New home in good nick
C4, 9pm
WANTING to spend the night in a cop shop isn’t anyone’s idea of luxury living – but first-time buyer Rachel is doing just that.
She’s bought an old West Yorkshire police station to convert into her dream home.
It’s the latest project in George
Clarke’s series, where he meets ambitious property owners transforming abandoned buildings, from former banks to barns, into homes.
Determined Rachel, 26, is a force to be reckoned with.
This may be her first step on the property ladder, but the fashion business owner is making a giant leap.
She’s turning cells into an office, swapping the check-in desk for a cosy lounge and even introducing a sun trap terrace out front. She’d rather not spend any money on labour though, so put-upon builder boyfriend Mike has been doing most of the physical graft, stepping away from his day job to focus on the house full time.
Two years on, amidst planning disputes, an endless to-do list and the unpleasant surprise of laying a brand-new roof, he might feel a jail sentence would have been easier.
As always with these programmes, Rachel makes the classic mistakes – she goes over time deadlines, bites off more than she can chew and totally ignores George’s expert advice. But the results are undeniably stunning.
Hiring in a little extra help at the end, she’s able to give George the tour of a home most twentysomethings couldn’t even dream of.
You wouldn’t believe an old prison could look so chic, and all for a fairly modest budget too. Has anyone got a local nick for sale?