Christmas is, after all, a time when households get collectively however, sadly, it is usually when individuals first discover that granny is not managing too effectively round the home.
And, then, there’s the concern that the price of social care or care houses will be astronomical. So, what to do?
James Lund-Lack, the managing director of specialist builders iHus, believes he has the reply.
Charming: The Melton annexe is designed by iHus and priced from £118,000. The buildings are effectively insulated so warmth loss is minimal
‘Manufacturing unit-built granny annexes are the perfect resolution,’ says James. ‘And they’re changing into more and more standard — our gross sales elevated by 20 per cent final 12 months and 40 per cent the 12 months earlier than, largely due to Covid and the monetary disaster.’
The radio DJ Tony Blackburn purchased an iHus granny annexe six years in the past when his mother-in-law, Connie, now aged 99, was discovering life a wrestle in her house patch of the East Finish of London.
Tony did not suppose a care house would go well with the fiercely impartial Connie, so he put in a single bed room annexe with an open-plan lounge/kitchen main out onto the backyard.
‘Connie is starting to undergo from dementia and I believe she’d have discovered a care house complicated,’ says Tony.
‘This association means she will get outdoors assist from a care employee however she’s surrounded by her personal bits and items and we will regulate her.’
There at the moment are a number of corporations promoting granny annexes, together with the Wee Home Firm, Good Care Pods and Norwegian Log.
I needed to purchase a bungalow, however all of them price greater than £250,000. Then I discovered that I might have a granny annexe put in subsequent to my daughter and son-in-law’s house for £150,000. It was a no brainer and I’m very glad right here
Costs fluctuate between about £50,000 for a fundamental pod to £150,000 for a bigger mannequin, kitted out to a excessive commonplace.
Their exteriors come clad in wooden or cool gunmetal gray panels. Some have vaulted ceilings to create a classy, ski chalet impact and most will be tailored to go well with the wants of the person shopper.
These embody options resembling mobility-aware showers and moist rooms, kitchens with eye-level grills and further vast doorways to permit wheelchair and strolling body entry.
The extra high-tech extras embody voice activated switches for the lights and heating and web-based cctv to watch the aged individual’s actions.
Granny annexes should not only for the aged and infirm.
In addition they allow the active-retired to profit from their pensions.
Ultimate resolution? Annexes permit older individuals to remain near members of the family, whereas nonetheless retaining a few of their independence
In 2020 Sandi Renson-Smith, 69, was contemplating a transfer from the house in Yorkshire, the place she had lived for 42 years, to be nearer her daughter Jennifer in Crewe.
‘I needed to purchase a bungalow, however all of them price greater than £250,000,’ says Sandi, a retired trainer. ‘Then I discovered that I might have a two-bedroom, timber-framed, granny annexe put in subsequent to my daughter and son-in-law’s barn conversion house for £150,000.
‘It was a no brainer and I’m very glad right here.’
James is pleased with his firm’s eco-credentials. They don’t use concrete, which pollutes the ambiance, their timber is from sustainable provides and the decking is manufactured from recyclable supplies.
The buildings are effectively insulated so warmth loss is minimal.
The right way to get planning permission for a granny annexe
For those who resolve on a granny annexe then you have to some type of planning permission. This may increasingly come beneath the Caravan Websites Act, which is able to rely on whether or not the annexe will be simply picked up and put onto the again of a trailer.
Or you possibly can get hold of planning permission within the ordinary manner, through which case success relies upon largely on the native council.
As a normal rule you’ll have to persuade them that your annexe is an ancillary constructing to the primary home.
It ought to feed off its mains providers and will solely be lived in by members of the family. It should fairly doubtless depend in opposition to you if your property is listed, in a conservation space, a nationwide park or every other location the place permitted growth guidelines don’t apply.
Primarily, you have to to show the annexe will profit the neighborhood and never hurt the atmosphere.
The corporate constructing it would normally take care of planning. As soon as the builders have began on the development work, the annexe ought to take solely about seven weeks to construct.
James Greenwood, of Stacks Property Search, is a superb fan of granny annexes however he advises his shoppers to purchase with care.
‘Your neighbours are essential so seek the advice of them earlier than constructing one thing like this,’ he says.
‘A great deal of the worth of your home could also be right down to the backyard, so contemplate the location. Will it spoil your view or that of your neighbours?
‘Additionally, test that you’ve got enough entry for autos coming and going.’
The ultimate downside posed by proudly owning a granny annexe is seldom talked about — what to do with it when sadly granny passes away?
The 79-year-old Tony Blackburn has the reply.
‘It will be ideally suited for company or for a youthful member of the household, saving for a mortgage,’ he says. ‘Or in my case, maybe I am going to simply transfer in there myself.’
