Hillside living

When the Ridgways bought a tiny house in a spectacular location they had no idea that it would turn into a massive self-build project involving the entire family

- Heather Dixon

It was perishing cold, difficult to access and tied to agricultural restrictions, but there was one thing that made the tiny hillside house in West Yorkshire irresistible to Anne and Dan Ridgway — its spectacular views.

“It’s like living on a cliff,” says Anne. “It came with 15 acres of land – 13 acres of which are private woodland – all on a steep hillside with a 180-degree view of Wharfedale and the Yorkshire Dales beyond.”

The house was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity bargain at £140,000 back in the late 1990s — fortunately, the Ridgways weren’t put off by the condition of the dated property. They’d already renovated a terraced house in Otley and Dan was keen to get his teeth into another build project. So they decided to move in while they renovated and extended the modest house to create a spacious family home.

OVERCOMING THE HURDLES

First they had to get the agricultural restriction removed on the basis that the steep site was unusable in any agricultural capacity. Then they had to get planning permission to convert the garage and build a small extension.

“We thought it would be straightforward,” says Anne. “We have no direct neighbours and the house is invisible from the road, but it stands in green belt land and we hadn’t bargained for objections from a local preservation society. As a result, it took around two years to get planning for what was a very modest improvement.”

As the years progressed, they upgraded the interior and changed the layout. But they faced an ongoing problem — they could never quite get the house to stay warm.