23-04-2025
How the super-rich are using 'Grand Designs' planning loophole to build multi-million-pound ultra-modern mansions in areas of outstanding natural beauty
A little-known 'Grand Designs' planning exemption is helping the super-rich build high-spec modern mansions in the British countryside.
Paragraph 84 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is an exemption clause allowing for the construction of new homes in rural areas - provided the design is of 'exceptional quality'.
The clause was formerly used to build classic country estates - but experts say there is now a growing trend of the super-affluent using the clause to build ultra-modern multi-million pound homes, often appearing on the Channel 4 programme Grand Designs.
Homes are springing up in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty usually fraught with strict restrictions imposed by planning departments.
One such home, standing proud in the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, is the Headlands - near Prestbury, Cheltenham - with a leaf-shaped zinc roof and a state of the art interior.
Completed in 2018, it is said to be one of the most impressive homes in the UK - meeting the criteria for a design of exceptional quality.
Another Para 84 home is the futuristic Swinhay House, near Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, which featured on the final episode of series three of the BBC hit Sherlock.
Its sweeping structure and dramatic central look-out tower made it the perfect home for the powerful businessman and notorious blackmailer Charles Augustus Magnussen.
Experts say there is now a growing trend of the super-affluent using the clause to build ultra-modern multi-million pound homes like The Lakehouse in East Sussex
Richard Hawkes, the director and founder of Hawkes Architecture, the country's leading Para 84 specialists, has overseen 36 Para 84 projects - including the Headlands - the highest number of any company.
He created Hawkes Architecture following an appearance on Grand Designs discussing his own eco-friendly, exceptional home he built in Kent, under PPS 7, the forerunner to the Paragraph 84 exemption.
Richard said: 'The policy is 28 years old. It was all about continuing the tradition of the English country house, because it's quintessentially English to have these types of home.'
'But in the early noughties it shifted to a more contemporary interpretation of this rather than the classic country estate.
'Since then, the wording has changed several times and they are now called 'Paragraph 84' homes.'
He added: 'Grand Designs has become a bit of a flag bearer for the policy - it's almost a symbiotic relationship with the programme.'
Richard is proud of Hawkes' record on Para 84 homes - of the 16 the company has designed, all of the owners continue to live in their homes.
But, while the end result of the dream countryside home is enticing, the process of building an isolated dwelling in rural England comes with a rigorous planning process.
Paragraph 84 (e) of the NPPF states that these homes must be 'truly outstanding, reflecting the highest standards in architecture', as well as 'raise standards of design more generally in rural areas'.
A Para 84 home also has to 'significantly enhance its immediate setting, and be sensitive to the defining characteristics of the local area.'
The planning process typically costs a minimum of £100,000, and the whole project upwards of millions based on factors such as the size of the house and the type of architecture.
Richard added: 'Any paragraph 84 has to be, by definition, high quality and meet the defining criteria. These homes shouldn't need to hide - or apologise for being there - because they are outstanding and exceptional.
'It's really difficult to put into words what makes a good site because it's so complex - there are numerous surveys and reports that need to be filed.
'But ultimately, Paragraph 84 is a policy that was created by the government to be achieved. It was designed to be a hurdle that could be jumped, but also one that was set high enough that the homes have to be a statement of intent.'
One dwelling which met all the requirements is the subterranean Bigbury Hollow, near the Bigbury Camp Ironage hillfort in Kent.
This property includes two large terraced courtyards flooded with daylight, which fall between the rest of the home found in the underground wings to the side.
It was reported to cost in the region of £1.5million and on September 14, 2022, Bigbury Hollow featured in the 23rd series of Grand Designs in an episode titled 'Canterbury 2022'.
Host Kevin McCloud described the property as 'like a concrete submarine which has breached the surface of a wildflower meadow and come up for air'.
Another is the Lake House, which resides within 40 acres of the High Weald National Landscape in East Sussex, adjacent to a former fishing lake and the derelict 'Cuckoo' railway line.
The design represents three dramatic 'carriages' nestled within the trees, building on the historic connection to the train tracks.
Rob Hughes, director of planning consultants Hughes Planning, has worked with Hawkes Architecture on Para 84 homes and echoes the importance of the right plot of land for a project.
He said: 'Not every site will be able to accommodate a Para 84 home so it's important that people seek out professional advice, someone with the right expertise, as it really is a niche.
'We pull together planning consultants, architects, landscape architects, ecologists who advise on biodiversity, arboricultural consultants, flood and draining experts, engineers - depending on the complexity of the build - sustainability consultants and more.
'It's not something you can do half-heartedly, you have to have a lot of money to do it, but equally it's not billionaire territory - it's really a mix of clients we get.'
Rob believes there are some common pitfalls with applications.
He said: 'You usually find the reasons schemes don't get through are because of three main issues.
'First, it does not significantly enhance the area, second, it is not within the defining characteristics of the area, and finally it's simply not outstanding enough.'
Both Richard and Rob think there is a bit of a misunderstanding of the planning framework by local residents.
Richard said: 'We get some communities who are very supportive and the parish councils saying it's forward-thinking, but more often than not there is nimbyism to the proposals.
'But if we've done our job properly we should have covered all those planning aspects related to the sensitivities of the area.
Rob added: 'Some members of the public don't like the idea but really there's a requirement for the homes to be isolated so it's not really going to affect them.'
