Grand DesignsLives (S11E14)

it just me or does that look like a Boston to you where are the windows we build Europe smallest houses that leak heat and that has led us all to live very insular lives in narrow pokey dark houses five years ago driven by a passion to try and make a difference I set out to build a new kind of community this is the same this is a new society in the toughest end of the market mixing low-cost and social housing I don't have all three houses I want to build 50 I want to prove that even for a hundred and 60 grand you can live in a contemporary beautifully designed three bed eco home that feels bigger and lighter I wanted to be the best I wanted to be the cheapest I wanted to be the most sustainable the least mediocre but that's not all I also want to create a new kind of mixed community the person lives here was homeless yeah personal lives here has just bought it where people will feel happier they really believe it's going to change our lives in there but so far I've struggled to find a site people do not want houses at the bottom they got an architect I've just wasted an enormous sum of money or get the builders to do the best on a budget it's the grass bog-standard and with just 20 weeks to go you're just want stuff to bloody happen don't you the projects way behind kick bollocks scramble I need to get residents to buy into my vision of the good life it is fundamentally in the end about sharing I don't do digging and degree some shared rules think this is a community and not a retirement home but if I can pull off my own grand design there's a chance it could change the way we build across Britain and put happiness back into housing if you want to judge me judge me when the houses are built when people are moved in judge the finished project developers are people who cut down trees and then name the places they're building after them bate recall not AB a tree there do you think there's a lilac in line at court I want to do things differently the scheme is really about trying to make people more content more sociable and happier by giving them a more delightful environment where they're encouraged to interact more that's that simple the thing is it's slightly unproven I believe it's get it work utterly believe is going to work but until I see it happen I can't I can't be confident I hope my homes will offer an antidote to some of our social problems it isn't just about beautiful houses I believe good architecture can make you feel proud of where you live and feel part of a community but all that depends on getting people to share my view is this mom of three Helen and builder Jamie are hoping to give up their council house and buy a home in my utopian village I definitely do not wanna continue to bring my kids up in this place not your more just the whole areas people don't look after their kids around here darling not at all it's just stressful our car gets um scratched children play knots and crosses on our car we had the police don't last week where Sophie was assaulted and walking just down a little pathway so what is it that you're looking forward to when you go ah Mike and plan mMmmm um go in out and try one like me in the people playoff extraordinary to be a prisoner in your own home like that to feel that you call it your kids out at all feel the responsibility kind of bearing down on the inert Gaza you know favorite these people really are expecting it to make their lives happier my test estate in Swindon aims to prove that good design shouldn't be just for the rich the two three and four-bedroom houses are arranged in a triangle around a wild meadow village green instead of big private gardens we've made space for two shared vegetable patches to get residents working together each house has an open plan layout and higher ceilings to maximize living space the walls made of a new low-carbon super insulating product called hempcrete which should slash the heating bills and the homes are fitted with simple eco technologies like natural stack ventilation for summer cooling but my cooling chimneys aren't on yet the project's running two months behind schedule the man looking at his critical path is it still a heap out there or is it or is it not don't mince your words yeah it's a bit different when you last here I will simply delight them in the joy of not seeing a mud bath at least the roof tiles are finally going on we can't afford fancy ones but I'm hoping to recreate the shimmering effect I saw on the Sydney Opera House by mixing bog-standard matte and shiny tiles lovely job beautiful job on the roof really beautiful we've also chosen to invest where it really counts on bespoke big tall doors and windows look how high the front door is learn for the same price as standard houses I think we've managed to create homes that feel light and spacious great windows but I'm not allowed to bask for long I've already understand the design to be honest oh no don't say that it's actually be a lot light I've opened a can of worms here we're joint to the scheme he's sore too bad thank you so much that's really different they're not just grumbling there are some real design issues it's just a real bark room you know it's like your bedrooms really dark and in the winter you can't see any filler then there's there's that this little I don't really understand why you've just blocked that out and