Clear VISION
In self building their eco home on a Lakeland smallholding, Rick and Angie Cross have developed a far more sustainable lifestyle
Rick and Angie Cross’s smallholding is what Rick would call a “long-term work in progress”. His 2.5 acres of quiet land, nudging beautiful countryside and with Scottish lowlands visible on the horizon, provide a valuable insight into renewable resources and giving something back. eir homestead is primarily community-focussed, promoting rainwater harvesting, organic fruit and vegetable planting, animal breeding, wildlife conservation and recycling. is is interwoven with sustainable education and activities centering on the importance of community and collaboration – with Rick and Angie’s eco home at its core.
eir Cumbrian house, designed by Andrew Yeats of Eco Arc, is a highly insulated, triple-glazed, solar-water-heated family home built in the characteristic Lakeland colours of white and grey – with a touch of Scandi thrown in. It’s a far cry from Rick’s initial tongue
I look at the site as system’’ a whole ecological
in-cheek vision of a rustic “shack”, but the end result is strikingly simple and a modest example of the way in which great eco design can be less futuristic and blend seamlessly into its surroundings.
A lifestyle change
is humble new house is the complete antithesis of Rick and Angie’s previous home, a larger Victorian semi with plenty of character typical of the period and beautiful proportions – but which sapped energy through its poor draughty windows and inadequately insulated walls.
“We had both been raised in older houses and gradually renovated our previous property while the children were growing up, but once they left home we realised we didn’t need all that space,” says Rick. “We started looking for somewhere else but I was keen to find somewhere with land so we could plant trees and grow vegetables – but there was nothing available.”
at was, until they found a family of farmers who were selling five acres of land, a bungalow and a separate building plot that already had outline planning permission for a second single level property. Rick and Angie put in a bid for both the land and the stand-alone site, without knowing if they would get permission for a two-storey house in its place. “It was a big gamble and quite
Build It October 2019
stressful,” says Rick. “In the end we had to settle for half the land, which was split between our building plot and the neighbours.”
Initial work
Before they had even started to consider their plans for the house, Rick planted dozens of trees on the hillside site to create long-term shelter from the wind. is would give the plantings the extra time they needed to take hold while the dwelling was being built.
“We designed the layout at the same time as commissioning an architect,” says Rick. “We discovered Andrew Yeats through environmental networks. Our aim was to find a professional with a track record in environmentally efficient housebuilding. Being local, Andrew could be closely involved with the build process. Plus, he was committed to sourcing local materials.”
Together with Andrew, the couple came up with a wish list for their new house: it had to be economical, efficient and small, as well as practical enough to see them into their later years. It should also be inextricably linked to the land – and the land-based activities – around it. “I realised that we were constantly drawn to old properties because new ones are, in many cases, badly designed,” says Rick. “If
we were to build a contemporary home it had to be designed in a creative way.” By this time, Rick and Angie had sold their Victorian house and were renting another property close by, allowing them to oversee the scheme and develop the site on a daily basis. In this way, they were able to keep a close eye on the progress of the project as a whole, whilst working on the landscaping themselves, which was no small feat in itself.
“e site was quite uninspiring,” Rick says. “It was bare, windswept, north-facing and badly drained, however, because of my work in the past as a landscape designer, I was confident that I would be able to transform it into something different.”
Andrew’s stunning design for the house complemented Rick’s overall vision for the plot, although he would have preferred it if he had been allowed to site the building further away from the road. He would also have liked to construct the dwelling out of more natural and conventional materials such as wood, instead of following the trend for contemporary block and render, and to a traditional design. However, he was restricted by the local planning department’s preference for a more modern exterior that integrated smoothly with the surrounding post-war properties.
“We decided not to delay things by digging our heels in,” says
Rick. “We also asked Andrew to give us his professional support throughout the project – we had never built a house before and we wanted to make sure it was done right.”
