Landscape Man s01e05 (2009)
5 of 6
Matthew Wilson helps Anne and Geoff Shaw, who are trying to transform a dilapidated Sussex garden by using modern designs to complement its natural beauty. Their plans incorporate a tennis court, pool complex and sunken gardens, but the couple are struggling to come up with the funds to realise their ambitions.
Matthew Wilson helps Anne and Geoff Shaw, who are trying to transform a dilapidated Sussex garden by using modern designs to complement its natural beauty. Their plans incorporate a tennis court, pool complex and sunken gardens, but the couple are struggling to come up with the funds to realise their ambitions.
Transcript
00:00This couple are hoping to bring a bold, modern design to an area of outstanding natural beauty.
00:08This is going to be a sunken garden.
00:10That's a huge piece of work. I mean, that's way up here somewhere.
00:16But they face many obstacles in their path.
00:19We have lost sight, really, of what we were planning on doing, what we really wanted out of it.
00:24The whole project is on the brink, basically.
00:27Will they be able to steer their way through to get the landscape of their dreams?
00:31We just can't afford to spend that amount of money.
00:57The county of Sussex is blessed with some of the most beautiful scenery in the south-east of England.
01:03And it's here, in the Cookmere Valley, that two years ago,
01:06successful entrepreneurs Anne and Geoff Shaw found their dream home for them and their two daughters.
01:13We love the house, we love the setting,
01:16and we just feel this is the only opportunity this house has had in the last 250 years to look fantastic.
01:25Anne and Geoff's house sits in a designated area of outstanding natural beauty,
01:30right next to ancient landmarks and historic villages,
01:33some dating back to the Roman and Saxon periods.
01:36This is a beautiful and protective piece of the English countryside.
01:41Well, it's a real thrill to bring something back to life
01:45that's not been lived in and not been kept well for so many years.
01:54They have been restoring their Grade II listed house for almost two years,
01:58but their plans for outdoors are much more radical.
02:02It does look a little bigger now, doesn't it?
02:04Well, it's done a good job.
02:06With a quarter of a million pound budget,
02:08and the help of a contemporary landscape architect and designer,
02:11they plan to bring the site right into the 21st century.
02:15We've never done a project of this scale.
02:19We've done stuff to a previous house before,
02:23but we haven't planned anything as grand as this.
02:27As a professional designer myself,
02:29I'll be adding my advice to help Anne and Geoff bring their project to fruition.
02:36This is a fairly nondescript arrival.
02:40All a bit messy, really. Overgrown and unloved.
02:43Big piles of rubble everywhere.
02:45Yeah. Mind you.
02:48Wow. That is a fantastic view.
02:52Whatever they do here is going to have to pay homage to what is a truly superb view.
03:01How are you doing? How do you do? I'm Anne.
03:03Nice to meet you. Matthew. I'm Geoff.
03:05Nice to meet you, Matthew. How are you doing?
03:07What a place, what a project you've got.
03:09And a cracking view over the mounds of detritus,
03:13but, Anne, to the better view beyond.
03:15Not so nice today, though, I don't think.
03:17But what's that compound out there, that mesh?
03:20That was the tennis court. Oh, was it?
03:22That's a weird place to stick a tennis court, isn't it?
03:25Yes, it is. It's a bit old, that.
03:28Anyway, look, shall we go and have a look? Yes, we'll go.
03:31I'm very excited to see what you have in mind.
03:36The garden surrounding the house is neglected and full of rubble.
03:40Anne and Geoff are planning to tackle three huge areas.
03:44The first sits at the top of their plot
03:47and is an old vegetable garden, but they've got swanky plans for it.
03:51OK, so the pool is going to be this area here,
03:55and then you turn left and you've got the changing rooms,
04:00plant room, games room,
04:04and then up here is a small gap
04:07and then you've got the garage block at the top.
04:10It's a massive project, this, isn't it? Never mind everything else.
04:13This is, on its own, kind of like a major project.
04:16It's enormous. It's an enormous building.
04:19It's a challenge. We like a challenge.
04:22The swimming pool and garage complex
04:25will be built at the top of Anne and Geoff's four acres,
04:28but it's at the front of the house where the really bold design will kick in.
04:33The land will be completely re-sculpted
04:36to allow for a modern, curved, sunken garden.
04:39Winding stone paths will twist around,
04:42taking you down to an existing shabby tennis court
04:45that will be given a much-needed facelift.
04:48This is my favourite area. Is it?
04:51This is going to be a sunken garden in a very unusual shape.
04:55Yeah, so the level, if you come out this door, the plan is,
04:59if we went out in a straight line from here,
05:02you're pretty much going to end up at the height of that fence.
05:05From that fence? Yeah. From there? From there.
05:08That's going to take you... Keep on going, keep on going.
05:11Way up to... There's a bit of a drop at the end there.
05:15Really? That's a huge piece of work, Geoff.
05:17I mean, that's way up here somewhere.
05:19Pretty much. When you stand here, you don't see the tennis court at all.
05:23Can't you just get rid of the tennis court, Geoff?
05:26Bit of a subject of a debate, actually.
05:29Well, I do want the tennis court. I know it's in the wrong place,
05:32but I don't think they'll let us move it further down.
