Grand Designs Homes Not So Grand
By |Published On: 31st July 2015|

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Grand Designs Homes Not So Grand

By |Published On: 31st July 2015|

This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.

An eco homes development by Grand Designs presenter, Kevin McCloud, has been found to have multiple building errors.

The 78-property Applewood estate was designed to be “super-insulated”.

However, a year later, residents have complained of damp, draughty windows, uncapped chimneys and central heating that does not comply with gas regulations.

Clare Honeyfield, 51, had to move out of her £125,000 flat for around two weeks.

She says: “You could make a whole Grand Designs episode about the issues the neighbours here are going through.”1

The estate in Stroud, Gloucestershire, was developed by McCloud’s property firm HAB – Happiness Architecture Beauty – and built by GreenSquare.

Head of sales at HAB, Simon McWhirter, comments: “GreenSquare Group was responsible for the delivery of the scheme. We’re sorry the experience has not been as good as it should have been.”1

GreenSquare states that it is “working to deal with snagging issues” and the gas regulation breaches were “not considered to be dangerous.”1

McCloud’s management, KBJ, said he would not comment.

1 Corcoran, L. (2015) ‘Grand Design homes ‘are damp with dodgy heating’, Metro, 31 July, p.7

 

 

About the Author: Em Morley (she/they)

Em is the Content Marketing Manager for Just Landlords, with over five years of experience writing for insurance and property websites. Together with the knowledge and expertise of the Just Landlords underwriting team, Em aims to provide those in the property industry with helpful resources. When she’s not at her computer researching and writing property and insurance guides, you’ll find her exploring the British countryside, searching for geocaches.

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