Maureen and Alan Westwood wouldn’t return to a conventional house if you paid them. The couple has waited over 25 years to get the planning permission they needed to build a home on their smallholding just outside Halesowen.
“It’s a perfect spot, we have owned the land and run our smallholding here for nearly thirty years,” says Maureen, “but we couldn’t get planning permission for a permanent dwelling because it is green belt. Building a log cabin style home has given us the best of both worlds – a cosy home in the place we most wanted to be – and the planners are happy too."
The three-bedroom open plan log cabin has all the 'mod cons' of a conventional dwelling but is designed to blend in to the natural environment and complement the landscape. Designed and built by Rural Leisure Limited to the specifications of the Westwoods, the cabin fulfills planning regulations because it is a non-permanent structure and is in keeping with the environment, whilst complying with all the stringencies of building regulations.
Rural Leisure is the country’s leading supplier of timber log cabins for a variety of uses, from residential homes to leisure facilities such as visitor centres, holiday homes and schoolrooms. Each log cabin is individually designed for the customer and can include a range of environmental features from solar and photovoltaic energy sources to woodburners and biogesters.
“Our aim is to provide high quality bespoke log cabins, good enough to live the Good Life,” says Rural Leisure director Steve Missen. “Our cabins are comfortable homes for stylish country living but with an environmental dimension. They can be as sustainable as our clients want, and we supply a range of additional services to make them as self-sufficient as possible.”
All the timber log products used by Rural Leisure are made to order and designs are prepared in-house on computer-aided design software based on the customer’s agreed design and specification. The timber is kiln dried on site and the wall sections are cut to length and machined ready for assembly in the UK. The machinery is automated state-of-the-art software-driven.
Because the log cabin is classed as being a non-permanent dwelling, planning permission was finally granted after the Westwoods were able to demonstrate their need to live there to be close to their livestock. The couple has almost 500 free range poultry and a small herd of sheep and they live from the proceeds of the eggs and from selling the lambs. They also keep ducks and horses and have an assortment of cats and dogs. They also enjoy the rich variety of birdlife, from woodpeckers and robins to chaffinches, goldfinches and many others.
Maureen Westwood claims that her new wooden home is far better than any house she has lived in before. “It’s warm and cosy in winter with just a log burner to heat the whole place. We do use mains electricity for our appliances, but we have solar energy for the water heating and we use a biogester for waste products. Our waste water is filtered, cleaned and returned to the duck pond as clear as can be.”
Alan Westwood is equally enthusiastic – all the floors and walls are wooden so he doesn’t need to do any decorating! The couple has gone for a traditional look and chosen lighting that gives the impression of oil lamps. The planning permission may have taken 25 years, but the building was erected in just a few weeks. Says Alan: “The timber was delivered cut to shape and was pieced together like a jigsaw, it was the finishing touches that took the most time – staining the wood and putting on the UV protection. I guess we were quite impatient to get moved in by then!” |
