West Midlands could be the next ‘Grand Designs’ hotspot

THE head of a boutique architects practice claims that the West Midlands is well on its way to becoming the next big ‘Grand Designs’ hotspot.

Vic Johnson, founder of Johnson Design Partnership (JDP) in Bridgnorth, believes the region’s mix of rural locations, easy travel links to the big urban centres and a wealth of unique buildings are proving an enticing offer for people looking to create their dream homes.

His company is currently working on six projects that fit the ‘Grand Designs’ theme and range from a once-in-a-lifetime challenge to create living space in a redundant water tower to converting a Grade 2 Listed building into seven residential properties.

The projects are worth a £2.5m in construction costs.

Johnson said: “There certainly seems to be a growing desire to create dream homes, probably fuelled by the popular Channel 4 TV programme and the fact you don’t pay VAT on new builds.

“The West Midlands is an ideal place to make this happen. We have some fantastic buildings that have great potential and the fact you can be in a beautiful rural setting whilst only being 15 minutes’ drive away from a big city is a real selling point.”

Johnson Design Partnership also undertakes projects in sectors such as healthcare, commercial, industrial, education, retail, as well as infrastructure work.