05:35Well, moving it down is one option.
05:37Getting rid of it altogether and taking up a new hobby is another.
05:40No. I definitely do want a tennis court,
05:42whether it's there or somewhere else.
05:44But don't you think that a house like this
05:47needs to have a few extras like the pool, like the tennis court?
05:52Yeah, but not there. No, no, I know it's not the right place.
05:55It's wrong. It's completely wrong.
05:57You know, you're creating a landscape that enhances your life,
06:01that enhances the house that sits within the landscape,
06:04and you've got a bloody tennis court in the middle of it.
06:07If I can do one thing, it will be getting rid of that tennis court.
06:12The entrance to the house is currently hemmed in by an old flint wall,
06:16which they're planning to remove.
06:18This will create a much grander entrance,
06:20complete with a stone walkway, wildflower garden and a curved natural pond.
06:26Our plan is to take this wall out.
06:29But because the house is Grade II listed,
06:31we would have to get planning to be able to take it out.
06:34Because it's Grade... Oh, really? Just to remove this?
06:36It's not. I mean, with the best will in the world,
06:39It's quite an ugly wall.
06:41Yeah, it's not exactly the work of Hadrian's Merry Men or anything, is it?
06:46Removing historic walls, modern design,
06:49this all feels like it could be a complicated planning process.
06:53I don't think Anne and Geoff know what might be coming.
06:56This is a very exciting project.
06:58I mean, you've got a huge amount going on, massive budget to go with it.
07:02I mean, we haven't quite got to the nub of the budget yet,
07:06because it's a moving target.
07:07We don't quite know what we're going to get away with.
07:09And you guys have never done anything like this before, have you?
07:11No, we haven't.
07:12We've never restored a house before and we've never done a garden.
07:15No, that's worrying enough. The garden's more worrying, I think.
07:20A design like this won't come cheap,
07:22and I'd be surprised if even their quarter-of-a-million-pound budget will cover it.
07:29The man that Anne and Geoff will put their money and their faith in
07:34is London-based landscape designer Ian Kitson.
07:38How do you go about giving them the confidence
07:41to come through the process with you so they understand what it is you're talking about?
07:45My task is to try and persuade them to adopt what I want to do.
07:49My task isn't to come along here and just say,
07:52''What would you like to do, Anne and Geoff?''
07:54and they'll tell me and then I'll just do it.
07:56That's not what a designer does.
07:58So hopefully what we'll get here is something that Anne and Geoff will adopt
08:02for their lifestyle.
08:07They're creating an ambitious garden in an area of outstanding natural beauty,
08:11and that means that the planning controls here are much more stringent
08:15than they would normally be.
08:17So the local authority are going to be watching it like hawks.
08:20And then the designer that Anne and Geoff have selected to make this happen
08:24is known for contemporary, urban, quite challenging designs.
08:29I'd say that's quite an interesting little mixture there.
08:39Anne and Geoff Shaw are embarking on a massive landscape project.
08:43As complete novices, they're going to create a bold modern design
08:47in an area of outstanding natural beauty.
08:50They're planning to create an all-singing, all-dancing,
08:5321st-century luxury garden,
08:55complete with swimming pool, games room and garage complex.
09:00At the front of the house, they're going for an uber-modern, sunken garden,
09:04using traditional materials like flint,
09:07but with a very contemporary curved design.
09:13And beyond that, they're going for a modern,
09:17and beyond that, they'll have a brand-new tennis court.
09:23It's now November, and after years of neglect,
09:26the area is in a complete state.
09:28So the first job is to clear and level the site.
09:32But before any major works take place, they hit a problem.
09:38At the entrance to the house, there's an old flint wall
09:41that Anne and Geoff were hoping to knock down,
09:44but the planners are not happy.
09:46Designer Ian is on-site to explain the problem.
09:49He's going to remove the old flint wall,
09:51and he's going to use it to build a new garden.
09:54The historic building officer seems nervous
09:57about wanting to see this freestanding wall removed.
10:02So you've got the feeling we can't take the wall out?
10:06I've got the feeling we might have to work quite hard to get round it.
10:12I mean, I think in the long-term,
10:15we're going to have to work quite hard to get round it.
10:18I mean, I think in the long-term,
10:22when there's a building there,
10:24it just makes sense to have this part of that field
10:27to be part of your garden experience,
10:30and I don't think it wants this bit of bloody wall
10:33going through the middle of it.
10:35Not all gardens need planning permission,
10:37but the scale of Anne and Geoff's garden and its location
10:40in an area of outstanding natural beauty means that it certainly does.
10:44This has got the potential to be a massive problem
10:48because historic features like this wall,
10:51it might not look very much, but to planners, it's important.
10:54And because it's important to them, it can hold the whole thing up.
10:58Nothing can move forward until this is resolved.
11:05So now we get to this point where we're arguing over a brick wall,
11:08which might affect the whole garden design. It's a bit of a pain.
11:11Everything has been thrown up in the air a little bit,
11:14and I'm more concerned that we're going to get stuck on this wall
11:17because we need to start the garden.
11:20I can see a situation where we're in here and we haven't even started.
