The super-rich are now building subterranean homes — and they look fit for the apocalypse

A little-known planning exemption is helping the super-rich to build subterranean homes in the middle of the countryside – and many of them look suitably apt for the apocalypse.

The National Planning Policy Framework (paragraph 84, to be exact) is an exemption clause that allows new homes to be built in rural areas, provided the design is of ‘exceptional quality.’

Historically, it’s mainly been used to build classic country estates – but it’s increasingly being used by the super-affluent to construct ultra-modern, chic homes worth millions of pounds.

It’s not a simple process, either. It typically costs at least £100,000, and the property has to ‘significantly enhance its immediate setting and be sensitive to the defining characteristics of the local area.’

One of the most famous homes built under the exemption was the subterranean Bigbury Hollow in rural Kent, close to the Bigbury Camp Iron Age hillfort.

Also known as the ‘underground house,’ the hollow is sunken into the ground, and pretty much submerged below the green fields that surround it.

Outside, there are two terraced courtyards with a hot tub right in the centre – just in case you fancy a bit of TLC while the zombie apocalypse is taking place. Why not, right?

Split into a northern and southern wing, the house is filled with natural light inside.

The north hosts the sleeping quarters, while the south is used both for living and working, with a barrel-vaulted lounge and huge floor-to-ceiling windows.

It reportedly cost in the region of £1,500,000 to build, and the journey towards its completion was documented in Grand Designs in 2022.

Kevin McCloud even described the property as ‘like a concrete submarine which has breached the surface of a wildflower meadow and come up for air’ – which is high praise indeed.

Elsewhere, many ‘Para 84 homes’ are springing up in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty – which usually have heavy restrictions imposed by planning departments.

Nestled in the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Headlands is one such property and is characterised by its leaf-shaped zinc roof and state-of-the-art interiors.

There’s also the Lake House, which takes up 40 acres of the High Weald National Landscape in East Sussex. It neighbours a former fishing lake, as well as the derelict ‘Cuckoo’ train line.

On a slightly less bougie scale, many ex-nuclear bunkers well-suited to the apocalypse have hit the market of late.

In 2024, an ex-bunker in Cumbria hit the market for a guide price of £15,000 to £20,000.

Also known as a Royal Observer post, the bunker was one of many built in the 1950s across post-war Britain, designed to provide ‘protective accommodation for three observers to survive a nuclear attack.’

It wasn’t just constructed for safety reasons, though: the tenants were expected to provide updates in the event of a nuclear attack and were provided with enough food and water to last them two weeks.

A similar bunker in Derbyshire went under the hammer for £36,000. Complete with wacky, Renaissance-style interiors, the previous owners certainly got creative with the décor – which included wall-to-wall velvet curtains, fluffy rugs, and ornate gilded mirrors.

There was even a log burner next to the bed, on hand to provide heat in case of World War 3.

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