First Concrete Pour

Historic day today - our first concrete pour. It's only for holding up the front wall so we don't lose a quarter of the building before we even start, but at least it's real actual progress.

Rant:

Who'd have thought, nearly two years after buying the place, 15 months after an (almost) unanimous decision by the council to grant us access over the co-op field, 6 months after a unanimous decision by the borough planning office to pass the planning permission, and two months after signing a lease on said field and beginning to pay (exorbitant) rent on it - who'd have thought we still wouldn't be allowed to build the access road? It beggars belief. To the gods of red tape, I say congratulations. Because of you, we've had to spend a huge amount on shoring up the front edifice. Because of you we have a builder doing his utmost to continue with roughly 40 tonnes of rubble still on site. Because of you we cannot build our footings and the steel structure that would preserve this increasingly fragile building into the future. Be proud. Puff out your chests. You have achieved great things these past two years.

Rant ends.

Some photographs of our hole:

And a video of it being filled:

..and more pictures

This massive footing has cost an arm and a leg, and would not have been necessary had it not been for the huge delay since clearing the trees. Thanks again guys.

More when I'm happier.