‘i knew i would live here one day’

Freddie Pack is no stranger to a renovation. The farmer used to be self-employed in the construction industry and built his previous home, a compact cabin for him and his now-wife Katie, on his family’s farm on the beautiful Romney Marsh in Kent. Fast forward a few years and the couple had saved enough money to build something a little roomier.

In 2018, they started looking at obtaining planning permission on another site on the farm, just a few fields away, where there was an existing property. ‘I would always drive past and think, “One day I am going to live on that plot.” When you have the access and the opportunities with family land it was the obvious decision,’ explains Freddie. ‘Otherwise, our budget would only have afforded us a small terraced house.’

On the site was an uninspiring detached 1950s brick house. ‘We looked at trying to renovate, but realised very quickly that it was more economical to knock it down and start again,’ says Freddie. So the couple enlisted Rob Pollard of RX Architects to draw up plans – the process took 18 months and permission was granted to create a larch-clad detached house with a garage/outbuilding before the tenants vacated in December 2019.

Demolition took place over two weeks in April 2020, just as the world was floored by Covid-19. Fortunately, work could continue, but there was a lack of materials such as plaster and concrete, because plants were shut due to the pandemic. Freddie, however, was one step ahead. ‘I anticipated the issues and built relationships with four building merchants,’ he explains. ‘I was able to accrue stock gradually and in advance because there were limits on what you could buy at any one time.’

The couple continued living in the cabin while work was being done, and Freddie was on site every day getting his hands dirty. Katie was an integral part of the process and they both agreed on the overall design. Freddie also knew that the b