26 February 2015
A nationwide hunt is underway to find households keen to purchase a plot, design and build their own homes at Britain’s biggest mass self build site.
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Channel 4 Features has commissioned a pioneering six-part television series – produced by Boundless and presented by self build patron Kevin McCloud – working in close collaboration with Cherwell District Council to secure access to the Graven Hill self build scheme in Bicester, Oxfordshire. The show, which has a working title of ‘My Grand Design’, is currently looking for ten households who want to create their own unique homes and become part of this new community. McCloud wants to hear from people with a creative ambitious approach to building that will show how high quality homes can be built without breaking the bank. During the series, he’ll also be highlighting how big ideas about architecture and design can be achieved on a budget.
The aim of the project, according Channel 4 Features, is to reduce the barriers to self build, enabling people to create their own inspirational home on their own budget. Alongside access to land, self builders will get access to additional help and advice to make it easier to get their ideas off the ground. The series hopes to reveal what kind of homes the great British public would choose to live in if they were given the chance to design and build them, instead of leaving it in the hands of developers.
Speaking about the forthcoming programme, Kevin McCloud said: “For decades, self build in Britain has been the preserve of the relatively wealthy and empowered. What’s happening at Cherwell is something else: a self build revolution that’ll make the custom-designed home accessible to everyone. Individual households and self build groups will be working alongside each other, constructing their homes with the help of contractors and experts and building a new community as they do so. It’s absolutely right that Grand Designs is there to witness this process – and be part of it too. We can become a nation of Grand Designers; great, sustainable architecture can be the preserve of everyone.”
Patrick Holland, Managing Director of Boundless, added: “The Cherwell project is both ground-breaking and hugely exciting. A whole street of home designers and self builders will work to create their own Grand Designs side by side, all on relatively modest budgets. Kevin McCloud helped create this design revolution so we are delighted to be able to follow these stories with him. We’ll chart the stories from initial plans through to moving-in day, with ten unique households on one British street.”
More information on applying to build on the site can be obtained by emailing: mygranddesign@boundlessproductions.tv.