11:32In January, the official letter from the planners arrives,
11:36and it's not good news.
11:38The letter is here, and in a nutshell,
11:42we require listed building consent for anything to do with the wall.
11:49They then said that on paper
11:51they won't give us approval for the sunken garden as a draw.
11:55So we've entered a process
11:58of quite seriously reviewing a number of elements of the design.
12:04So not only does Ian have to redesign the entrance,
12:07Anne's much-loved sunken garden needs redesigning too.
12:13I'd be very disappointed with the sunken garden.
12:16That was the one thing that I really adored about the plans.
12:21So that would be extremely disappointing if they were awkward on that.
12:31At the end of January, Ian arrives at Anne and Geoff's current house in Eastbourne
12:35to present his new design.
12:39To satisfy the planners, Ian's kept the flint wall
12:42and reduced the depth of the sunken garden.
12:44We've been through a very careful, proactive process
12:47where, in my view, that will get planning approval.
12:51They've firmly said that's fine.
12:54I think as far as the big picture's gone and the changes that we've proposed,
12:58I think they're really, really happy.
13:00The only hurdle left is to submit the final budget to Anne and Geoff for their approval.
13:05And hopefully we can start building within the next three weeks.
13:18At the beginning of March, I get a worrying phone call from Geoff
13:22and head down to Eastbourne to find out what's going on.
13:28From what I'm hearing, it sounds as if the whole project is on the brink, basically,
13:33and I don't know why, and I need to find out why, and I need to help them get it back on track.
13:41What's been going on?
13:43Well, the long and short of it is we may not be going ahead with the garden.
13:47You may not be going ahead with the garden?
13:50That's a bit of a shocker.
13:52A bit of a shocker for us as well, actually.
13:54The economic crisis has affected everyone, including Anne and Geoff.
13:59But the final design costs come in at a massive £400,000.
14:04The most important thing is that we just can't afford to spend that amount of money
14:08in the current environment, and we've got to make some cutbacks.
14:12So how has this left you feeling, given all the...
14:16I mean, money is one thing, but the emotional investment you've put into all of this?
14:20It's very disappointing.
14:22Numb, frustrated, angry?
14:25Yeah.
14:27Maybe we should just turf the whole area for the moment
14:32and then we'll revisit it in a year's time.
14:34I honestly don't think that's a choice.
14:37Having seen how far you've come
14:41and the emotional investment that you've put into this,
14:45which is why it's hurting now even more, of course,
14:48because you've put so much emotional investment into this place,
14:51I would strongly urge you to get in to review this every step of the way
14:58to consider how it can be carried out with less exposures to cost.
15:04I'm feeling more positive than before we met Matthew
15:07because it's just giving us a bit of a path,
15:10a bit of a plan of what we're going to do.
15:14We've been through the let's do nothing,
15:17we know we can't do the all singing, all dancing,
15:20let's get it back to something that we can live with.
15:24No, that we do want, not just live with.
15:27I just hope that they can get this right,
15:30that they can sort it out, get it in on budget,
15:34press the button, make it happen,
15:36because I just think it would be disastrous for them if it doesn't.
15:51I feel as if we're a step closer,
15:54but I still need to take Anne and Geoff and remind them
15:58that gardens are not about planning and budgets and problems.
16:02They're about colour and beauty and flowers
16:06and love and enjoyment and joy,
16:09and that's what I need to show them.
16:14Great Dixter is one of my favourite gardens,
16:17and I'm sure there's a few ideas
16:19that Anne and Geoff can borrow for their own place.
16:22It's been a fairly traumatic process so far,
16:25you know, and diggers and builders and planners and everything else,
16:29and what I really want you to be thinking about now
16:32is that actually what we're doing is making a garden,
16:35a beautiful garden, with colour and plants and wildlife,
16:39you know, all the things that you got excited about
16:42the first time I met you, and I think, you know,
16:45that's what I really want you to come away with from today,
16:48is just feeling excited about the fact that you're making a garden
16:51and you're not turfing it over, which has got to be good,
16:54because you wouldn't have any of this if it was just turf.
16:57I think you're right, that feeling's disappeared, hasn't it,
17:00from the very first time we met you.
17:02We were very enthusiastic, and then with all the other ups and downs,
17:05we have lost sight, really, of what we were planning on doing
17:08and what we really wanted out of it.
17:10Well, that's what we're here to do today.
17:16Look at this.
17:18Wow!
17:19Yeah?
17:20Oh, a sunken garden as well!
17:22That is really something, isn't it?
17:24Go on in, go on in, go on in.
17:26Let's get in that sunken garden.
17:28But what's lovely about this is that it's, I mean,
17:31it's completely over-the-top colour in some respects.
17:34No, it's not, it's fantastic.
17:36Ah, well, there you are, you'd say, too.
17:38No, we love colour, so it's amazing.
17:40And you see, I quite like the blue and the red,
17:43and I don't think plants can clash.
17:46Look at the colour of that.
17:49Wow, isn't that pretty?
17:51I've never seen one that colour before.
17:53And I want to show them how a great view can become part of the garden,
17:57providing there's not a tennis court in the way.
17:59Now, that is what I want you to see.
