This is the emotional moment a woman broke down in tears as she was faced with the prospect of selling her beloved horse to finance her £900,000 building project.
In the latest episode of Grand Designs, HR director Sarah and technology director Pip were faced with the mammoth task of transforming a 150-year-old rickety barn on an iron age hillfort in Bedfordshire into a modern, five-bedroom family home.
After purchasing the ‘derelict’ barn for £400,000 when Sarah fell in love with it – despite being ready to ‘keel over’ with broken windows and rotting timbers – they had a tight budget of £420,000 for renovations and hoped to preserve as many original features as possible.
But even as filming started, the couple had been faced with a seven-month planning permissions delay, in which time the building had only deteriorated further.
Sarah and Pip were soon hit with extortionate and unexpected costs, including an extra £20,000 to replace disintegrating bricks, £10,000 to replace a wall and £23,000 to shell out on a new steel frame.
With soaring costs of building materials and workers, including a £350-a-day archaeologist, the couple soon found themselves in the very tricky position of having to make sacrifices to fund the project.
They soon realised they would need to sell some of their precious assets, with Jimmy putting his beloved Lotus car up for sale for £32,000. He explained that his father, who is in poor health, used to work for the luxury company – meaning it was a very emotional decision to part ties with it.
But the only other tradeable asset was Sarah’s horse, Jimmy – an ex-racer who retired due to arthritis.
This is the emotional moment (pictured) a woman broke down in tears as she was faced with the prospect of selling her beloved horse to finance her £900,000 building project
‘That would be a last resort,’ she said, growing tearful. ‘That would be very sad. My job is to make sure that doesn’t happen. My job is to make sure we can afford this by saving money everywhere we can.’
As a compromise, Sarah had to give up riding Jimmy to save £750 each month, meaning he was retired in his field.
Meanwhile, tensions between the pair had steadily increased alongside the rising costs.
Sarah, who had been managing the project, was forced to take a backseat when her day job grew more demanding, meaning Pip had to build the roof himself.
Sarah said any job Pip would do ‘wouldn’t be perfect’, and when he completed the roof in February 2023, said it was ‘a right state’.
Taking issue with the ‘filthy’ tiles, she said: ‘I don’t want to tell you how much I hate it but it looks awful. It’s the first big piece of the building and I’m not happy with it.’
Despite their cost-cutting measures, Sarah and Pip spent £540,000 on building fees – £130,000 over their initial sum of £420,000, bringing their total spend to £940,000 including the initial purchase of the barn.
It had also taken twice as long as expected with Sarah admitting ‘we’ve not had a normal life for the better part of three years’.
Sarah’s horse, Jimmy (pictured right) – an ex-racer who retired due to arthritis on tonight’s Channel 4 programme
On the idea of selling her horse, Sarah said: ‘That would be a last resort. That would be very sad. My job is to make sure that doesn’t happen. My job is to make sure we can afford this by saving money everywhere we can.’
In the latest episode of Grand Designs, HR director Sarah and technology director Pip were faced with the mammoth task of transforming a 150-year-old rickety barn (pictured) on an iron age hillfort in Bedfordshire into a modern, five-bedroom family home
After purchasing the ‘derelict’ barn for £400,000 when Sarah fell in love with it – despite being ready to ‘keel over’ with broken windows and rotting timbers (pictured) – they had a tight budget of £420,000 for renovations and hoped to preserve as many original features as possible
But even as filming started, the couple had been faced with a seven-month planning permissions delay, in which time the building (pictured) had only deteriorated further
Sarah and Pip were soon hit with extortionate and unexpected costs for the building (pictured), including an extra £20,000 to replace disintegrating bricks, £10,000 to replace a wall and £23,000 to shell out on a new steel frame
With soaring costs of building materials and workers, including a £350-a-day archaeologist, the couple soon found themselves in the very tricky position of having to make sacrifices to fund the project (pictured after the renovation)
They soon realised they would need to sell some of their precious assets, with Jimmy putting his beloved Lotus car up for sale for £32,000. He explained that his father, who is in poor health, used to work for the luxury company – meaning it was a very emotional decision to part ties with it. Pictured, the building after it was renovated
But the only other tradeable asset was Sarah’s horse, Jimmy – an ex-racer who retired due to arthritis. Pictured, the bedroom after it was renovated
Host Kevin McCloud even noted that the property looked slightly ‘like a new build’ at first glance, though gushed it ‘was beautiful’ after going inside.
The final result was astonishingly impressive, with a mossy tiled roof and timbers keeping the original spirit.
Inside, the huge hall was light and spacious, with light also reflecting off the pond outside and in through a giant wall of glass.
Up into a mezzanine, the couple had built an impressive balcony with views over their new home, with sliding doors behind to reveal the master bedroom and bathroom.
But financial sacrifices had meant the outbuildings could not go ahead – and the property had lost the four additional bedrooms planned.
The work had also been dangerous at times, with the frail exterior of the barn threatening to collapse at any moment.
Sarah and Pip had faced another hurdle after a visit from Historic England, who noted they did not have the correct permissions to dig at the iron age hillfort – of which there are only 150 in the country.
Despite having to briefly pause work, Historic England accepted they’d not knowingly deceived them, and with the correct permissions sorted, they were allowed to resume.
As a compromise, Sarah had to give up riding Jimmy to save £750 each month, meaning he was retired in his field. Pictured, the new living room
Meanwhile, tensions between the pair had steadily increased alongside the rising costs. Pictured, the barn now
Sarah, who had been managing the project, was forced to take a backseat when her day job grew more demanding, meaning Pip had to build the roof himself. Pictured, Pip, Sarah and Kevin
Last week, Grand Designs viewers branded the featured property the ‘worst in the show’s history’ as Kevin McCloud’s show returned for a new season.
The host laid the groundwork for what was billed as one of the series’ most ambitious homes yet.
However, viewers were less than impressed by the final reveal – especially considering the long build time and its eyewatering £465,000 cost.
‘Most of the time houses on Grand Designs look decent once finished … this isn’t one of those times,’ one person wrote on X/Twitter.
The episode featured architect Howard and his interior designer wife Sarah, who work together, as they set out to build a radical floating home on a tidal estuary near Worthing.
Grand Designs airs on Channel 4 on Wednesdays at 9pm.
