Green dream for old barn fulfilled

A stunning, sustainable new build which has been five years in the making is now close to completion.

James Lawson’s vision of transforming a space once filled by an ancient agricultural barn has finally come to fruition.

The site in Knighton used to be a farm serving Knighton Gorges but now consists of a cluster of buildings, including James’s home, a 1692 converted barn.

However, next door was a largely derelict structure, until James set out to turn it into luxury holiday accommodation.

With the help of Sydenhams Timber Engineering, who designed the new build and supplied its timber frames, the project is almost there.

“It’s 95 percent finished and it looks fantastic,” said James.

“The old agricultural barn was used for housing tractors but it was very old and in poor condition. After lots of back and forth with planning applications, architects and various delays, we’ve eventually got here. The team at Sydenhams have been amazing throughout."?

“I paid upfront and as we’ve reached new phases of the project, I’ve needed them to deliver more goods, and they’ve always been really helpful."

“I could not have asked for more from them.”

As well as its timber frame structure, the new building has solar panels and a heat battery, which provides on-demand hot water without the necessity of water storage.

Its septic tank also means wastewater is managed independently.

“I wanted to build something that was as green as I could make it,” said James.

“It’s really sustainable and it’s a lot nicer to look at out the window compared to what was there before!”