18:02Look at that view. Isn't that amazing?
18:04It is.
18:05Across the wildflowers, across the meadow,
18:07past the sheep and over into the countryside.
18:09Not too dissimilar from your view.
18:11When you see what it could really look like,
18:13then that changes everything.
18:16And you think, yes, when the garden's done,
18:18it is going to look like this.
18:20We've got a lot of ideas now that we can go back with them,
18:23so we just have to sit down and think about what's going to work
18:27and try and marry them up with what we've already got there.
18:30And now I feel they're going to go back home with new energy,
18:34new vigour, and think, yeah,
18:36we're making something like this for the future,
18:38which has got to be exciting.
18:41Anne and Geoff ask Ian to redesign the whole garden
18:44based on a new budget of £150,000.
18:48And in April, after over five months of designing,
18:52work finally starts.
18:58I rang Ian and he said,
19:00look, if you're going to have to bring the numbers down,
19:03I can deliver you a great garden
19:08in the main area that you need, which is in front of the house
19:11and with a view across the valley,
19:13which will give you your sunken garden.
19:15And all of a sudden, all that stress and worry
19:18about what we were going to do evaporated
19:21and we could finally embrace the new scheme.
19:27The first project is creating Anne's beloved
19:30but complex and curved sunken garden.
19:33Ian's plans are...
19:35He doesn't use a ruler very much, so there's an awful lot of curves.
19:39Most of that's done by eye.
19:41It's a thing we call when it looks right, it's right.
19:44It's not, it's because it's more sort of arty,
19:47but it does take a certain amount of time.
19:57Now we feel there are no works
20:01that we intend to do in this garden
20:04that actually need planning approval.
20:07And we've written to the planners on that basis
20:10and we've taken the view we are going to start proceeding with the works.
20:13As far as we're concerned, short of discovering a Roman village
20:16under the tennis court, there's no reason why this can't be delivered to programme.
20:21Unless the planners write back and disagree with Ian's opinion,
20:25the planning issue can finally be put to bed.
20:32Hello.
20:34Oh, hello, Matthew. Hi. Hello, how are you?
20:37How are you doing? Are you all right? Nice to see you.
20:40Nice to see you. Hi, Matthew. You all right? Yeah.
20:43Look, look, look. Yes, you never thought it would happen, did you?
20:46I thought, well, no, not after last time.
20:49I thought, well, I'm just pleased you haven't turfed it all over.
20:52It hasn't been ruled out. Yeah, it has now.
20:55Look at that. It's not too low. It's great.
20:58Are you relieved? You must be relieved.
21:00Well, something's happening, isn't it?
21:02Yeah, definitely. I thought nothing would ever happen.
21:05We were quite worried about that.
21:07And also, the tennis court is going.
21:12That's the most exciting news I've had this year.
21:14Only because we're putting a wildlife pond in.
21:16That actually was. That's such a revelation to finally make a decision
21:19and actually go with it.
21:21Because weren't you going to have something over in the...
21:23Yeah, we were, but... Right.
21:25Finances, we've had to sort of pull back on certain things,
21:28so I think all the money's going to be spent
21:30just on the front part of the garden really, isn't it?
21:33So the budget cuts and redesign
21:35mean that all the plans at the side of the house have been shelved.
21:39The good news is the monstrous tennis court
21:42is going to be replaced by a beautiful wildlife pond.
21:47Decking and stone paths will lead up to the curvy modern sunken garden.
21:52Yeah, well, this to me is one of the most blissful experiences
21:56I've had for some time. Oh, really?
21:58The mere fact that this wretched tennis court is going...
22:04I knew it would go in the end, you know.
22:06I was just holding out for the right idea.
22:08I was just being awkward.
22:10Yeah, holding out thinking,
22:12oh, I'm going to have to take all those tennis clothes back to the sports shop.
22:16Not at all, no. I was just holding out, waiting for the right idea.
22:19I genuinely think in years to come, Anne and Geoff are going to look
22:22at what was their tennis court
22:24and see their beautiful pond with their seating area
22:27and full of wildlife and think,
22:29that was the best decision we've ever made.
22:32Forget buying the house, forget moving here in the first place,
22:35just getting rid of this bloody tennis court,
22:38which is, it is like,
22:40you know, it's like, you know,
22:42it's like, you know,
22:44it's like, you know,
22:46which is, it is like,
22:49although it doesn't rise up out of the ground,
22:51visually, you might as well have a wall there.
22:53So...praise be
22:56that it's going. It's fantastic.
23:01With the project so far behind schedule
23:04and Ian's builders on a fixed rate,
23:06work on site moves up a gear.
23:08The pressure's on.
23:10Anne and Geoff want to move in at the end of summer
23:13and they want everything done before then.
23:16Unfortunately, the next process is the very time-consuming job
23:20of lining the modern curved wall with the traditional flint and lime mortar.
23:25It's nice with the lime mortar the flint's in.
23:27Much more traditional, more warmth to it,
23:29and hopefully matches up with the house a little bit.
23:32To create the curved end of the wall,
23:34the landscapers use a flexible plywood to form the shape,
23:38which is then filled with the flint and lime mortar and left to set.
