A dream team created this art deco style new home on the West Cliff in Whitby and the result is spectacular

Scarborough Council’s planning department agreed and after seeing the spectacular plan for Poet’s View mark II and having input into the final version, approval was recommended and eventually ratified by the planning committee.

Martin says: “The planning and design stage took two years but while the planning department was sympathetic, there was a lot of bad feeling in the town about us knocking the old house down and there was a campaign of resistance, which prolonged the planning process. I can see why because people don’t like change.”

That the change was for the better is now indisputable in many people’s eyes. Those walking past the property often give Martin and Jo a wave and a “thumbs up”, and design aficionados are full of praise for what is now, without doubt, an iconic building.

One of the reasons for its success is that the couple took care to hire a crack team. York-based architect Daniel Harvey, founder of StudioDH in York, was responsible for the design and builder Rob Davis, of Oak Construction, also came up with some great ideas, along with constructing the house.

The style is art deco, a reference to the era when the previous property on the site was built. As the old house had a turret, Daniel added one into the new design but his main aim was to bring natural light and sea views into the house, a mission he accomplished with exceptional results. One of his triumphs is the enormous “horizon window” on the first floor, from where you can see the sun set into the sea and rise from it.

Martin and Jo’s wish list included a strong building to resist everything the weather could throw at it, making the most of the sea views, a dressing room for Jo and somewhere to keep Martin’s cars indoors.

Daniel’s design was perfect and included construction from reinforced concrete blocks topped with weather-proof render, anodised aluminium windows and a steel roof, along with a living/green roof.

The house has a ground floor with a double-height hall, sweeping staircase, sitting, kitchen and dining areas, a turret room, cloakroom, pantry, utility room, guest bedroom suite and an internal garage/car showroom with windows into the home so Martin can see his cars.

The first floor has three ensuite bedrooms, a turret room, sitting area and a roof terrace. The planning and design phase of the project took two years and construction began in November 2020 and went on for 14 months, a little longer than anticipated owing to delays caused by lockdowns and the weather.

Martin and Jo went cruising around the country on their narrow boat for nine months during the build, returning to Whitby for meetings with Daniel and Rob and liaising by phone and emails when needed.

“We trusted them completely and they worked well together. I’ve been a businessman for most of my life and my view of leadership is let the experts get on with it and that’s what we did,” says Martin. “Another principle was that we wanted to spend every penny we could in the town and surrounding area and use the talent that is there and we managed that apart from buying the bricks, which are from Scarborough.”

One of their best investments was the art nouveau-style wrought-iron staircase designed and made by blacksmith James Godbold, based in the village of Egton, near Whitby. It is a work of art and was surprisingly good value. On the other hand, the aluminium capped wall surrounding the house cost more than expected.

“It was vital because it frames the house, like a picture,” says Martin whose love affair with the town began when he and Jo bought a small holiday home there, while she already had many happy memories of visiting Whitby as a child.

After deciding to relocate to the Yorkshire coast full time, Martin says it “felt like coming home” and there was a good reason for that. “I was born in Stockton-on-Tees but my mum grew up in Great Ayton and we are descended from a family of ropemakers in Whitby.”

Jo was in charge of the interiors and, after spending where it really matters on the fabric of the building, she managed to keep costs down by skilful shopping, sourcing a kitchen from MKM and making all the blinds for the property herself. A luxurious bathroom was on her wish list and so she splashed out on a gorgeous gold tub from Heritage Bathrooms.

Adding character was no problem thanks to the couple’s collection of fabulous finds, including Murano glass lamps from Venice, a quirky vintage Shell Petrol pump plus a Victorian street lamp found at the back of a pub. The latter had been stored away for 15 years in the knowledge that it would “come in” and it now has pride of place at the top of the stairs.

“We love the new house. It’s so much better than we imagined and the views are wonderful and ever-changing,” says Martin.

He and Jo have also kept something of the old in the suitably romantic name of the previous home on the site. Poet’s View is a reference to Caedmon, the first English poet who lived at Whitby’s Anglo-Saxon monastery in about AD 680.

All pictures by Tony Johnson

Useful Contacts: Architect: Daniel Harvey at www.studiodh.uk; Builder: Rob Davies at www.oakconstructionltd.com; Blacksmith: James Godbold at www.wroughtironsmith.com