Ben Law is not the average man. He is not a loner in a wood whose only available income was the wood itself. He is heavily into permaculture and has written a book on it and one on this house - he went to Albania for Oxfam teaching the locals. Go Amazon and search on Ben Law. Also do a Google search and more comes up. He had access to knowledgeable people on planning, design, craft skills, etc.
That is not disparaging to Ben, and he is a light and gives hope to all. Alas the draconian planning system stands in the way of advancement for all. - and his house was advanced being fully off the grid with all mod-cons.