23:45Progress for Anne and Geoff means that they can finally see
23:48the structure of their amazing new garden coming out of the ground.
23:55Well, I think the interesting point now is,
23:57having gone through all the pain that Anne, Geoff and Ian have been through
24:00to get to this point, with revisions and adjustments and everything else,
24:05now what would seem like to be a relief to most people
24:08is actually the point at which the pressure really starts for Ian.
24:11Because he's got to deliver a still very complicated garden
24:15with additional complications like turning the tennis court into a pond,
24:19and he's got to make all of that happen with a smaller budget,
24:23still to the same level of quality,
24:25and, oh yeah, just do it in four months instead of six.
24:29Brilliant. So the pressure is really on him now.
24:36Anne and Geoff Shaw's major landscape project in the heart of rural Sussex
24:41has been plagued by planning problems and the credit crunch.
24:52But now the structures are rising out of the earth,
24:55and bold designer Ian has come up with a new idea
24:58for the walls of the sunken garden.
25:00You see how, like, that's brick, and then there's this flint top,
25:04sort of oozing down over the brick.
25:07From here, round to there, it will be a brick wall.
25:11Ah, right.
25:12And then the flint sort of creeps up over the top,
25:14and then it points, oozes down, and it's not going to ooze down a bit more.
25:17Oh!
25:18And it'll be a lovely, lively little thing.
25:22Seeing progress in the garden
25:24reminds Anne of why they bought the house in the first place.
25:28You know, the house is very nice, but it's where it is,
25:31and the views, that really sold us on it.
25:34If this house had been somewhere else without that view,
25:38we wouldn't have bought it.
25:40Anne may be happy, but Geoff sees a cloud hanging over the planning issues.
25:46I have a worry that...
25:49Well, Ian assures me that the main bone of contention with the council was
25:53us doing anything with the wall.
25:55But since we've changed and rationalised the design,
25:58that's not going to happen.
25:59And I think everything else they were pretty cool with anyway,
26:02so I don't think...
26:03Although Ian wants to speak to them and formalise everything,
26:06which I don't think he's done yet,
26:08I'm pretty sure he's going to do that,
26:10just to make sure that there's no sort of nasties that come back on us.
26:19A week later, and builder Simon completes the intricate process
26:23of bringing to life Ian's new dripping flint wall.
26:30It's now May, and I'm back to take a look at progress.
26:33Howdy. Hi, Matthew. How you doing?
26:35Halfway. Look at this. I know. Wow.
26:38This has come on.
26:40This is just the beginning of a hole in the ground the last time I was here.
26:43It's amazing, isn't it? Yeah.
26:45Pretty impressive, though. You've got to admit.
26:47Nice work, Simon.
26:48Are you pleased with it? Thank you very much.
26:50Yes, curving is a nice variant on it.
26:54And then, of course, the candle wax.
26:58Yeah, the candle wax is fantastic. I love that.
27:01What do you think? No, it's great.
27:03It was described to me, and it's just as I imagined.
27:06And you're excited by it? Yeah, I am.
27:08Oh, definitely. It is...
27:10Cos we can now visualise it and see it and touch it.
27:13Yeah. It makes a big difference. Yeah.
27:15It's exciting, isn't it? I mean, it really feels as if
27:18there is now a garden being built here. Yeah.
27:20You know, when you think back not so long ago, how things were,
27:24to the dark days when we were threatened just to turf it all.
27:27Yeah, those dark days, exactly.
27:29Yeah, well, we've gone past the point of no return,
27:32and I think we're pleased we've made the right decision.
27:35MUSIC PLAYS
27:51The landscapers have moved on to the paving,
27:54but nothing in Ian's design is easy.
27:56It's not the same as normal, random paving.
27:59We like to call it crazy, but we're not allowed to call it crazy.
28:03They're using 12 tonnes of Perbet limestone
28:06to create a path that will run through the sunken garden
28:09all the way down to the wildlife pond.
28:12It's like a giant jigsaw puzzle.
28:14We're having to get the joints absolutely perfect.
28:17So it takes a little bit more time cos we have to cut each piece
28:20instead of just laying it where it falls.
28:23And it seems as if Ian's dripping flint wall effect has now disappeared.
28:28Basically, Ian didn't like it.
28:30So it all came out and got changed for ordinary flint.
28:33If we'd have carried on with it, it would have just been too contrived.
28:37Simon really liked it, Geoff and Anne really liked it
28:40when they saw it, but at the end of the day,
28:42I think I've probably bullied people into getting rid of it
28:48and just having it as a curvy flint wall
28:50on the grounds that it was my idea in the first place
28:52so I can do what I want with it.
28:55I hope that when this garden is finished,
28:58they'll see it as probably the best value lump of money
29:03they'll probably spend in their lifetime
29:06because it's going to transform how they live here
29:08and how they occupy this house and occupy this landscape.
29:13Such perfection does unfortunately mean the chances
29:16of getting this project finished by the end of summer are looking slimmer.
29:22Originally, it was going to be...
29:26..it was into July, but I think it's getting fairly well into August now.
29:32The last thing Anne and Geoff need is more problems.
