Unique 'Marmite' Home in West Sussex Listed for £5 Million

A striking five-bedroom property in West Sussex, described by its owner as a "marmite" house, has been listed for sale at £5 million. Clinton Dall, a father-of-four and former Grand Designs homeowner, is selling the property, named Shards, located in Haywards Heath.

Dall, the managing director of Dall Cleaning Services, told This is Money that the house "is marmite. You either get it or you don't." He and his girlfriend have resided in Shards since its completion in October 2022.

The construction of Shards began in 2019 on a former quarry site, and Mr. Dall secured special paragraph 80 planning permission for the build. This type of permission requires a rural home to be exceptional in all aspects to be approved.

"Shards was built during Covid, so it was a challenging," Mr. Dall stated, adding that he personally redesigned the interior, selecting black brick, black wood, and glass for its aesthetic. He characterized the home as "a very dynamic house to look at and live in. It's like a James Bond-style house. The dark kitchen is timeless and won't date."

The property features angular, overlapping panels on the exterior, resembling shards of glass and stone, a design inspired by the site's history as a quarry. The home has received several accolades, including the Eco Award and Small Scale Residential Award at the Sussex Heritage Trust awards, and a Building Craft Award.

Shards spans 5,080 square feet and includes five bedrooms and six bathrooms. The interior features a large reception hall leading to a dual-aspect open-plan living area with Lutron mood lighting. The Italian Modulnova kitchen is finished in black with handleless cabinetry and includes high-end appliances from Bora, Gaggenau, Miele, and Bosch. A walk-in wine store with a Swisscave wine fridge is also part of the amenities.

The property sits on approximately two acres of grounds and includes a swimming pool. According to the listing agent, Savills, the house boasts "high levels of insulation, significant thermal mass, an air source heat pump, and brown roof systems designed to encourage biodiversity and manage water attenuation."

Mr. Dall mentioned that Shards was intended as a downsizer but did not fulfill that purpose either financially or in terms of size. He is currently in the process of purchasing land to build a smaller, single-storey three-bedroom bungalow, for which he has already completed the designs. He expressed that he dislikes nothing about Shards and will miss it.

This listing comes at a time when mortgage rates have seen an increase due to inflation, influenced by global conflicts, reversing earlier expectations of potential rate cuts by the Bank of England. This trend is leading to higher costs for those looking to remortgage or purchase a home.