like you're just blocking out unnecessary light to stop our super insulated hemp homes from overheating the first real window was designed with the blanked off panel I mean that's my main concern about the whole thing to be honest I'm starting to think it's a major mistake I'd rather wake up to a view if it is my ass that's what I would prefer I think that's what all the results would prefer frankly and I would - yeah and you know I'm afraid in the end common sense and taste wins over issues of thermal performance shape the designer thanks very much glazing all the vents will come out of any profits we might make but it has to be worth it across town my partner's the Housing Association have received the details for 21 prospective council tenants before we accept them into the triangle we want to find out if they'll sign up to our green agenda there's kitchen gardens there and you can create your own vegetables you're quite interested in that sort of thing I think the only thing I've ever grown is tomatoes out of gross at window boxes at the purple as you can see that's all I've ever done love God hey I used to have an allotment he loves gardening any pets that will be moving with you and I'm looking at cats and dogs here oh no oh no only got rabbits tell me like have got a dog right okay he's got a bit of behavioral problems and so we're trying to get him we want to get him castrated and if it gets too bad then we are going to get rid of him mom of two Laura has been waiting for a castle house for seven years there'll be a garden see that garden there that's where everyone can play together so you might meet new friends they don't want any old riffraff in there they want to make sure that it's going to be the best so fingers crossed on one of them the Housing Association made their selection and Laura is going to be one of them that's half the houses taken care of we had planned to sell the other ones to get a good social mix of residence but now with house prices collapsing our best choice is to rent them to private tenants with the option to buy later cease and policeman police women teachers nurses little Authority workers people who are going to opt on to us rent to buy scheme to pull in the punters I really need to sell them my vision our cycle to work one day our cycle to work one day I'll be beautiful one day I'll be happy I'll bake my own bread I asked I rather like that just loser well I'll learn to bake one day I'll lose weight one day I'll save some money one day I'll change the world I kind of like I like that as well as fostering healthy lives I'm hoping my homes will feel like they belong here in Swindon we've branded the houses six different colors a contemporary reinterpretation of the surrounding streets our special ventilation team is also painted to match their design sort of harks back to the local railway cottages nice color nice color it's good oh yeah there is a color difference is this it's very subtle yeah it's not used but I get from a distance you'll notice it while it's being at a tone dog with a turn or two darker would you think about the colors rustle Hilah did you liar you liar whose difficulties gonna be putting the right hat on the right house because nobody bothers to write the colors on the cows three months late and Russell's ready to hoist the quarter ton six-foot hand-built LED trimmed chimney cowls into position but he's struggling a bit with my Swindon colour palette they all look bloody same they're just trying to distinguish your colors that's the duck hack in it all 36 Cal's have to be craned back down and sorted out all right we got WOD classes a babysat sand color on the end then we've got the cream that what the white I mean the lighter cream then we've got a cream color there it is very subtle shading on some of these then on this one it's what I call a duck egg because it's got a slight group greeny tinge to it the difficulty comes when we're trying to match the three different cream colors now we've got them out we've grouped them into pairs so we've now got an idea what they are trust me it'll work that's what they say when they launch the Titanic the outsides are coming along but I get a sinking feeling when I go inside he's gonna have to get junked what'd you expect for less than a thousand pounds of kitchen although the builders haven't finished yet I do worry that these houses will never feel like a grand design a wobbly we're doing everything we're doing for standard price great and it actually look you know I mean that is anodized aluminium that door frame is beautiful Brenda's going to look beautiful the rooms are a wonderful thing and those cows are putting on fantastic trouble is that when talent doesn't work when something isn't in the case of those kitchens quite obviously a 900-pound kitchen when it's kind of really the very it sort of drops off the bottom of the scale there's nothing wrong the kitchens we've got an issue of worktops we're dealing with that we've got a few sin out issues that we've discussed and agreed on site there's nothing to replace you know this this isn't a scheme that's got three thousand pound kitchen in sort of good one evil some days I wake up some nights I wake up and open up in a sweat thinking about all the things that are going wrong and in a way the more you know the closer we get to moving people in the more I worry