COUNTRY LIFE
Sean Duggan has a beautiful home in a beautiful setting. And he wants others to share in his good fortune – which is why his company is earning a reputation for high class family homes in perfect settings. BRIAN PAGE visited his rural idyll
As I get out of the car, an effervescent cocker spaniel comes bounding up, tail wagging, tongue lolling out. The friendly greeting seems to fit the setting somehow. It's a glorious, melting, summer's day and there is the chirping of birds in the trees, the smell of fresh cut grass in the air. One of those beautiful mornings designed to showcase the English countryside. Pa Larkin would no doubt have pronounced it "perfect". Douggie, the cocker spaniel, goes rushing off to nose away at the fence, beyond which rabbits are lazily feeding on a sloping lawn.
The front door opens and out comes Sean Duggan with a hearty handshake.
"It's a beautiful spot you've got here," I say. And a beautiful house, I should add.
But then that shouldn't be a surprise. Sean is the head of Edenvale Homes, a rapidly growing company which has already created an outstanding reputation for building quality homes in rural locations. And if any house was a fitting showcase for that reputation then it is the one in which Sean and his family live themselves. It nestles in glorious countryside on the edges of a pretty village. It's a dream home in a dream setting.
Surroundings play a big part in Edenvale planning. Sean himself was brought up in Riccall and still lives within whistling distance, so he knows all about country life. And family life, too. The phrase family business might have been invented for Edenvale Homes. Sean is the head of the company as MD. His wife is a director, his father Terry does the design work, his younger brother Craig is a site foreman and older brother Wayne has also recently joined them as a plumber. The company is even named after his daughter Eden. While there are is a terrace on one of his developments that bears his other daughter Ceara's name.
Perhaps it's this family feel to the company which has helped gain their reputation for building fine family homes.
"Well," says Sean, "the first question we ask when we are working on a new development is what kind of home would we like to live in. That's the starting point. I'm trying to build houses which I would live in myself."
And that means not stinting on quality. The company's latest project, Cottage Gardens at Gate Helmsley, carries the company's trademark high quality finishes, including granite work surfaces in the kitchens, oak strip flooring in the hallway, deep skirting boards and smart coving.
"I like quality touches in my own home, so why shouldn't other people expect the same," Sean says.
He adds: "Do you know what I would really like? I would like it if, in ten years time, someone came to us and said ‘I bought one of your houses ten years ago and I would love to buy another one'. That's what we are aiming for."
Sean and the team aim to ensure that personal attention to customer's needs comes high on the agenda. He proudly shows a sheaf of after sales response forms – all bearing ticks in all the right boxes from satisfied customers. Sean's enthusiasm is catching. You like this job, then, I suggest.
"I love it," he says. "I have a passion for houses. Whenever I can I will be out looking for good spots, or I will be looking around new houses, to see how other people do things."
But it is his own company's houses which get the most scrutiny. "We might have built a house, and I might walk into the lounge and feel that it's too small. People say why bother when you can sell it anyway?
"But the next time we do a similar design the lounge will be bigger. Because I want to do things better every time."
You might be forgiven for thinking that such a driving demand for the best means that Edenvale Homes would be prohibitively expensive. Not so. The four detached four-bedroom houses in the Gate Helmsley development were all under £300,000 – and three of the four have sold.
Never one to sit still, Sean is moving on. His next project is in a similarly pretty spot at Wistow, where he is preparing three detached houses (again, early indications are that they will be under £300,000).
"We're actively seeking new sites," he adds. "We are growing the business all the time."
For more details on Edenvale Homes, contact Hunters New Homes on 01904 620126.