29:39Two days later, Geoff has to take his mother to hospital in London
29:43where she's to undergo a serious operation.
29:47It's a nervous time for him,
29:49but whilst there, he receives a bombshell
29:52that could stop everything in the garden.
29:55They now want planning permission for the works that we're doing on the garden,
29:58which is a complete... I mean, clearly, it had taken Ian by surprise.
30:01It's certainly taken us by surprise.
30:03This morning, I felt completely and utterly...
30:06I don't know, I feel like I'm having an out-of-body experience.
30:09I feel really numb, I feel very jittery.
30:12Just when we think we've got to the top of the mountains,
30:15some bugger comes out and steps on your fingers
30:18and we could do without this stress,
30:21at this very, very moment, this week in time.
30:29Sadly for Geoff, all of these planning problems pale into insignificance
30:34when, days later, his mother passes away.
30:38Well, I mean, tackling a landscape like this is always challenging.
30:43It always throws up problems and can be really tough,
30:47but...
30:50But right now, what's going on with Anne and Geoff
30:53puts all of that into perspective, really,
30:56and just makes it even harder.
31:08With Geoff and Anne's attention naturally focused elsewhere,
31:12the uncertainty over planning means that work on site slows right down.
31:19I go to see Ian at his office to find out exactly what's happening.
31:24So I understand there is a potential issue with planning
31:27that might result in the site being shut down.
31:30It may be that we're off site for a week to ten days,
31:33and if that's the case, then fine.
31:36It's not the end of the world.
31:38And if they say no?
31:40Well, I don't think they will.
31:42I think it's a bit scaremongering to start thinking,
31:45what are we going to do if they say no?
31:47It's just not going to happen,
31:49because along this whole process,
31:51we've meticulously gone through a shedload of details with them
31:54that actually is much more fine-tuning
31:56than just the principle of a sunken garden.
31:58So it's just not going to happen.
32:01I really hope that all the effort that Ian's put in
32:04to talking to the planners, to putting the application together,
32:07pays off and they come back and say, yeah, it's fine,
32:10and Ian can get the whip-cracking
32:12and they can deliver this garden in time for Anne and Geoff,
32:15because if anyone deserves a garden, it's Anne and Geoff right now.
32:23There will now be an eight-week wait
32:25till the planners either reject or agree to the garden.
32:29With the project already behind schedule,
32:31Ian decides to carry on slowly with the works.
32:36A sunken garden needs planning permission, and it's already built.
32:40The tennis court, we can rip that up,
32:42but the moment they start making a wildlife pond,
32:45that needs planning permission too.
32:47The choice for Ian is stop everything completely,
32:50or carry on, slowing things down, but he's carrying on.
32:53Every day that he carries on doing what he's doing,
32:56every day that he carries on doing work,
32:58the risk mounts up because it's costing more money
33:01and it's increasing the chance the planners just come in and say,
33:04get rid of the whole lot.
33:08Now the planners have come along and said,
33:10you need a planning application.
33:12We are proceeding with risk, but we're balancing and weighing up the risk.
33:15We could stop now and just wait for three months,
33:18but we're just going to quietly carry on,
33:20because otherwise the whole job will stop,
33:22it's late for Anne and Geoff,
33:24we're into the worst time for planting.
33:26So it's a kind of balancing act of not doing anything stupid,
33:29but keeping the momentum of the job going.
33:36A week later, and the old tennis court is nearly gone.
33:40At the end of July, Ian receives news from the planners.
33:44So this morning was posted on the Wildern District Council internet site,
33:48the outcome of the planning application for the garden,
33:51and I am almost bitterly sorry to tell you
33:54that we don't have a criminal garden,
33:57it's not the first criminal garden in the world,
33:59it's the second criminal garden in the world,
34:01and it's the third criminal garden in the world.
34:04I am bitterly sorry to tell you that we don't have a criminal garden,
34:08it's not the first criminal garden in the UK,
34:10there's not a hint of an illegal wildlife pond,
34:13nor a suggestion that this beautiful sunken garden
34:15may actually be arrested late at night sometime in the near future.
34:18So in short, we have a full, unconditional planning approval,
34:22which is nevertheless a great weight off most people's shoulders,
34:26and now we can get on with earnest and finish this project.
34:30Finally, they've got the green light to create Anne and Geoff's dream landscape,
34:35and work can begin on the massive curved wildlife pond
34:39at the bottom of the garden.
34:42And they start laying the huge cumberland stone slabs to create new paths.
34:49It's been an incredibly tough time for Anne and Geoff,
34:52and returning from a much-needed holiday,
34:55Anne is happy that they can now move on.
34:57I think it probably has been one of the most difficult things we've done,
35:01but luckily we're fairly strong, so we've come through the other end,
35:06and it's going to be beautiful.
35:09It's been a long time since I've seen Anne and Geoff,
35:12and they have been through the mill in that time.
35:15But now, having existed on paper for so long,
35:19the garden is coming alive, and I can't wait to see what the reality is.
35:28Wow!
35:30Look at that!
35:31You like it?
35:32Look at your garden!
35:33It's enormous, isn't it?
35:34It's massive!
35:38You've got, you know, the view becomes your garden as well.
