Having decided we no longer needed to be in London we chose Buckinghamshire as being ideal for our needs. I was delighted, as I had spent much of my childhood in the county and knew it well.
Our London home was a spacious and well-restored Edwardian house. In Bucks we had reckoned on securing a fairly large 30's house with work being required to 'get it into shape.' The search proved fruitless. The available housing stock was disappointing and after several months of soul destroying searching Judy and I discussed an alternative approach - find a plot of land.

We had seen the excellent TV programme GRAND DESIGNS, and I had been to two self-build exhibitions in preceding years, more on business than with anything else in mind. But the idea of building a house was clearly lurking there somewhere, so in addition to estate agents having the house brief I now advised them I "wanted a plot." To a man they all advised me I'd "LOST THE PLOT!"

It was then explained to me how a developer would beat me to the punch every time. I was informed that I stood little chance in our preferred area as building land was £1m an acre for multi site opportunities. On any plot over .33 acre they would plan just such a development. One's option therefore is the house you want but with no garden of any size for anything else. The self-builder cannot compete with the developer.

The corollary to this is that an estate agent will also earn multiple commissions from a developer deal - from the original sale and the sale of the new houses.

After this depressing advice I went to see the Planning Department to find out where the 'corner posts' were and what type of land I should be avoiding. By chance I saw a Senior Planning Officer and told him of my contemporary ideas, which would probably involve glass and steel.
I also took in details of a property for sale in a private road in Little Chalfont, full of eyebrow cottages and nightmare counterfeit Tudorbethan junk that had replaced some of the older houses. On the plot in question it looked as though a scheme such as I was describing could be considered, but I was given warning about the possibilities of huge local objection in this particular location. It seemed over bloated Tudorbethan is fine, as was a depressing Neo Georgian lump just being completed nearby, but reactionary forces would likely appear if I proposed a considered piece of contemporary architecture. Oh dear!

The Officer said I had to get the right piece of land - and gave me an idea of what I should be looking for. He also seemed to have an appreciation for contemporary design, which was encouraging.