because the more I feel I'm going to have to apologize to people anymore I think you know in the end we can say we want to give you this amazing thing and we're giving you quiet icing and I'm really sorry it's not amazing we build these houses in Britain to release Walker's lands really expensive and and to give people a sense that the space they own doesn't just stop at the front door the gate that it carries on you know that it's there it's really I think it's really important on my grand design I've made a bold decision to shrink the private gardens in exchange for more communal space I mean I think it would give people who come from backgrounds where they haven't been able to determine so much of their lives and control throughout their lives of real some sense of empowerment I hope so we've designed it so that 50% of the land of the triangle is for sharing and as part of a novel experiment I want the residents to own it it's the risk that people don't take an interest there's the risk of actually being told they own something is perhaps just a burden there's the risk that people think yeah actually between you two more parking it gives us not about the vegetable sister's dig up the vegetable garden Tomic it but to give my ideas a fighting chance I need to really infuse the residents it stays epic today I meet the residents for the first time it's going to be great and not only meet them but sort of go on a trip with them in typical fashion I brought my pack lunch and my thermos flask I have already drunk almighty and even miss Emily's in the run-up to moving day there'll be a series of voluntary trips and workshops to help bring the residents together and help them think of themselves as a community hello Kevin how you right are you moving in as well we are yet three bed to bed one free bed brilliant I just do some partly in our digging clothes I mean I grow things anyway so this is just like a little insight really because you can always learn more so I'm just hoping that they're sort of like-minded really well where we live at the moment we haven't actually got gardens I'm not green never been a dog will everything anybody want to go to the loo before we go to put the trainers on really it's the first opportunity for me and our Landscape Architect Luke to sell them our vision of the good life it's a nice reverb for sir lots of the planting is edible and we've sleeps in the put some Kiwi vines around the corner as well we want espalier apple trees up against one of the gables gooseberries raspberries when you collectively own something you've got to collectively manage it and look after it and share responsibility and interest in it and I think that's that's the next biggest challenge Early's how 42 homes get to to manage and look after what you've got and share it out and it is fundamentally in the end about sharing although we're saying it's up to you don't feel as though we just leave you to it we're here to help and support you as well but it's up to you it is up to you to decide how you want to run it I won't be digging I don't do digging we want to bash it I'm interested but I wouldn't like to salgo every day it is nice have you ever heard of mizune mizu new melon with salad I'm trippin my name on to Maya know if we all grow a bit you all try of it I don't mind anyway because I don't eat vegetables thinking you can you think I like but they put their hands on my sweet peas and that'll be it hopefully we will all get on but you never know do you on site 36 chimney curls are at last hoisted into place and the scaffolding has started cutting down revealing the facade for the first time really works really works and I've got to take some photos when I see those cars I see two years of head scratching trying to get us to figure out how we're gonna wake them having to make them durable last wind resistant and actually they look they look completely splendid it looks like Russell's got the colors right you know I mean I'll kill him if he didn't to stop the street becoming cluttered with bins and cars our design team have devised some unusual screams these gabions are really something and look how big they are look I mean there's sort of this high he put the bins behind so they kind of hide all that and they're going to be great for wildlife you can get lizards you get small minor bees even birds nesting in here you know they're going to be a great sort of bio diverse kind of little micro hub for wildlife I'm pleased but I had hopes that house it would be near a completion in time for a big red letter day the resident inspection sorry I know this act they could have leaned I made at least ping that's just gonna be great fun this is when this trying to be happen come on then off we go public and Tracy doesn't hold back itíll windows wonder why they would have met or windows wrath I don't know if I like the doors either I love it now good the color I don't know what that's all about a bit strange just might as well just put brick fell slightly pointless blind really in there Julie's spotted the vent that I think needs to be turned into a window pretties up glass in or just leaving the brother oh dear so sarin attic there when there's a roof space but we wouldn't recommend we go out there and talk to store anything but loads of storage while out covers all over the place that burn there's no storage for linen you've