Newhaven Revisited

Kevin McCloud embarks on a nostalgic journey back to the very beginning of Grand Designs. In this 25th anniversary year for the series, Kevin makes a special revisit to the first-ever project aired in 1999, in the East Sussex coastal town of Newhaven.

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Tim and Jules, paragliding school owners and parents of four daughters between them, wanted to build their new family home on the cliffs in a record 3 months. Their need for such a lightning quick build stemmed from Jules's pregnancy, as the couple intended to have their first baby together in their brand new house. However, groundworks and erection of their timber frame kit, specially designed for speed,

did not go to plan. More problems followed, from unexpected costs to materials not arriving in time, meaning Jules and Tim’s home birth dream was in serious jeopardy. When Kevin last visited newborn Tiger had come along, but the house was barely finished.

 

Now, a quarter of a century later, Kevin returns to see how life has been for the very first Grand Designs family, including a very grown up Tiger, in the house where it all began.