‘22 planning applications failed before ours’

Jeremy Philips is a retired racing steward and owned an equine retail business. His partner, Elizabeth Edenborough, is an artist. The couple live in a contemporary barn near Taunton that was once a home for tractors and chickens

This eco-friendly converted barn is a home for the future. “We do not want to move again,” says Elizabeth,

“so we have thought very carefully about what we might need in the years ahead. Every floor is level for easy wheelchair access, we have six loos, a lift to take us upstairs, 72 solar panels on the roof and a ground heat source to make the home economical to run. We even purposefully constructed the garden into a courtyard so there would be no endless pruning.”

The search for a property took three years, and when their agent said a wreck of a barn with no planning permission had come on to the market, they didn’t think it would appeal to them. “But when we saw it, we looked at each other and, in unison, said ‘Yes!’” says Elizabeth.

“Our friends thought we were crackers,” adds Jeremy. “But it matched a lot of the criteria on our wish list: location, south facing, size… We didn’t realise at that point the amount of time and effort it would take to get to the end game.”

The project became a special case under a relatively new “Class Q” development policy, which allows the conversion of redundant farm buildings into residential. After buying the barn at auction for £280,000, the couple assembled a development team, who spent 18 months exploring options to convince the planners the construction of a sustainable home was possible.

“We wouldn’t have achieved it without the help of our excellent architect, Jason Jackson,” says Jeremy. “He has such expertise in this type of building, but I don’t think even he was entirely convinced it would happen. There were 22 similar applications that failed before us.” But successful they were, and a year later, the couple moved in. “We’ve probably spent in excess of £1 million to get here, but because it is our forever home, we have been very particular about our choices,” says Elizabeth.

“The work and commitment was worth it.” jacksonarchitects.co.uk

Set for life: Jeremy Philips and Elizabeth Edenborough

Down on the farm: floor to ceiling windows and a spiral staircase give the barn a modern feel

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