A little-known 'Grand Designs' planning exemption is helping the super-rich build high-spec modern mansions in the British countryside.
Paragraph 84 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is an exemption clause allowing for the construction of new homes in rural areas - provided the design is of 'exceptional quality'.
The clause was formerly used to build classic country estates - but experts say there is now a growing trend of the super-affluent using the clause to build ultra-modern multi-million pound homes, often appearing on the Channel 4 programme Grand Designs.
Homes are springing up in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty usually fraught with strict restrictions imposed by planning departments.
One such home, standing proud in the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, is the Headlands - near Prestbury, Cheltenham - with a leaf-shaped zinc roof and a state of the art interior.
Completed in 2018, it is said to be one of the most impressive homes in the UK - meeting the criteria for a design of exceptional quality.
Another Para 84 home is the futuristic Swinhay House, near Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, which featured on the final episode of series three of the BBC hit Sherlock.
Its sweeping structure and dramatic central look-out tower made it the perfect home for the powerful businessman...
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