[9] 15 lessons from the £1.7m villa that spiralled 112% over budget

Location

South East England

Build Start

~2000

Architect

Jim Garland

Total Floor Area

697 m²

[Source: Planning ]

What happens when a dream build turns into a financial avalanche? In Surrey, one couple set out to create a perfect Regency-style villa, complete with symmetry, grandeur, and period detailing. But as decisions dragged and standards climbed, the £1.7 million project spiralled 112% over budget. Their story is a sharp reminder that even with money, planning, and vision on your side, process is what really keeps a dream on course.

Site Purchase Price

£ 817700

Site Area

6616m²

Site Cost Per m²

£ 124

Initial Budget

£ 817700

Total Spend

£ 1739600

Budget Overspend

112.74%

Cost Per m²

£ 2497

Site Coverage

5.7%

Plot Ratio

10.53%

All Figures Indexed To

02 May 2025

Construction Type

Blockwork

Materials

Breeze Blocks

Features

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Acknowledgment:

This is a non-commercial review carried out for the purposes of study in developing an understanding of the requirements of self-build in the UK.

The views and opinions expressed are my own and is not affiliated in any way with Grand Designs or Channel 4. All information on this page has been gathered from publicly available sources.

The plot/site information was located using Land Registry and The Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities Data which contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

The lessons learned are derived from my interpretations and observations of a publicly disseminated case study and are in no way meant to be a substitute to the original.

Click here to view the original case study on the Channel 4 website.