Weather delays
e build began with concrete slab foundations, made complicated by poor drainage, terrible winter weather conditions and substandard management by the building contractor. Although Rick plays down
some of the frustrations, and chalks them up to experience, he concedes that the build programme was often running behind – largely due to the weather. By the time things improved, “it became clear that there were going to be issues in providing the necessary manpower to meet the agreed schedule of work due to prior commitments, in particular work contracts for schools over the summer holidays,” he says.
ese niggles did not deter Rick, however, who had a very clear vision for the plot and how it could be developed as a shining example of sustainable living. He also wanted to be very hands on in the project’s development, opting to take on completing the landscaping himself. “It’s a very shallow soil with heavy compacted clay and cobbles below, so we took earth from the excavations to create a terraced area for a vegetable garden,” he says. In doing this he worked to incorporate their important value of self-sufficiency from the very beginning.
With the foundations finally in place, the walls were built using traditional and locally-sourced materials, including a base course in a local stone, a common roughcast render and Cambrian slate. e design was adjusted as the build slowly progressed,
resulting in a unique home that has a contemporary, Scandinavian edge to the north elevation, with a more traditional scale and appearance on the road-facing front.
e triple-glazed fenestration is teamed with two solar thermal panels. All the internal space heating is generated by a log burner feeding a hot water boiler, which is also powered by the panels. “We saved money by not including a heat recovery system,” says Rick.
Rainwater is harvested from the roof and fed through a series of ponds into a reed bed. Rick also plans to install water tanks further up the site for irrigating the vegetable garden. “I look at our land as a whole ecological system,” says Rick. “e house is a big part of that, working side by side with the plot. We continued work on the property after we moved in and it’s still ongoing.”
Frustration all round
Rick wasn’t the only one who found the build challenging – architect Andrew Yeats found it difficult, too. “Delays due to winter bad weather, then the lack of oomph to get going again when the conditions did improve, were particularly frustrating for me,” says Andrew. “ere was also a faulty valve inside the heating system. It took a long time to find and repair it and get everything to work, even with a specialist biomass engineer on the case.”
In fact, the heating issues are still a work in progress. “e system has never really functioned properly, despite subsequent specialist evaluation and modifications,” says Rick. “At some stage this will need a complete rethink, which will be expensive. e engineer thought that the most likely reason for the malfunctions was the length of time between the first fit of plumbing and the final commissioning, during which the pipes were not adequately protected from building debris, which has partially blocked some channels.”
Despite the frustrations and stress involved, however, Rick and Angie are generally pleased with the standard of workmanship on the build. Although they felt let down at times by the construction team, they bear no grudges. Instead, they are focusing on the finishing touches to their house and the future of their developing land.
“We recently built a small timber extension to the property as a tool and vegetable store. Plus, a couple of years ago our good friend Peter Skillen helped us to create an open barn so we had somewhere dry to store any machinery, hay and timber,” says Rick.
In fact, friends have been invaluable during the entire process. While Peter turned his hand to everything from the barn to erecting fences, family friend Ian Hedford built and installed the kitchen – another example of how Rick and Angie’s community ethos has been instrumental in the development of their educational smallholding.
Rick’s commitment to green techniques and ecological systems has led him to run courses on improving energy efficiency in domestic properties and sustainable living in general. He now works closely with Cumbria Action for Sustainability, which runs a green home programme. In 2014 he established the Danaway Permaculture Homestead, the culmination of 40 years’ work with community regeneration and environmental issues. One of his favourite quotes – and a philosophy he tries to live by – is Louis Pasteur’s “chance favours the prepared mind”. is is certainly a mantra that would have come in handy over the course of the project, especially during those early stages.
“My childhood was blessed by freedom to explore the woods, mountains and lakes of Cumbria,” says Rick. “I was truly inspired by my grandfather who encouraged my connection with nature, interest in growing plants and creativity. I was also motivated by the vision of Ernst Schumacher in his book, Small is Beautiful. It’s been one of the grounding influences behind our ecologically sensitive new build home and the land it sits within.”