got nowhere to put a suitcase you've got nowhere to put anything you can't use the attic where'd you put sheets towels pillowcases it's better and that's the only thing there's basically no storage there's one cupboard downstairs be washing machine us whilst as far as your storage goes no loft space which I was counting on really if you tell em understand it I'm on the case of replacing the paneled windows but the storage issue really upsets me it's something that got cut because of costs and it might have been a mistake hello are you expecting me yes I almost cannot verify mum of 2 Laura is inviting me round to show me just how much stuff the modern family has better okay it's a CF pinkie look it looks like it looks like a toy explosion when when she goes off pink that's that's going a major crisis then they are plastic magnets children they just you know attract all this staff I can see more bloody pink plastic but that's all made Christmas decorations and that okay no I'm gonna go to the architects to discuss storage now yeah lots of storage lot your loss yes thanks Nora tell you what you needed real ease you needed a mother to come and help you build these houses and design them yeah I could have showed you what storage we needed yes some big large large warehouse there's only one thing for it I need to find a way to use the loft space without damaging the sheep's wool insulation I think we're far better to take some timbers across so the trust is nailing there there there and there and then put some boards out just above the insulation that would be quite cheap got to use this with the move date fast approaching and more private renters signed up this is one of our I think gets off in there biscuit free bisque only one biscuit we need to start uniting this mixed bunch we're using a psychotherapist and community mediation specialist to help them make some rules neighborhood agreement agreement trying to guard with your neighbors oil and we behave so now Flavio snow now parties yeah you're anointed won't be sobered everyone gets on together and you can all flush everything out and everyone's happy I think it's a good thing in it I think you'll be good I like the idea of it and I hope it works I just don't think it'll be sort of all peace and love sit around a campfire on a Friday night 70 adults 44 kids and 53 pets will all be living side-by-side with just one set of rules first thing I thought we should do is just think about putting together a good neighbor agreement what we can expect of each other no spitting oh yeah no be aware of noise level after midnight I mean you know you could do midweek from 7:00 because also when kids go to bed yeah so after midnight on weekends yeah yeah possibly yeah and 7:00 p.m. three days but it's not easy getting everyone to agree I think mustard stream is somebody's gonna pay the 7 o'clock in the morning Washington will say that laying the law down and we're not even build it we can all start doing all this to create a problem before we even get into kinky hands okay you've got all sit down and say right let's all just agree we'll all start off I'm going to get a problem that will address it we did think this is a community and not a retirement home you know my parent making a racket might be an except your neighbor somebody else think that's a parent it's an animal either so we'll find out when we move in it's not just getting the community to gel that's proving difficult the builders still haven't made up the time they lost in the bad winter we got those to do we got our bathrooms some kitchens we're still dry lining some of the flats we got roofs to finish off scaffold to drop some services to connect touching up to do toilets to fit tile in cut there's a lot to do and residents expect to move in here in just 21 days I'm worried all our community bonding will go to waste so I've called an emergency meeting with the construction firm what the bloody hell do we do now to get the thing finished and to get it finished well people forgetting to email each other or just not doing something or reverting to standard operating procedure there bog-standard got a lot machinery on site we've still got another house it to finish yeah got still got scaffolding up and we're planning on moving residents in at least in theory on paper in the next three weeks and it's not a I think it's a safe place at the moment the bosses assure me it will speed up the arse the whole point of this thing is really had confidence that we're going to finish it all those days you know if you wanted to see a tempest thankfully and that and you invite some le buddy yeah I just you know it's tight-knit there are two blocks of flats these will be the last to get finished hello hello Claire meaning that MS suffer a Clint will be one of the most delayed he's desperately waiting for a ground floor apartment you must find the stairs difficulty in any yeah yeah terrible cuz there's upstairs and I mean I've got the dist belly sometimes I'm so like oh me aim yeah yeah yeah it is slow but you just get used to that so do you know many of the people have run it a lot of them moved away it's like one bed placement so yeah stay for um it would be interesting for me to mix I just hope I hope it hope it suits you and I really have it worked out take it easy okay thank you yeah nice meanie face coming around no no great pleasure