What would your idea home footprint be?

[BobettaHouseBuilder]

I am in the lucky position of having 5 acres of land, which I have been advised is buildable and have been nudged by the village to think about selling it for building. Apparently they have a set number of homes they need to build for the area and the consensus is that this parcel of land is accessible yet not overlooked by any other homes, so less contentious than others.

I have ideas of planning 5 homes on the land (each with a nice 1 acre plot). I want them to look traditional rather than modern (no flat roof/shiny black/office block styles) so maybe Georgian or converted barn in style? L shaped homes seem to be rather popular with double garages and the above used as an annexe?

Thoughts and advice?

I know a lady who would love to be in your shoes !
Shes the lady that helped us re design our downstairs ( and is doing our upstairs at the end of the month ) she thinks of all the things we didn't . Factoring the sun when it spills into the rooms and site lines etc. She's a concept planner rather than an architect. Bet she would be useful to you. Pm me for her details if you like.

Thank you HumptyNumpty for that idea. I might need that a little later on. Currently just trying to see if there is a gap for more traditional builds, as all I keep seeing are dark, small windowed, very modern boxes. I'd also like to have it wheelchair accessible with wider doors and hallways.

Not sure if this is actually sought after in 5 bed homes (it isn't just older people who become/are disabled) or if I would be foolish to try to incorporate that in any plans? Am also a fan of porch areas. Are swimming pools necessary on planning permission or is that again a potential waste of time and effort?

So, more of a WWYD I suppose.

For us it would be to have a decent size room downstairs which could be used as either a reception room or a bedroom with shower room next to it, not necessarily ensuite.

How wonderful to have this opportunity to build some decent sized homes with a good sized plot. Its my dream to have that amount of land.

Entrance hall
Study
Cloakroom
Lounge
Kitchen diner
Utility room

4 beds upstairs 1 with en suite and a family bathroom

About 2000 ft2

A square/ rectangular box is the cheapest shape to build- every corner added is supposed to add between 1-5% onto a build cost. We’re in the process of building our own house now, there’s a book called the house builders bible which is really useful for guidance on all sorts of things about house building.

I would urge you to consider the energy efficiency of the houses- so many new builds have such poor insulation. We’re building a passive house which is the extreme end of the scale, but it’s a really useful mindset when designing to think about things like solar gain etc.

i think you need to decide who your target market is first, families? Retirees? I would so love to design houses for people who are not necessarily downsizing but who don’t want a ‘family’ home (houses that have 5 bedrooms etc) but still want the square footage of a family home, just redesigned for 2 people, so I would love to design beautiful spacious houses for them, lots of living accommodation but only 2 bedrooms on reasonable sized plots, I think there is a massive gap in the market for something like this.

Great advice everyone!

Love the idea of carbon offsetting.

It's a lovely position to be in and I want to make sure I am not just whacking up a house that I like but one that is needed

If you are allowed 5 houses... maybe do one from each period ... like a trip though time
Georgian
Edwardian
Victorian
Tudor
Maybe a barn conversion
Or an east house

An acre is a pretty large plot. Not everyone wants or can maintain a garden that big.
I'd aim to make your houses as energy efficient as possible.
And I second the suggestion of generously proportioned 2 bed houses for downsizers, a real gap in the market.

In terms of layout. I always prefer a central hall with all rooms off that rather than rooms off rooms or a long corridor to access rooms.

In terms of orientation of house on plot I prefer my rear garden to have the sun.

Is the field a square or more of a strip?

I'd build affordable housing not executive homes, the money you will get is an added bonus as it's a nice extra so you could afford to.

We're looking for a 5 bed house in the country at the moment. I appreciate our requirements will not be everyone's, but our ideal footprint would be:

Downstairs -
Big kitchen/diner (not fussed about separate dining room)
Large lounge (square not long and thin)
A second reception room/snug
Downstairs bedroom with en-suite
Utility room
Cloakroom
Boot room

Upstairs -
I'd rather have 4 good sized bedrooms and a family bathroom than 4 bedrooms with en-suites.

