Generation London
  • Breaking News
  • Economic
  • Family
  • Fashion
  • Food
  • Interviews
  • Brexit
  • Sport
No Result
View All Result
  • Breaking News
  • Economic
  • Family
  • Fashion
  • Food
  • Interviews
  • Brexit
  • Sport
No Result
View All Result
Generation London
No Result
View All Result

Grand Designs: East London couple moved out of tiny flat to their eco barge – and it was a disaster

in Breaking News
A A
Home Breaking News

The Medway eco barge might serve as a cautionary tale to Londoners looking to leave dryland in order to find more space and freedom.

The lesson being: plan ahead.

The barge, which featured on Channel 4’s Grand Designs in 2007, was seemingly built on good intentions alone.

Ambitious Londoners Chris Miller and wife Sze Liu Lai wanted to escape the confines of their tiny East London flat and make a family home on the water.

READ MORE:Channel 4 George Clarke’s ‘treasured’ photo of dad who died in water skiing accident when he was just seven

Chris and Sze spent £10,000 on an old steel barge
(Image: Channel 4)

They were, however, only going to use eco-friendly, second hand materials and not follow a set design.

This led to the project being plagued by arguments with builders, fallouts with dock owners, and impractical or sometimes downright ugly design features.

One builder memorably commented to Kevin McCloud’s Channel 4 team: “It looks s***.”

It seems that even at the time host Kevin saw a disaster on the horizon dubbing the project as “a floating scrapheap challenge”.

He remarked in a later interview: “The project was compromised from the beginning. They were not prepared properly and were relying on happenstance.”

The poorly fitting windows ended up being a major issue with the project
(Image: Channel 4)

Indeed, fortune was not on the couple’s side.

After ploughing £80,000 into the project, the barge was barely habitable and lacked basic utilities like running water, electricity and heating.

When the couple ran out of funds a decision was made to moor the boat in the Thames Estuary until they could drum up more money to make the floating family home more liveable.

However this was not the end of this Grand Designs’ flop.

In 2011 it made national headlines after it became released from its moorings and washed up on a not-so glamorous beach in Essex, where observers revelled in its misery.

Without heating and basic utilities the barge wasn’t fit for habitation
(Image: Channel 4)

The barge had been vandalised, its mismatched windows broken, its corrugated roofing rusting – it looked anything but grand.

The Guardian wrote that the failed project provided ‘the nation with the opportunity to laugh at the misfortunes of privileged Londoners.’

Despite the negative attention there were plans by Chris to revive the project, but the damage done would cost in excess of £70,000 to repair.

So, for now at least, Chris and Sze’s dreams of escaping their small London flat are all washed up.

Want more from My London? Sign up to our daily newsletters for all the latest and greatest from across London here.

Read More
Related Articles

Read More
Related Articles

Tags: TV and film
Previous Post

Winds Stoke California Fires Already Burning at Record Clip By Bloomberg

Next Post

Sweden’s once-highest peak loses 2 metres height in year as glacier melts By Reuters

Next Post
U.S. housing starts accelerate, building permits skid to eight-month low By Reuters

Sweden's once-highest peak loses 2 metres height in year as glacier melts By Reuters

Team USA social justice warrior Rapinoe would ‘almost bully’ players into taking ‘very divisive’ knee for BLM, claims ex-teammate

Team USA social justice warrior Rapinoe would ‘almost bully’ players into taking ‘very divisive’ knee for BLM, claims ex-teammate

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent News

Ind Vs Eng 5th Test Day 4 Highlights: England score 254/3 in 55 overs

Ind Vs Eng 5th Test Day 4 Highlights: England score 254/3 in 55 overs

July 5, 2022
India broke these records while beating Sri Lanka in 2nd ODI. See here

India broke these records while beating Sri Lanka in 2nd ODI. See here

July 5, 2022
England beat India by 7 wickets in rearranged 5th test

England beat India by 7 wickets in rearranged 5th test

July 5, 2022
NHS to trial drone delivery for chemotherapy drugs

NHS to trial drone delivery for chemotherapy drugs

July 5, 2022

  • Privacy Policy
  • Copyright
  • Contact us

No Result
View All Result
  • Breaking News
  • Economic
  • Family
  • Fashion
  • Food
  • Interviews
  • Brexit
  • Sport

© 2022 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT