It nearly wasn't though.
Because the process was going to use too much paperwork, time and bureaucratic expenditure they decided to try and build their dream house 'under the radar' and not apply for planning permission.
A risky business as neighbours are likely to dob people in for that sort of behaviour.
They used railway sleepers, truck tyres, scrap metal recycled this and that and wooden pallets to build their eco home away from it all in Beaworthy, a little village with a population of only a few hundred in East Devon.
And over a period of five years, while they lived in a tent on-site, they built their dream without using any power tools.
They have a composting toilet but no electricity and no running water. And they have an underground pantry instead of a fridge.
Sure enough, some neighbours complained as they do and for a while it looked like the Torridge District Council would force them to pull down their dream.
But some sort of rare sanity prevailed and a government planning inspector, impressed by the couple's dedication and passion for sustainable living, ruled the house could stay because of it's eco-credentials.
You see. If you can dream it, you can do it...