there's no doubt that that his life is he's isolating you know it isolates him if I came back in a year and I saw Clint sitting outside there in October and an autumn morning in the Sun with his coat on chatting to a couple of neighbors you know and some kids around about you know if I saw that if I just saw that III for me that would tilt that would tell me that it worked there are three words that describe the current state of affairs on this scheme and they are kick bollocks scramble the first residents are finally about to move in and it's far from the Eden that I've promised the whole thing is not as I wanted this to be I wanted to be phased to be gentled have the scheme ready so we can spend our time with residents and instead it's just chaos I've got to deal with this chap did you need me for no never but thanks this is the tightest it's never been for me on any job I've ever done alright where's your two lads once these are done we need to get these next all buttoned up where they mentally it's not just our fault everyone's out of part to play in in the delays and why we're late but we're just trying to do what we can to get people in and and keep as many people happy as possible there's no trapezius but it does feel like it yeah none of the green spaces are even ready and I'm more and more worried that all the team-building that we've done will go to waste it isn't in its most perfect glorious beautiful stage and I kind of think unless you consider to give something over in its best floor at glorious beautiful state you should show people how it can be before you know it just knocks me when things aren't quite right it may be a building site outside but in 22 hours this will become somebody's home I've invested five years of my life and half my savings into this dream and now it's a reality like every grand designer it's a moment I've both dreamt of and slightly dreaded nice toilet roll holder really nice toilet roll holder feels very light kitchen looks really small I can't I find that that is a miracle how that's turned out and what I particularly like is some outside looking in you see the arch of the tap there's an odd thing but is that it just looks really like a little bit of jewelry in window you know no grass yet where's the grass some seed glass for that is coming tomorrow's coming the same day as the residence where the bloody hell's the litter box I tell you what I haven't tried hey this time tomorrow I'll see people living here that's amazing I find that amazing is that magical moment where the project turns into something alive it's nice beyond to go inside I know what plot it is but I don't bring yeah two or three from the antenna just there I think - you know where my husband's nope there is any numbers it's a heart I know which ones suffering don't know which one's mine they gonna put numbers on the doors you're there yay good girl look I saw new home Republicans Tracy and Russell the move takes them out of emergency housing Dimitri's bedroom mum's Julie and Laura get their own bedrooms again free of kids lots of champers for Lynn and Ted it's a step back on the property ladder oh it's very sweet not bill is it welcome to the triangle it's all yours now enjoy it Kevin bless him at 4:00 p.m. the builders pack up leaving the first resident in peace it's real sweetness garden learning that positive lovely I do I love ken Ames lovely I think it makes a difference as well because he's sealing the really high that was lower you want gets at you but it is feels like you're outside side it's called chest poop its base that I've impresses you darling our pioneer residents are in but waking up to dust dirt and noise with no wild meadow village green barren back Gardens is hardly giving them the best start to a more sociable healthy and happy life doesn't look like a place you don't live does it this place at the moment looks like a really intense building site not only that half the community haven't even been able to move in yet but one of the shared vegetable gardens is ready I think we'll probably plant up all the chives first and see how far they takers and then then we can leave a little space and put the parsley end to galvanize things I'm bringing along some plants from home I want to try and make this the community hub hello how are you why good oh hello hello Demetri yeah you can come do some planting you can come plus some chives Julie is one of the few with green fingers bigger bit bigger good man sores good in there yeah that's good more and more in this one Terry in June the good night is it's not as Felicity Kendal come out here on my own but the kids walk it to come out I'd come and deal with them it's quite relaxing isn't it therapeutic it is therapeutic actually we've planted lettuce in here and time over there and someone cows so I didn't expect any them to come out but they just saw us here and just started joining it it's great it's gonna take some of you after it's lovely to see the first seeds of community life but not everyone's in yet for Clint stuck in his upstairs flat the ongoing delays have had serious consequences and I come up the stairs here just fell over I mean we sort of vision went a bit funny and bang and it was dead weight so I led there for a little bit thinking mask and it's not just Clint who's upset by the ever-shifting move dates a lot of delays and a lot