35:42It kind of feels as if it's never-ending.
35:44That's fantastic.
35:45It is. You like it, yeah?
35:47No, my first impression is exciting.
35:51Oh, good!
35:52Things are shaping up really nicely,
35:54but most importantly, they've got the paperwork for the planning consent.
35:58You know, the best thing about this, it makes all of this,
36:01your fantastic pond, the sunken garden,
36:04everything else that has been such a struggle to achieve,
36:08it means you can enjoy it.
36:10It's all legit. It's all above board.
36:13Further down, they're going to move on to the next step,
36:16and that's going to be the planting.
36:18It's all legit. It's all above board.
36:21Further down, the pond has been dug out and lined.
36:25This is a great vantage point here, isn't it, to see what's been achieved,
36:29and in particular, to see the pond, which is fantastic.
36:34And when you stand here now and you look back,
36:36you'll look across a body of water and you'll see the house in the background,
36:40and it is very clever the way the sunken garden just disappears,
36:44and from here you can't see it.
36:46I think it is really, really exciting.
36:49With everything that's happened to Geoff and Anne in the last few months,
36:53I'm keen to try and get them actively involved in their project.
36:56So we get planting some trees for their new orchard
36:59at the bottom of their garden.
37:01How have things been, you know, in general?
37:03I mean, because the last few months have not been particularly easy, have they?
37:06No, I mean, pretty tough, primarily because there's just too much uncertainty.
37:11I was very, very sorry to hear about your mum as well, Geoff.
37:14I presume it would be at a time when you could most do
37:16with not having that kind of personal grief.
37:19It's another kind of slap, really, isn't it?
37:21Yeah, it was, because that was right.
37:23That happened the week where we had to decide,
37:25well, we hadn't even put the planning permission in,
37:27so everything was up in the air.
37:29That was a particularly bad, beginning of June, was a particularly bad time.
37:32But it feels as if this is now beginning to get to a point
37:35where it can be a bit more of a celebration.
37:38I hope so, because we haven't enjoyed.
37:40We thought when we were doing this house and doing the garden
37:43that it would have been a really enjoyable experience.
37:45And in fact, it's actually been, certainly this year,
37:49it's been almost like a sort of noose around our neck.
37:52So this one can go in over here.
37:56How big a hole am I digging?
37:58The same depth as the pot,
38:00but about half again is wired all the way round.
38:03And now is a pretty good time to plant them.
38:05Ten.
38:07Ten.
38:09There we go.
38:11Right, is that all right?
38:13Yeah, it's OK.
38:15I've enjoyed that. We've done something in the garden.
38:17That's great. We're a lot happier now.
38:20Yeah, things are gradually moving in the right directions
38:23and we do feel a lot happier.
38:28It's lovely to see.
38:32You know, I'm so used to sort of coming down here
38:35and not being in crisis meetings,
38:38and I'm kind of a little bit down on the whole experience
38:41of what should have been a great celebration.
38:44But they're happy. They're loving it.
38:46They're enjoying doing things
38:48that they've probably not ever done before,
38:50like planting trees together.
38:52Stuff for the future, which is great.
38:56It is great, but it's now the beginning of August,
38:59and if all had gone according to the original plan,
39:02they'd have been finished by now.
39:04And actually, there's a mountain to climb to finish this garden.
39:12Six weeks to finish this,
39:14which takes us to nearly the middle of September,
39:16and it has to be finished by then.
39:18The landscapers are creating the intricate deck construction
39:22out of African hardwood,
39:24which, as with everything in Ian's design, is not straightforward.
39:35And with all the hard landscaping nearly finished,
39:38they can finally bring in some plants.
39:50Are you enjoying this, Anne?
39:52I am. I am, actually.
39:56But even with all this progress,
39:58I'm not convinced Ian's going to make his new mid-September deadline.
40:05So you're feeling confident that you can deliver this in two weeks?
40:09I am, Matthew, feeling confident I'm going to deliver this.
40:12We, all nine of us, are going to deliver this in two weeks, yes.
40:20It's a long way off being finished.
40:22What's happened is great, and there's some fantastic stuff,
40:25and I'm loving the detail that's going in,
40:27but there is a massive amount of work now to do in, what, a couple of weeks?
40:31And I can't see how it's going to be done.
40:34I wouldn't put my house on it, that's for sure.
40:42Anne and Geoff Shaw have been through one of the toughest years of their lives
40:47whilst trying to create their dream landscape in Sussex.
40:50This has been an unbelievable project.
40:52I mean, it's been on and off and on and off for months.
40:55It's been a roller coaster, and everyone has been under pressure.
40:58But Ian made a promise to deliver a garden for Anne and Geoff.
41:02I hope for everybody's sake that he's managed to do it.
41:07It's been ten months since my first visit,
41:10and as I approach the entrance, I'm delighted to see the changes.
41:19Stone paths bordered with ferns and woodland plants
41:22lie under a canopy of massive trees.
41:25It's understated and gives a warm, cosy feel to the entrance to this house.
41:30This is lovely, isn't it? It's like a little magical woodland by your front door.
41:34It's very nice.
41:35Well, you haven't seen anything yet.
41:37Look at you, you're really excited, aren't you?
