We live off-grid in a hobbit-house village featured on Grand Designs – tourists flock here but make strange complaints
RESIDENTS who live off-grid in a "hobbit-house" village featured on Grand Designs have had strange complaints about their home.
Locals in the Lammas eco village in Pembrokeshire, West Wales, saw it appear on Channel 4's hit show, known for its ambitious housing projects and unique architectural work, in 2016.
Simon and Jasmine Dale built the UK's cheapest house for just £27,000.
It impressed host Kevin McCloud with its innovative design and he praised the couple as "real role models" for sustainable living.
McCloud told viewers: "This won’t be a cramped hobbit house, but a spacious, solid, three-bed, low-impact family home."
It has a little wooden door - just like one would find in the Shire, home to hobbits in Tolkien's fantasy novel - and a small round window looking out at the views.
Read More in UK News
But a horror blaze at the ecopad on New Year's Day in 2018 left Simon and Jasmine Dale and their two children homeless.
The family originally built the eco house because they wanted an outdoor lifestyle and to live off the land.
Thankfully, there are other "hobbit houses" in the eco-village but locals say that some tourists have annoyed them.
Despite most tourists described as being "eager to learn" and "respectful".
Some were said to have been "gawking" and treating a way of life as a day out.
Other commenters on social media have described the place as "dark and dingy".
While another user said that the place is "claustrophobic" and appears "jumbled and messy".
Another said: "Each to their own but it is not for me."
However, comments have been overwhelmingly positive online, describing the place as a "beautiful retreat".
One Facebook user writing on the official page said: " I'd love to live there, help build it up and just live in a nice small community where everyone does their bit. Love this!"
Jasmine and Dale originally built the eco house because they wanted an outdoor lifestyle and to live off the land.
But disaster hit when a faulty electric heater sparked a fire while Jasmine was home alone.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
She added: "We're trying to hope that this will be a blessing in disguise and we have received so much love, but we know we won't be able to recreate this home."
Andy Wells, a close friend and neighbour, continued: "She managed to get out safely then had to stand there as the home they built and loved disappeared in a short time.