of people saying fuming you know my move has been moved for the sixth time to the fourth of August when do you expect handover with flats next week that's Monday or Friday I just said next week I'd you did you did I know that's why I'm asking Kyle put me down but now it's been when's your first if next week okay Miller next week so I don't I don't I don't know I don't know get his hopes up too much but he's so good that's good news and how else is it going dare I ask yeah well I mean you know as well as me it's a battle but we get in there certainly looks like a war zone I want to check on the state of Clint ground floor apartment bathroom and bed room in a private Terrace he's facing this is meant to be ready two months ago but the four bed houses opposite Koontz that are finally ready and families have moved in I'm called over the road by an unhappy customer okay how are you you're right okay um I gather you've got a problem we think we've got a bit of a problem yeah with your access there's your parking there's your door yeah space they're nice but unfortunately the handle lovely handle there's actually nothing on this side itself that's because there's no lock on this there's no way it means you're getting in is that it's clearly a problem and it's also clearly a mistake yes that's because the point is you've got to get in the back so we have to address it I don't know what the solution will be I have a horrible feeling it's gonna be very expensive nobody said much about how'd you get into the houses from the back for when you park we just assumed you know they're a nobody just assumed everybody this is just a cop oh do I draw anymore like that it's the end of August and at last everyone has moved in but there's a problem with getting into the four-bedroom houses I've called in the architects to see what we can do they were designed with parking in the back gun but our oversized Scandinavian patio doors don't have handles on the outside and it's not possible to put them on now zowie technically that you can fit a handle to this and retrofit it D to this design the frame is so thin you cannot get a external key excess in it we are looking at now a solution where you've got the parking out in the front you doing about redesigning the front in order to accommodate more parking on that redesigning the front in order to reconfigure the way to cause a pot we spent days designing a parking strategy that reduces the visual impact of cars and puts people first so taking taking the spaces out of the garden put any mat in the front before you know the whole place is a car park it's all tarmac and and there's nowhere for Chopin to play so with people to socialize there's nowhere for ya you can't stand in the road and drink a cup chain I just do not want this place to become car City for all my objections there is no other solution that's one green battle lost and it's not the only one there's much less tarmac than on a normal estate but it's not the recycled tarmac I wanted because of highways red tape and our wild meadow never got a chance to grow so we're having to turf the village green instead months late and at last the builders have gone hello you hello you the residents are getting to grips with the idea of sharing the vegetable gardens I don't understand quite understand how the concept of it's going to work because I know not everyone want to be involved but then everybody might want to benefit from the products that go in yeah and if they did want to have some of the stuff are they Emma what's the basis you may well be the only those people who go out and benefit yeah it's up to you to decide what I mean it really is I mean you know to share it I don't work garden and make a contribution they might find or buy the seeds or buy you some potting compost or for that matter they might do three hours babysitting by all this scheme was all about getting people to be sociable and to share more it's time now for me to take a step back to see if it can work long term we need to all see we need to get together in there get this sorted out and when the residents are coming together tonight to elect a garden committee you need a chairman you need a secretary you need to get that sorted first airing and I'd say perhaps this lately because she's the one that shot but shots watch em alright this is gonna be quite a big job and it should be okay but perhaps be of service should we do that bit between us then yeah I can be wherever I want to be like they often want to take on the treasurer role we have your adventure place hello order order in the room Julie Tracy and it's al are gonna be the chair people she was gonna be our treasurer kit and he's is gonna look good think you might find a bit of struggle having three chairs no we're not three chairs we're just sharing the responsibility didn't really know what I was doing at the time my hand just kind of went up in there all by itself and then afore I knew I was like standing there and then before I knew I was like chairlady which you know I know about gardening you don't have to be brain steer to be a challenge I've got a mouth I can speak and I can plant left to their own devices and with Julie leading the way the gardening club are quick to get going over here girls we have hanging baskets and terracotta pots today in a drive to get more residents involved they've arranged