A Riverside Eco Home

Living so close to the river brings with it certain responsibilities,” explains Scott Kemmis. “If the water level rises I can be up every hour throughout the night checking that no debris has been caught in any of the eight sluice gates. It’s like caring for a baby and can be extremely hard work, but the rewards of living beside such a beautiful stretch of water and fishing in the river are worth the odd sleepless night.”

In 1993 Scott had decided to pursue a childhood interest and founded his own company, The Gardeners Ltd, specialising in park and garden maintenance, landscaping and garden design. One client employed Scott to maintain his formal park-like gardens in the market town of   Romsey, which included a stretch of the River Test — regarded as one of the most famous chalk streams in the world. When managing the weir and sluice gates became too difficult for their elderly owner, an agreement was reached whereby Scott would take over ownership of the lower two acres of garden, river, the remains of an old mill structure and a ‘salmon ladder’ — a man-made channel which assists the fish in making their way upstream.

The land came with no planning permission, but Scott and his partner, Rachel Dovey, decided to gamble on building a new house which would make tending the grounds and river a far easier task. The couple had been living in a Victorian terraced house in Romsey for eight years which they planned to sell in order to fund the project, and approached a local architect with the intention of drawing up plans for a contemporary new home.

“He took one look at the site and announced that it was beyond his capabilities,” says Rachel. “Nobody thought that we would ever be given permission to build there until we met Peter Dowsett and just hit it off straight away.”

The semi-retired architect seemed far more upbeat and excited about the challenge of building on such a beautiful site, which forms a hidden oasis right in the middle of town. He worked with Scott and Rachel developing a number of designs ranging from a cabin-like structure to the final proposal of a contemporary cedar clad house with a stainless steel roof. This was submitted to the local council for planning approval and was instantly and resolutely refused as an unsympathetic, overly large development on the riverbank.

“That’s when the fun started,” says Scott. “Years ago the council had allocated this land to be acquired as a future extension to their neighbouring War Memorial park, so we knew we had a real fight on our hands.” He, Rachel and Peter Dowsett prepared for battle over a period of six months, employing a planning consultant and a landscape architect to assess the land. They encouraged the Environment Agency and English Nature to back their proposal, and even the police force supported the application on the grounds of preventing trespassers from tampering with the sluice gates. “We sold our car and some shares to gamble £14,000 at the planning stage which we could easily have lost,” Scott continues, “but we knew we had to give it our best shot and gathered a huge file of evidence for the hearing.”

Ultimately, their design for a predominantly single storey house featuring large sections of glazing was approved by the appeal inspector on Christmas Eve 2002 but, just as they were preparing to celebrate, another obstacle presented itself to the couple. “A neighbour had waited until planning permission was approved before revealing that a restrictive covenant existed which prevented any building except a fishing hut from being erected on the land,” Rachel explains. “We were advised to pay for this covenant to be removed. At £60,000 it was a huge blow to our budget and we had to take out a bigger mortgage to cover it.”

The couple continued to live in their previous house, taking out a bridging loan to pay for the build. They had hoped to start on site in July 2003 but work was delayed for a further two months when the planners queried some of the window shapes and requested a new planning application. After so many set-backs Scott and Rachel were becoming understandably despondent about the project but were hopeful of making up time by building with highly insulated SIPs — Structural Insulated Panels manufactured by sandwiching expanded polystyrene between two sheets of oriented strand board. “The panels were erected in just four days and are extremely versatile,” says Rachel. “They allowed us to have open plan living spaces with full height ceilings and no visible supports which, along with the hidden underfloor heating, help to give the house its clean, uncluttered lines.”

Unfortunately the main contractor proved less than satisfactory, the project’s momentum began to slow and the couple had to sell their home and move in with friends for eight months while the house was completed. Scott, a qualified carpenter, took time off from work to oversee the build and help out on site wherever possible.

External walls have been clad with softwood cedar cladding, fixed vertically, horizontally and even diagonally onto the various elements which make up the predominantly single storey house. This quirkiness is further highlighted by the series of unconventional windows in various sizes which adorn the property. Colourfast, weather-resistant Trespa panels - based on thermosetting resins homogeneously reinforced with wood fibres – have been used where tannin from the cedar would leach resin onto the stainless steel roofs below, and prevent the roof cladding from becoming stained or damaged.

Facing south-west and shaded by mature trees, which form a sheltered micro climate, the  house benefits from large sections of glazing and a flexible, open plan layout achieved with the help of wide oriental-style glazed screens between the oak floored dining area and the sitting room. Steps lead up from the seating area to a contemporary staircase, which winds up to the master bedroom and en suite shower room on the first floor, forming a steel vertebra with pale ash treads and handrails. At the base of this slender staircase further screens slide back to reveal an internal garden on the north side of the house, an indulgent glazed space which is filled with orchids, lush palms and planting.

Scott had spent his childhood living in Australia and was heavily influenced by what he describes as “the breezy, inside-outside style of Australian houses.” He and Rachel stumbled upon a book entitled New Australia Style which, coupled with inspiration from their travels, led to them incorporating unusual ideas into their new home such as bathroom shutters which enable the bather to lie in the bath on the ground floor and look through an opening into the neighbouring internal garden.

The couple still have little time to relax and enjoy their new home, however, as their attention   has turned instead to planning their wedding in Australia, to which their architect Peter Dowsett and his wife have been invited. When they return to Hampshire, the newly married couple have big plans for both the house and garden, which include a micro-hydro system to harness the power of the mill waterfall using a turbine to create electricity — an ambitious project which will further connect their new home to the beautiful stretch of river beside which it stands.

RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS

A restrictive covenant is a legally enforceable restriction that can control the future development, alteration or use of a piece of land and the buildings on it, to protect the interests of a previous owner, their successors in title and/or the interests of neighbouring properties, especially on a single development or estate. Covenants can be relaxed subject to the agreement (often involving payment) of the beneficiaries, but, as Scott and Rachel found, doing so can be expensive. Very old or antiquated covenants may not be enforceable.

Further reading:

• Are SIPs right for your self-build?
• A Riverside Chalet-style Self-build
• A Guide to Hydro Power