Would also want an office - either upstairs or downstairs.

Re the annex over the garage. Anyone wanting this for an elderly relative may be put off by this being on the first floor. We certainly would be as MiL struggles with stairs.

Also not fussed about a garage. If we buy a house with one and enough land for us to just park our cars outside, as we do now, we'd just end up converting it into a workshop/gym etc.

Am always really put off by faux Georgian/Tudor style houses. Though obviously there's a market for them 🤷‍♀️

Would be looking for around 2.5k sq ft.

You could split the plot and sell the land to 5 self builders... they will build the highest quality homes

Look at Poundbury duchyofcornwall.org/poundbury.html
Ben Pentreath has been involved, it's new builds built to a traditional style.

More stuff here www.benpentreath.com/

More pictures here www.benpentreath.com/
I, for one, much prefer new builds with period proportions, and proper sized windows.

Everything you describe is fantastic, however I wonder if the target market you're building to and the cost associated would potentially rather have the land and build their own so it is bespoke to them? As such if you get outline planning for 5 properties and market at those wanting to build their own luxury homes

I would want a room + shower room downstairs that are elderly-access friendly. I don't need them now (so might not use room as a bedroom now), but have an eye to having more elderly parents in the future.

Porch and utility room.

Generally, square rather than long & thin rooms.

Large hallway & landings.

I personally see no attraction in en-suites (poo in your bedroom?!). But at least two bathrooms for a 5 bed. Probably better three.

I'd think an acre plot rather large - it would need to be low maintenance.

Patio type area on sunny side of house. Kitchen, living room and master bedroom all overlooking garden.

Driveway with enough room to turn cars in.

Large, solid shed/garage storage - for bikes, sports equipment etc.

Good windows. Very energy efficient.

AmIaWeed yes! That is my plan however from what I understand the plans for permission need to be very detailed (bedrooms and layout included for the drainage and electrical supplies for example). Also the look of the house is important here.

Those houses by Pentreath are wonderful! I like the look of those and would love to see the floor plans! I also think his smaller houses look comfortable and sturdy which is a far cry from some of the shoddy boxes I see in nearby towns. I do think having a home for life rather than just for a season makes sense, especially in a village setting.

So are 0.5 plots also too much maintenance? Should I be considering 0.2? I did see a local developer cramming huge homes on 0.2 plots and there was a lot of tarmac involved with minuature trees in the garden. It's not to my taste but I was reliably informed that people have these houses as country homes from London and therefore don't want to have much to mow. I don't really want ghost homes but I won't be able to choose the buyers. Also if the owner is disabled I guess a large plot wouldn't be sustainable. Lots to think on!

I am not keen on the rounded walls in this however the layout looks good as the stairs appear wide enough for a stair lift also? Is taking loft space a bad option though?
www.fusion-13.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Self-build-5-bedroom-house.jpg

Third of an acre would be plenty

Can you sell with some kind of covenant that it must be a primary residence??

1 acre plot sounds like it needs a mansion. If you just want build large family houses (like the linked plan), then the overall plot size of 0.2-0.3 would probably be plenty to offer a good drive and sizeable back garden.

With regards to the plan linked, it seems a lot of sq footage for a pretty standard number of rooms - like someone just took a bog standard terrace and supersized it. Our house is a similar size and comfortably accommodated a gym and a cinema room. It wouldn't cost more to build but you'd get a better return on your investment for a more aspirational house. I'd also recommend putting in a garage. The master might be nicer on the first floor so there's less running up and down, awkward storage in the loft etc.

A good architect would be worth getting on the case. And having a good think about what's likely to be in demand in the area and bring you the best returns: McMansions on one acre plots, large homes or a high number of more affordable family or retiree housing. Or a mixture: 5 acres is a big site to be working with.

Depends on your council but round here if its more than one house its a "development" and you need a mix of house sizes and a percentage of 'affordable' homes. Think you're going to end up needing a planning consultant.

Subdividing into a mixture of self build plots would be amazing- there’s such a shortage and it’s the best way to get high quality houses that people actually want!

Speaking to your local council would be a good starting point