A true South Devon success story

It has been a while since my last blog and lots has happened. We are now under offer on all the houses we planned to sell. We are retaining the two one bedroom apartments and the 3 bedroom houses for at least 3 years. Land scaping on phase two is now complete and the WM hand over is on the 11th July. Kris and his team have truly excelled themselves and should be very, very proud of this amazing venue they have built. Sales have far exceeded our expectations with a waiting list! Chris Watkins at Charles Head has set a new bench mark on how to sell properties whilst looking after the the purchasers as well as us. We have created an amazing Ocean Reach community. We are pleased to see so many of our Port Light customers now returning for another episode of quality memorable holidays on Bolberry Down. The website is currently being re built to form our rentals business and Hazel will be at the end of her phone or laptop to take bookings. The new web address www.oceanreachholidayrentals.co.uk will take over our current one. Ocean Resatuarnt has been a great success and the team are constantly enhancing the experience. My job, should all the owners appoint me, will be maintaining the gardens, cleaning the external Windows, looking after the owners interests, drink coffee and wine in Oceans and the home owners if they invite me and welcoming holiday guests to our unique world class venue! Our disabled friendly 3 bedroom house is probably the only one of its kind in the South Hams having being purpose built. We are planning a topping out party in September as it is very important to Hazel and myself to recognise all those who have made this happen. We have proven that despite the problems many entrepreneurs have with the financial institutions it is possible to achieve amazing things using local skilled craftspeople.

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Phases two express!

Massive progress on phase two and back on track following the worst weather for 10 years. Kris’s skill in organising his dedicated team has really paid off yet again. The scaffold is coming down as the roof is finished and cladding very nearly finished. Most of the first fix is complete and the floor screed goes down this Thursday. Kris has kept his promise to minimise any noise or disruption and so any noisey exterior work is now complete. The panorama from this phase is also truly amazing and make me want to move back as the views from Ocean Reach properties are probably the best on the SW coastline. Sales are going well with only a few homes now left for sale. Our website is now moving over to our rentals business as we now have 1 bedroom apartments and 2/3 bedroom houses available to holiday rent. Hazel is in charge of this side of the business and her details and booking information are all now on the website. Oceans Restaurant and Bar are off to a flying start and have the addition of Jannie in the kitchen who works along side Lizzie. Unfortunately Jannies baking skills are ruining my waste line! They are slowly extending their opening hours at last!
The whole project has far exceeded our expectations and has given the site a new lease of life by bringing a high quality tourism experience back onto Bolberry Down.

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January fantastic progress

2018 is now here and phase two is flying along. The blockers are back on site working their way up to the first floor. Drainage is all in and services brought across to the houses. We are well on track for our rental target of the late May for our one bedroom apartments and three bedroom disabled friendly house. Hazel will shortly be loading the information onto the Ocean Reach website. The 3 bedroom full residential house is featured on the website but we are not really pushing it as its value is becoming more apparent as it takes shape.

Viewings of our last few two bedroom houses  has been strong over the festive period with two more since New Year and one today! We have celebrity interest in one of the houses as they have fallen in love with the amazing location and love the idea of Oceans Restaurant on their step!

We now have Ocean Reach Three for rental and it is occupied for a large part of this month already, with the first arrivals loving it so much they have booked Christmas!

Oceans is now closed until the 8th February however the team are not sat with their feet up, but organising menus, sound acoustic deadening, blinds and a new Oak bar top!

Our Vision has truly become a reality and with the craftsmanship (and craftswomenship) of WM Construction SW Ltd we are set to be credited as a world class destination and inspiration to others. Our owners so far have also enhanced this project with more great people to follow!

 

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Here we go again with WM Construction (SW) Ltd

There was no other choice for phase two. WM have excelled in their quality and promises so they are back on site to build phase two which completes the Ocean Reach Vision. In the meantime we have four houses now occupied with extremely happy owners. Oceans restaurant  has become an amazing success with bookings for lunchtime almost essential. Hannah, Nick, Rod, Lizzie and their crew have made us very proud and have carried on with the Vision we had.

Hazel now has the rentals set up on the Ocean Reach website with us having Ocean Reach Two available which is a three bedroom house and Ocean Reach Three which is a two bedroom pet friendly house with enclosed patio. Phase two  3 bedroom disabled friendly house and the limited mobility apartments will also be advertised very soon. We only have a few two bedroom houses left for sale and the 3 bedroom residential house in phase two which although mentioned on the website, will not go live on the market until purchasers can truly see how amazing this property will be. The views are simply stunning towards Burgh Island. These houses will be available from early June. All the properties come with a 10 year warranty  and can be fully managed hoilday rentals with substantial returns. WM will again be reporting the build on their Facebook page. The phase two build will not effect the enjoyment of the visitors to Ocean Reach due to our builders considerate build agreement.

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Phase Two

Finally we have planning permission for phase two. We will be keeping   Units 9 & 10 but are selling house Eight. This will be an amazing 3 bedrooms, two bathroom full residential Home with an adjacent large garage. The views from this house are simply stunning with a panoramic   Vista of Bigbury bay. We plan to start this phase very soon so WM Construction SW Ltd are off the site for the spring and then we can Tarmac the driveway and put in the wheelchair/friendly pathway out onto the Downs.