41:39We are.
41:40This is great.
41:41We are really excited.
41:42We're very excited.
41:43Are you?
41:44We are.
41:45Show me more.
41:46Show me the reason for this excitement.
41:49It's at the front of the house that I can't wait to see the transformation.
41:53As this was overgrown and rubble-filled, an embarrassment really,
41:57it's now something very different indeed.
42:06Wow! Look at that.
42:09That is very, very good.
42:12You like it?
42:13Yeah, that really is impressive.
42:15You like it?
42:16Yeah, that really is impressive.
42:17That's impressive, isn't it?
42:18It's fantastic.
42:20It really is.
42:21I can see why you're so excited and so happy,
42:23because it is a dramatic transformation,
42:25but also it just looks right, doesn't it?
42:28It looks as if it belongs here.
42:30This is very, very exciting, I have to say.
42:33So it is quite glamorous in a way, isn't it, this part?
42:36It's very glamorous.
42:38It's befitting of you, Anne and Jack, definitely.
42:40Oh, thank you so much.
42:46The sunken garden is a total success, beautifully designed and crafted.
42:52The modern curves are softened by the use of traditional limestone and flint,
42:58and it blends remarkably well with the 18th-century house.
43:02Has it achieved what you hoped it would achieve?
43:04Oh, definitely, more, much more than I thought.
43:07And once all these plants are lovely and colourful, it'll be amazing.
43:11But having said that, another part of the garden is now my favourite.
43:14Is it?
43:16Beyond the sunken garden was the criminally misplaced, wretched tennis court.
43:22In its place now sits the masterstroke of this whole design.
43:28Well, that is very impressive.
43:31Isn't it? It's very impressive indeed.
43:33Are you happy with it?
43:35Amazing, I love it.
43:37Isn't it? I know.
43:39This is our favourite part, isn't it?
43:41Yes, it is.
43:43It's the most beautiful part of the garden, isn't it?
43:45Yes, it is.
43:47It's the most beautiful part of the garden, isn't it?
43:49Yes, it is.
43:51It's the most beautiful part of the garden, isn't it?
43:53It is.
43:55I know. This is our favourite place now.
43:58Is it? This is the place.
44:02I love the way the deck floats over the water.
44:04Very, very pleasing, isn't it?
44:06We couldn't have imagined it to have been any better than it is, could we?
44:08No.
44:09Well, I knew it was going to be great, but this is really fantastic.
44:13It's just everything we wanted, everything we dreamt of, I guess.
44:18Their struggle with planning and budgetary difficulties
44:21has yielded a simpler yet more powerful design.
44:25What they've ended up with is a garden which has a heart at the centre of it
44:30and that celebrates the landscape beyond.
44:34Well, who'd have thought that we'd be sitting here
44:37in your beautiful tennis court?
44:40Yes, this is wonderful.
44:42Exactly, right on the net.
44:44Tell me about how you feel about the garden.
44:46One word. I think, speechless, it is just far better than we'd ever imagined.
44:51I think it's been such an emotional rollercoaster, the garden,
44:56but I think it really hit us...
44:59It was just a couple of days ago when the pond was filled up
45:02and the planting all had been done,
45:04and we stood here and I was in tears because I just thought...
45:11Excuse me. I just thought I'd never have a garden so lovely.
45:16Setting me off now.
45:19Setting me off as well.
45:22You've waited a long time for this, haven't you?
45:25By no stretch of the imagination, has this been an easy process?
45:31I don't think it's just the process.
45:33It has been very emotional and we've had down times
45:38where we genuinely did think we were just going to have to grasp the whole thing
45:43because we can't afford this.
45:45Looking at the garden now, right choice, going with Ian?
45:50Yes, definitely.
45:52Well, I think it's been a great experience.
45:55Looking at the garden now, right choice, going with Ian?
45:59Yes, definitely.
46:01I'm very happy.
46:03Are you proud of the garden?
46:06Yeah.
46:08Very proud. Extremely.
46:10We feel proud that we've not only created a fantastic garden,
46:13we've put it in a fantastic setting with a fantastic house
46:16and created the finished article.
46:22It has been an incredible journey.
46:24There have been times when they've just felt at the absolute depths of despair.
46:29Financially, emotionally, really down in the dumps.
46:35So actually what needed to happen was there needed to be an act of faith, really.
46:40And that's really what this garden is all about.
46:43It's an act of faith.
46:45It's the fact that they invested their faith in Ian, their designer,
46:50and Ian repaid them by delivering their dreams.
46:57And it is a dream. It's wonderful.
47:00Next time, a young family go head-to-head with nature in the heart of rural Wales.
47:05This is what it's like when the wind kicks off. It can knock you over.
47:08Three, two, one, dig in!
47:11The pipes in the caravan burst.
47:14What the hell is that?
47:16It's just mess everywhere.
47:18I'm truly inspired by this place.
47:20For more information on the show, please visit channel4.com.
47:34From the landscape man to the restoration man tonight
47:37on four Georgies going both medievally and mansionally at nine.
47:41Grubs up before that, though, four nights in Nottingham.
47:44Come dine with me, next.
47:48www.channel4.com