a community Day Russian too far to take off well wicked are lovely but it's proving difficult to recruit new members yeah we haven't had a lot of them interest so to speak I think what's going to happen is that the committee are going to just do the garden between themselves and sour meat vegetable boxes make it big again I said did what much they like that some people want to get involved in stuff some people don't those who do you know become good friends yeah give it time they get back it's perhaps not going to be the whole community gardening together as I'd hoped with at least they're making their own decisions well yeah for the first time it's looking properly you know tidy isn't it it's diagonal parking here now obviously except for this person sitting good note thinking all right it's five years and five months since I set off to build my very own grand design what we crazy love paying this project and a great deal of angst and a great deal of heartache but that makes me smile seeing Russell countin his bike what I'm most pleased with here is we've done these low energy buildings which are spacious and light and low impact and have got carbon locked into them and we've done it for standard Housing Association budget and we delivered this as well as part of that budget right at the beginning I said I want the scheme to demonstrate to house builders that you can do brilliant staff for the same money and we've done it but do the residents agree hey Laura are you why lovely weather isn't it how's your house I'm falling down yeah oh what a relief is it is it Tim yeah so I need I need to get the carpets cleaned anyway I haven't even got the heat in on yeah and I haven't had to put a heating on and it's just so warm it's nice cuz you have what the he don't know no I got no heating on that's just your heat recovery doing that it's amazing it feels really warm in here look at it it's um it's not as bad leg obviously skal a poison to there so you can't really see them all so um have you got enough storage yet no you said to me once I needed a mother to help me design this yeah you did think if you failed along some lines didn't really really know I love my house and I'm very very grateful now then how are you good are you coming I see you you will do yeah how's it house it's like having a villa in Spain everybody says it when they come in it in it and if they come in and they haven't been here before it's like oh it's like being on holiday but we always think when we enter the Triangle we're not in Swindon we get that don't worry ironic given that what we want to do was make someone to felt very much like part of Swindon but yeah nevermind um look at you I come in yeah how are you okay and these two are those settling in a right to know what they're so much more relaxed it's different as well I I think maybe because I'm enjoying it you know I wake up and I'm you're relaxed I know yeah and and I and I know that I'm not going to see one of these way down Dave you seem much more chatty yeah I'm happy now I really am happy and Jamie is much more happier now my children are more happier as well so that's nice yeah I know what if he fell on land or sea for long that must be fun over the past few months the residents have really taken ownership of this place with not just a gardening club at a Residents Association and neighborhood watch up and running it's not all committee meetings today they've decided to have one big communal housewarming party it's nice isn't it and they've invited me yeah good it's like that his face got the bank council in there he's got the most beautiful way Dimitri yeah yeah oh yeah touchstone Oh everyone's our name spit home everyone's friendly or be neighbors a friendly is a nice awakening they're living in my quiet place you know it's like little EastEnders down here I grew up in a and this is the kind of community spirit you get this is about trying to make places where people feel slightly happy I feel better feel more enriched feel more connected to each other a little bit more in control of their lives it is the design process design which has got us here and in that I feel absolutely vindicated I Tracy from number 23 it's been difficult I know but I think now we're all together and we're all making friends I think now we can call ourselves a community do oh yeah great neighborhood roads I love my neighbors I live every way so thank you Kevin blade everything Bob I'm not gonna stop there but three projects to do an Oxford we go up to that boundary there a new building goes about where there hedges we've put more fruiting apple trees around it another one in straddle the other ones in the West Country I mean you know here we put a rooftop garden armed with raised beds a little tree house eventually I'm still up there with a viewing observatory at the top doesn't stop here over 100,000 people have already signed up to our great British property scandal campaign to reuse our empty homes to help make a difference go to channel 4 comm slash Kevin and follow the link next tonight they may have electricity and telephones but the Mennonites have their own rituals living with the Amish in a few minutes

Channel: Grand Designs Australia

Views: 285,070

Rating: 4.7843552 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: bSzcLuwH1qo

Length: 47min 18sec (2838 seconds)

Published: Thu May 08 2014