Our friends and recent purchasers of Ocean Reach Six are soon to move in making it four lovely lots of owners who have already formed a community, which is what we hoped for. Letting has already begun with the 3 bedroom Ocean Reach Two now online to rent and we will also shortly have a two bedroom house for rental. Hazel and myself are managing the rentals to ensure peace of mind for owners and renters.

Oceans restaurant has been an incredible success which is all down to the hard work of Hannah, Lizzie, Rob, Nick and their crew. They are slowly introducing new dishes to the menu which Hazel and myself are being forced to sample!! Very shortly they will be announcing their Festive opening hours and plan to go full time when a second chef joins them in February. It has  quickly become a destination restaurant  with the old regulars and new visitors to Bolberry Down.

 

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Ocean Reach major phase completed

Oceans restaurant had their preview evening on Thursday. Rod, Nick and Hannah invited 90 people and a few extra, but due to the hype and excitement of this amazing venue opening they had 120 attend! The evening was a great success. Friday night was their night to ‘test the kitchen’ Hazel and myself were invited and we are thrilled with what we experienced. Nick prepared a three course meal with a choice of 4 dishes in each course. 40 people attended  and all the orders went into the kitchen at once. A new kitchen and new menu but I never doubted their capabilities. We were not disappointed. The food and service was outstanding and this completes our Vision of Ocean Reach. The restaurant opens on this coming Thursday and we plan to have grand opening of Ocean Reach in the near future. WM Constriction SW Ltd have really excelled themselves and have created what will be an award winning venue. We only have 3 houses left to sell in the first phase and will only be selling the 3 bedroom full residential house in the second phase which is due to commence next month. We are a bit short of houses purchased for rental but are confident that the remaining houses will be purchased soon with a view to receive an amazing rental revenue. We will shortly be putting a link from the Ocean Reach website to Oceans Restaurant as they will be publishing offers and news updates.

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Ocean Reaxh 6 under offer

Yet again we hav another lovely couple Terry and Joyce who are purchasing number Six. We are thrilled they are joining the Ocean Reach family as I have known them for years and so has our incredible builder Kris. They had followed the build on the WM Construction website but did not realise how amazing the houses were until they popped in to say hello, and with the expert team of Rod & Nick having the lease to Oceans, this was the icing on the cake. Very shrewd people making a very sound investment. Only three now left and one of these has strong interest. Great evenings of wine, laughter and conversation ahead. Our Vision is now becoming our dream also!

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Almost complete and what an acheivement!

Our vision is nearly there thanks to Kris Manon of WM Construction and his amazing team. Landscaping has been completed by myself, Josh and Alan Luscombe our skilled digger driver.The restaurant opens on the 22nd September with Rod, Nick and Hannah ready to wow you. There is a lovely outside glazed eating area with a modern interior and a log burner reader for the Autumn.Having the Sloop team operate Oceans was the perfect choice and I cannot wait to be on the right side of the bar for a change!ol
Our lovely purchasers who are now enjoying the amazing Ocean Reach life style are moved in and enjoying the sunsets and excellent weather. Sales are well ahead of schedule with more imminent. We have an open day on the 3rd September between 10am and 4pm. Kris has made this project truly stress free and has brought it in on budget and 5 months ahead of time. Planning is now in for turning our proposed house into 3 more homes, one of which will be disabled friendly as this site is the perfect location for wheel chairs. More on this soon.

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A long overdue update!

To those watchers, I have not updated as I left my iPad on the airoplane and it has all my log in details. The site is now almost complete.Ocean Reach one has its new residents who love it almost as much as we do. Rod and Nick from the Sloop have the restaurant refit under control with the furniture arriving any day. It should be open mid September. They are professional Caterers who can only complement our Ocean Reach Vision. Josh and I have nearly completed the landscaping which looks stunning if I say so myself! We have been handed over houses 1-5 with 6&7 following shortly. The project has evolved far better than anticipated and Kris and his WM Construction team have truly excelled themselves in bringing the project 4 months ahead of schedule and on budget with no stress for us. We are about to relaunch the Sale of the last few houses as now we have real photographs and can prove the success of the concept. Kris will do some drone shots next week so you can see the site at it’s near completion.

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Our promises and Vision full filled

Since my last blog WM Construction have moved mountains to get the main part of the project completed by September. Number One has now exchanged contracts with a 21st July completion date and number Two and Seven are not far behind. Houses 1-5 will be handed over to us on the 21st as the landscaping will be finished and the grass has already started to grow.All the scaffold is now down and the services completed with us just waiting for the electricity meters to be fitted.
We are delighted to announce that Rod and Nick from the highly successful Sloop Inn at Bantham will be taking over the Oceans Restaurant lease. My Dad was told about this possibility just before he passed away and was over the moon as Rod was introduced into Catering by him. Rod & Nick are true caterers that are perfect for this amazing venue. They will still operate the Sloop but reproduce their superb business model at Oceans with a few tweeks. A number of others wanted the Restaurant but we had a Vision of what we wanted to see and Rod & Nick were the only ones we felt could deliver a World class quality, affordable friendly venue. This news can only enhance the unique experience of those staying at Ocean Reach. I have promised not to interfere with their ideas as it will be their show, but can relax knowing it is in expert hands.They also plan to operate a takeaway service for the residents of Ocean Reach so guests staying can enjoy a quality meal whilst enjoying their panoramic view of Bigbury bay.All they have to do is return their plates in the morning. What more could anyone want! National Trust are kindly installing a new pedestrian access gate at the end of the drive so walkers and guests have direct access to beautiful Bolberry Down.

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