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I thought I’d put an update to this after over a year (18 months now) of owning the Plot. We finally moved to Ecclefechan 2 weeks ago. We have rented a house since the beginning of August, 3 doors away from our plot, so that fell really well. Rent is far more than I expected, at £600/month, we were expecting £500, but rental houses are going in a few days around here.
The delays were caused by the awful Planning staff at D&G Council, which has cost us £2.5k+ in extra fees. The story is long, I wont go into it here, but the Planner was forced to resign due to her treatment of many people, inc. us. That also led to us needing a new Building Warrant which is £2k, and further delays. I havent got a good word at all about D&G Planning dept.
As for the village, can't complain. Everyone we’ve met has been decent. It was said by the OH yesterday ‘everyone talks and is cheery’. Noise from the M/way, yes, sat here now with the front door open, I can hear the traffic clearly, but it isnt intrusive, and, of course, when the door is shut, cannot hear it at all. The farm at the back, it’s a one man business, he has 2 fields of cows. There hasnt been one moment when it is intrusive, with either noise or smells. His silage bales are in view, that isnt a problem, it’s nice when you go to bed to see the cows in the fields. The local hotel/pub is virtually shut now, the Owner is trying to sell up, but having little interest, it could be a good place to run a hotel. But we’re too old to take something like that on. There is another hotel 300 metres the other way to get a drink/meal.
The new build is starting within the month, we’re having a stick build (wooden, made on site) frame, with brick outer sheaf. The budget is coming under pressure, though we’re still hoping to do the build for less than £150k. Oak staircases, and 'stack and slide' doors are expensive, but that's what she wants.
Going back on topic, I havent even got the bike out yet, it’s sat outside under a cover (we havent got a shed at the rented house), but, there are 2 hills locally which I’ll be exploring soon. Rain, christ, we’ve had 3 days of constant rain, thats not a few showers, it has been constant. I’m really glad the sun is out today, and looking at the news, the west coast and Perthshire have had it far worse than us.
Overall, it’s been a great move so far.
Excellent.
Glad to hear of a reasonable build budget. What size house is that?
@alanl - I come into contact with D&G Council planners through work (energy projects) and they have the reputation for being next to useless / unnecessarily difficult.
If you have a road bike then you're on the route of www.ridetothesun.co.uk - June 22nd next year 👍
Assuming your house is 120-150 sq metres, getting towards £1k/sq metre these days is impressive going for a self-build.
I don’t think D&G have an exclusivity on incompetent planners - Argyll & Bute could give them a run for their money.
Glad to hear of a reasonable build budget. What size house is that?
10m x 9m external. Larger than our old house, which was 8x8. 4 bed, , 3 doubles 1 ensuite one single, large bathroom (nothing extravagant, well, a separate shower and bath are extravagant to us!). frame cost is looking like £60k, brick cladding, £15kish, floor screed around £5k, UFH around £6k, ASHP heating system, inc. MVHR, roughly £8k ( I could get Octopus etc to do the ASHP for less than £3k, but from reports of their work, I’d rather pay £2k more and do it myself). Roof £12k, windows and doors £12k, stairs, £6k, bathrooms £9k, plastering £5k, kitchen £10k. That's the £150k. Some of those prices are including contingencies, so we could get under the £150k with a bit spare. I’ve not included some bits, as I’ll be doing a lot myself, so things like electrics and plumbing will be parts only, and I already have a lot of those bits ready from previous work.
Hey OP. Just dredging up the thread and wondering how things are going? My wife and I are gradually nearing the point when we are going to give up work, go travelling for a while and then potentially jump ship from Somerset to either Dumfries and Galloway or possibly slightly South along the Solway Coast. I have a slightly annoying requirement to be able to play squash, go kitesurfing and mountain biking within easy distance, and my wife’s more interested in art, books, the outdoor and maybe a bit of surfing from time to time.
Looking at either further West (Kirkcudbright / Wigtown) or maybe like I said the Solway Coast alternatively, although Dumfries area not off the table too.
Anyway interested as to how you’re finding it - and of course how the build went? Hope you’re enjoying the move.
Andrew
@andylc Moved up to Kirkcudbright from Berkshire 3 years ago.PM me if needs.
If you’re in Annan, pop into Tammys munchbox for a breakfast/ roll etc.
It’s on the high street.
full disclosure, Tammy is my sister.
Thanks for asking, yes all good, not living in the new house yet, the new date is the end of March, which is looking quite probable. It wont be finsihed then, but it’ll be liveable. I’ve just come in for a late dinner, I’ve started fitting the kitchen today, its been watertight for around 4 months now, but my work has got in the way, so I’ve not done anywhere near as much work on the house as I wanted. Upstairs is still just a shell really, the insulation is nearly finished, I’ve got most of the plasterboards here, so that will get done in the next few weeks, I have actually finished the small bedroom, we gave up our storage unit last week (£90/month), so have a lot of boxes around, hence I started getting that room finished, then that will be storage for the junk we’ve accumulated.
I think one week for each room, and one week to commision the ASHP will be enough, that will take me to the end of February, then it’ll be sorting all the other things that need doing. It’s not easy as it’s me on my own doing it all, carrying the plasterboards upstairs is a major feat, I’ve got it perfected now, but it’s taken a while to get it reasonably easy. Oh, and fitting the stairs alone was an experience too, but they are now secure, and I’m pretty pleased with them.
As for the area, cannot complain at all. Biking, beaches,decent folk, good dog walks, good places to visit.