Ahead of Grand Designs Live at the end of this month, Primelocation went to see the star of the show, Kevin McCloud, during which he held court about his eco-homes development called The Triangle, in Swindon, nearing completion – and his vindication following its unexpected success.

At the moment, your company Hab is involved in building 42 eco homes in Swindon. What’s the response been like?

The response has been extremely good. We’ve now allocated our social housing tenants, they are in 21 of the homes and the other 21 homes are going not to open market sale but we’ve done sort of open market rent-to-buy and open market home shared ownership. We’ve had a fantastic, overwhelming response. Which after five years of work on the scheme is a wonderful vindication.

Kevin McCloud's eco-homes project, The Triangle in Swindon

So were people sceptical about the project?

One property developer said to me, you’ll never sell temporary housing, you’ll never sell terraced housing, people want detached and they want traditional with little lead porches. I said, really? They said, yeah, it’s safe. People like the idea of safety, they like the idea of a building which will never age. I said well what about the fact that all the interior layouts are useless and that you’ve got huge amounts of circulation space in tiny rooms? He said, no, that’s not right, people don’t want it. And I honestly thought at that point, no you’re wrong, people do respond to good design.

What is it you think people want?

Five million people watch Grand Designs, they’ve come to understand the principle of compression and release, what a big white window will do for you, what a high ceiling will do for you, what a view of the sky will do for you. They’ve come to understand that to be given a tiny, low ceiling hutch isn’t good enough and it’s lovely to be vindicated in a very quiet way.

What are the properties in the development like?

We’re building terraced houses, really, really affordable, standard housing association budget stuff with small gardens, but lots of shared space. With small bedrooms, but with a larger sitting room. With small parking spaces, but a big shared garden and playground area. And so we give, we take; we try and play tricks.

Do you think this way of living will be successful?

In a way the big moment of judgement will not be the day that everyone moves in at all, it will be a period over the following year, as we see people, we hope, form their own community, it may not work, we don’t know, but pray God it does and pray God that they don’t decide collectively, because they can, to tarmac over the vegetable garden and turn it in to a car park.

Read more of our exclusive Kevin McCloud interview and get half price tickets to Grand Designs Live.

Q. It may sound crazy but I have just undertaken my first project in property development and wonder what I might be able claim back in relation to tax? I have kept all receipts to date but would like to know what I can legitimately claim.

A number of works have been carried out, mostly by contractors: a central heating system, new windows, a new kitchen with integrated appliances and a new bathroom suite. The property has also been fully rewired and re-plastered. There are also new carpets throughout and the garden has been re-landscaped with new pathways, gravel etc.

A. You would be best served by seeking specialist tax advice from a certified chartered accountant. Broadly speaking, the expenses that you can deduct from any profit will include legal fees, estate agents’ costs, stamp duty and any expenses directly relating to the development. There will also be some other ancillary expenses that you could include such as telephone calls, use of your car to visit the site etc.

If you are developing with a view to letting the property, most or all of the expenses you listed will be of a capital nature. Although you wouldn’t be able to offset these against rental income, they can be added to the cost of the property and should be deductible for capital gains tax purposes if and when you eventually dispose of it. Finally, if this is going to be a full-time business, you are also obliged to notify the Revenue of your self employed status (within three months of starting) and prepare accounts for each tax year to show your income and expenditure for the year. These accounts would then form part of your self-assessment tax return. See the HM Revenue & Customs website.

Q. I am 20 years into a 25 year repayment mortgage to which I have also been contributing to an endowment policy attached to the mortgage. Due to recent fortunate financial circumstances, I have just paid off the mortgage in full. However, I still wish to contribute towards the endowment as a savings vehicle and cash it in at the end of the term. Please can you advise whether there are any tax implications for me, as the policy is no longer attached to a property purchase.

A. The good news is that when your endowment has matured, even if you have previously paid your mortgage in full, then the proceeds from the endowment policy plus any accrued bonus is yours, completely, and there will be no liability to pay tax on this income. Enjoy!

Q. My wife and I are wanting to downsize and adopt a much greener lifestyle. We are both interested in exploring new eco homes such as those constructed from straw bales which are reputed to have excellent thermal qualities and be really cheap to build. Can you advise please.

A. Enthusiastically espoused by people on programmes such as ‘It’s not easy being green,’ and ‘Grand Designs’, straw bale homes are becoming an increasingly popular home choice for the seriously eco-conscious among us. As you rightly say, homes constructed of straw bales provide excellent thermal qualities and they are also surprising solid.

The key benefit apart from their green credentials is the price – a remarkably inexpensive £5,000 for a 40m² building. However, there is also the cost of the land to add to that as well as any planning and building regulations issues to address. Amazonails is an excellent website for people interested in straw bale homes.