ABOUT

The directors of Hieronymus Gruff each have over 30 years experience specialising in the sensitive regeneration of brownfield sites for new holiday home developments, in addition to the restoration of period buildings. The west country based company comprises a small team which focuses on creative solutions to sites which often have difficult planning, title or physical constraints.

We are committed to reducing our footprint, caring for and protecting the environment and giving back to the communities we are a part of. The implementation of excellent design principles, sensitivity to ‘place’ and conservation is very firmly part of our identity and integral to our operation. Consequently, all future developments are to be built to Passivhaus levels and the highest standards of sustainability. The philosophy is simply focussing on a considerate and ethical approach to solve the demand for holiday homes, whilst having a positive contribution to the local community, landscape, ecology and economy.

DESIGN

Operating with a combination of knowledge, experience and instinct, we use the power of good design to create inspirational developments. Design informs every aspect of our work and it is not constrained by pre-conceived ideas. We uphold an ‘anti-ordinary’ ethos as standard.

Architecture and landscape are intimately related and by respecting both equally, we believe that it is possible to capture both the spirit of a location and the essence of good design, to create exciting aesthetics in low impact developments. The ethos behind the design of our genre of holiday accommodation is that it should sit well within its landscape.  Consequently, the layout of each site is determined by the existing natural features in order to create the optimum environment for the accommodation to become a harmonious part of the landscape, rather than becoming obtrusive and overpowering it.

All of our ‘Wilderness Escapes’ are strikingly attractive in their sculptural form and allow the advanced sustainable construction to influence their appearance. They are imbued with an understated modern aesthetic, which is also determined by, and dedicated to, the reduction of our carbon footprint, protecting depleting natural resources and supporting the long term ecological balance.

SUSTAINABILITY

The long term asset value of a building depends upon its ability to satisfy user needs, cope with the changing environmental conditions and survive the evolving expectations of design. Well insulated, naturally lit, and well ventilated buildings, that utilise alternative energy sources are more likely to be sound investments than those which are over dependent upon fossil fuels or which ignore the human need for a healthy and engaging environment. 

Our ‘Wilderness Escapes’ have been designed to reduce their carbon footprint, to protect depleting natural resources and to support the long term ecological balance on the sites upon which they are located. Our construction methods are at the forefront of sustainability and our developments will operate on a Net Zero Carbon basis. This does not mean cynically paying to offset carbon onto some else’s doorstep. It means not producing the CO2 in the first place. We are committed to sustainability and do not indulge in ‘greenwash’. 

Landscape: We acquire sites with existing uses which create blight on the surrounding landscape in terms of aesthetics, noise, air pollution or traffic. ‘No development at all’ is not always the best option. In these instances, a replacement use is a better option. We therefore only acquire brownfield sites, where our replacement use for ethical holiday home development will improve the landscape. 

Ecology: Our developments not only protect the existing ecology from damage created by the existing land use, they also significantly improve both flora and fauna. We consider issues such as understanding the ecology which exists on the site, how waste water is handled, preventing soil erosion, using permeable surfaces, harvesting rainwater, avoiding light pollution, removing fossil fuel consumption, and asking ecologists to advise on the best methods to use for creating enhanced environments for species to thrive. We seek to encourage habitats to flourish and for guests to understand the importance of the location they are visiting.

Construction: Our ‘Wilderness Escapes’ are built off site in a factory environment which provides for efficiency. With a building process more akin to manufacturing rather than site construction, we are able to tightly control cost and waste. We therefore have a light footprint when carrying out work on site. Built to Passivhaus levels of insulation and air tightness, heated by an air source pump and powered by renewables, we remove the need for a fossil fuel source. The materials used in the construction consist primarily of timber, metal, glass, and other natural materials. We use natural landscaping, avoid light pollution, install electric car charging points and rainwater harvesting systems on all homes.

