“We hadn’t realised that Betty had suffered some vandalism.
“The first six months of the project was spent completely restoring the bodywork and the interior was much worse that we first thought,” said Ellie. The double decker bus, a Bristol VR model, was mechanically sound, but other areas needed some serious attention. However, things didn’t immediately go to plan for Ellie. “They were excited to feature the project, spending the next 12 months filming our progress and George, the presenter, paid me a couple of visits.” The Channel Four show sees celebrity architect George Clarke investigate wonderful designs and meet the people with the imagination to transform a variety of spaces into grand creations, on small budgets. “I’d never seen or heard of the show, but they were interested to find out more and sent someone along to interview me.” Celebrity visitor “I told a university friend about my plans to do a bus transformation and she contacted Amazing Spaces,” explained Ellie.
#Double decker bus conversion tv#
However, Ellie wasn’t expecting the purchase to make her and Betty into TV stars – especially as she doesn’t actually own a television! Inspired by an Instagram post that suggested buying an old bus, removing the seats and converting it into a mobile home, Ellie ditched the hustle and bustle of the capital and bought herself a 1970s double decker called Betty. The plan for the project was so bold and imaginative that Channel Four quickly jumped ‘on-board’ to feature the renovation on its popular show Amazing Spaces – airing on Thursday, February 1 st.Įllie Banner-Ball dreamed of escaping the rat race and living a life of freedom on the road – and that’s exactly what she set out to achieve when she changed her job – moving from the ‘big smoke’ to Devon and becoming a mindfulness teacher in October 2016.
#Double decker bus conversion windows#
Having the right windows can transform a house into a home – but for one busy career woman, it was the addition of Liniar windows that put the finishing touches to her ambitious bus transformation project, converting a double decker bus into a luxury mobile residence.
For more information on the HOPE project, check out their website.Exciting double decker bus transformation! To take the bus from Cefn Fforest to Newport is £60 in fuel,” Ian added. HOPE launched a crowdfunding campaign online, which has collected £1,923 in donations so far (at time of publication), their goal is to raise £8,000. The group plans to use the bus for a few nights a week at first, but in the future may look into doing it every day. The classic red London double-decker mobile shelter is now complete and will officially launch soon. The bus has 12 bunk beds, toilets, showers, a kitchen, and a small lounge area. “It has been hard work but worth it,” Ian said. The team set to work converting it, which took around 12 months to complete and cost overall nearly £20,000. HOPE is not a registered charity therefore, most of the funds were raised through donations and raffles.Įventually, Ian raised enough to buy a working, second-hand, double-decker bus for about £5,000. Ian began fundraising for the project in October 2018. Ian Smith and his wife Tammy are the couple who lead HOPE. He noticed the increasing number of homeless people sleeping on the streets and wanted to help them. “It is getting more and more common, and we are seeing a lot more people on the streets,” said Ian Smith. This converted bus inspired HOPE to start fundraising to buy a bus. However, about a year ago, they saw a project in Bristol, where a bus was converted by Jasper Thompson and his Bristol Home for the Night campaign. The bus contains 12 bunk beds, two toilets, two showers, a kitchen, and even a small lounge area.įor the past four years, the Helping Open People’s Eyes (HOPE) group has helped the homeless in Gwent. In Wales, a group of volunteers has converted a double-decker bus into a night shelter for the homeless.
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