Further evidence that the regeneration of Thames Gateway is not what it could be comes from a study by the University of East London. It reveals that 82 per cent of homes being built in the region to the east of London are one and two-bedroom flats, raising fears that families will fail to move into the area. The research blamed government targets for the high density of building and gave a warning that we could be repeating the design mistakes of the 1960s and 1970s.

When viewing a property with “outbuildings” you expect to see a shed, a barn or maybe a dairy. At Upper Honeydon House in Bedfordshire you get an aircraft hangar with your 14 acres of land and eight-bedroom house. The present owner keeps her helicopter there. Although she is taking the chopper with her, you still get quite a lot for the £1.2 million asking price: stables, a former dairy, a garage, and a four-bay Dutch barn. The 1930s property, near the village of Colmworth, is not listed, and would give a conversion fanatic enough to fill the next five series of Grand Designs. Bidwells: 01223 841842.

Such is the British love for agricultural buildings that a third of listed farm buildings have been converted, with 90 per cent of these to residential use. But English Heritage has seen so many things that it doesn’t like that it has decided to publish a new guide. Conversion of Traditional Farm Buildings: a guide to good practice, lists all the do’s and don’ts and warns you not to overdo the roof lights or paint the barn a garish colour. See www.helm.org.uk/ruraldevelopment
susan.emmett@thetimes.co.uk

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