Local jobs & revenue: We create one new job per unit of accommodation in both direct (on site) and indirect (off site) jobs in restaurants, pubs, artisan businesses, tourist attractions etc. Importantly, this employment is local and, by virtue of being open for 12 months of the year, these jobs are full time, not merely seasonal. In addition, each one creates off-site spending in the local area which will be injected directly into the local economy, helping to keep local visitor attractions, pubs, shops and businesses open. 

Goodwill: Each of our future developments will ‘give back’ to the local area by providing significant annual donations to specific local organisations. Details of this commitment can be viewed on our Goodwill page.

The benefits to a local community are significant. Each of our previous holiday developments has received an environmental award from the late Prof. David Bellamy, who referred to our: “….exacting standards of social responsibility and environmental sustainability”.  

GOODWILL

As a small team, we are not constrained by corporate decision making and the usual determination to create profit at the expense of all else. Therefore we are able to take a more altruistic path and devote a significant financial benefit to aid selected charitable causes. We wholeheartedly believe in the importance of creating goodwill.

The way in which this is achieved is simple. For each of our future developments, we will create at least one holiday home which is retained by our company and subsequently used solely for holiday lettings. All of the annual income from each individual home will be donated to a specific local cause. Our forthcoming developments  will result in us providing annual donations to a local RNLI station, the Cornish Air Ambulance, and 4 other local causes in Devon and Cornwall.

We believe in ‘giving something back’.

Please view our Ethical Second Homes page

PAST

We first concentrated much of our professional interests in the holiday home sector. Acknowledged for having been at the forefront of this leisure sector of property development, we advanced the quality of holiday home design and construction, creating a path that others followed.

17 years ago, having established a company with the sole purpose of building ‘eco’ orientated holiday homes, we built one of the first UK developments which incorporated genuine sustainable principles, starting with a brownfield site. 

In 2014 the directors sold their shares in that first company to investment partners and founded a new company; Hieronymus Gruff, in order to advance and pursue an even more creative path which would fully encapsulate their vision for what aspirational and socially responsible holiday homes should be. Between then and now, we have also carried out the sensitive restoration of a period building which incorporated Passivhaus levels of insulation, airtightness and heat recovery systems. The project proved that it is possible to renovate a heritage building in this way, without damaging its historic integrity, thereby future proofing it for generations to come. Residential renovations, listed building restoration, farming and a hotel operation have also provided a consuming distraction. We are now returning to our primary focus, ‘wilderness escapes’.

ETHICAL HOLIDAY HOMES

It is widely acknowledged that second homes in rural and coastal areas have created significant problems. Local communities often have a negative opinion of second homes and their owners, where these homes are purchased from the existing local housing stock. Criticism is often justifiable. This stems from these homes being left empty for much of the year, resulting in diminishing trade for local shops and other businesses. Furthermore, second home purchasers have the effect of pushing up demand, and therefore prices, in the local property market, resulting in local buyers being forced out of the market for homes in areas where they grew up.

Our developments help significantly towards eradicating the harmful effect of second homes on the local housing stock by providing a viable, positive solution. When we create a new development, all of the homes have a planning restriction, meaning they can only be used for second home use.  Each buyer on our development is therefore one less purchaser of a local house, cottage or flat, thereby leaving stock available for a local person. This means that no existing local residential property is removed from the market.

Furthermore, our holiday homes do not sit empty for most of the year. They tend to be let by their owners, in addition to the homes our company retains and let. With occupancy levels of approximately 85%, the homes generate income throughout the year for other local business such as shops, cafés, restaurants, garages etc. 

Our developments do not have facilities buildings, café or restaurants and, instead, we encourage visitors to utilise the services of existing excellent businesses in the locality.

We are part of a solution, helping to reverse the negative impact of second homes.

CONTACT

Email:
mail@hgruff.co.uk

Telephone:
01963 23210

Address:
The Cowsheds
Ashcombe Farm
Haydon
Sherborne
Dorset
DT9 5JA