you want to do.

Very interesting, guys. Great advice. Let's see some more.

Yes, come this way. Fantastic.

If you'd like to come through, this is our lounge.

This was originally two rooms.

We've knocked this... This was the middle wall. We've knocked this through.

That used to be a little shoot room and this was a small sitting room.

So we wanted a nice large room again in the sitting area.

It's fantastic. What do you think? It's lovely. Really nice.

It's light and airy, so yeah.

I don't want to scare Josh here, but looking ahead from where he is at the moment,

what's he got in store for himself?

He's doing it all himself, a bit like you have.

Just how tough is that?

It's down to the individual.

I found it fun. I found it challenging.

I don't think we had any negative problems,

anything that we thought, "Oh, it's too much, it's too big."

We really enjoyed the challenge, and we rose to the challenge.

Summarise for me your key tips for making a budget go as far as possible in terms of this.

Time. Yeah, time.

We spent... But also, we spent a lot of time on it, didn't we?

So it becomes your social life, it becomes your working life,

it becomes everything, but it's well worth putting that time in.

It takes total dedication, is what's coming across here.

Yes, you might do it on a shoestring budget, but you will sacrifice your social life, your time.

And from everything you've heard, you think you've got this determination, this energy,

all the sort of... I'm feeling a lot more confident now that I've seen it.

Or seeing their end project of it, so yeah.

It's very interesting and opened your eyes up to it. It's good.

It's nice to hear people say that you can do it, and being quite positive.

Yeah. And seeing the end result, really, of the property.

I've certainly got a lot more vision now of what we can achieve. I don't know if you have. Yeah.

A lot of hard work, isn't it, but I feel you're up for this challenge.

This is going to be your baby together.

I think it's going to be more of a life thing than actually a chore.

So it's the way I want to go in my life

and dedicate something to it.

And have a challenge and an achievement.

So I think it'll be fantastic

and really looking forward to it. Good.

It's a great little place. It's going to make a wonderful first home together in the countryside.

So best of luck with it. Thanks.

I think today's been very useful for Josh and Sam.

When you look at their project and particularly their budget,

it's easy to be sceptical on what they're trying to do, even raise an eyebrow.

But actually this project shows just what you can do

with a relatively small amount of money.

The key, of course, is planning, total dedication and hard work.

But they seem to have plenty of energy, so I'm sure before long

they'll have those two cottages into a lovely family home.

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