seen a pretty inetesting lab PHD offered by the open university, without wanting to start a brawl (hence the vague user name!) will not being accredited from a bricks and morter uni be detrimental long term?, I dont really know how prevelant the supervisor is? as I know this counts for a lot. Also I prob wont be able to do any undergraduate supervisions for extra money, how reliant on this extra income are people? my stipend is 14k (not sure if i have to pay fees out of this as well, it says fees are included in the studentship)

Find the RAE (Research Assessment Exercise) rating of the department in which you wish to work. 5 and 5* are the best, but many a great academic can be found in departments with lower scores. It is very likely that your fees will be paid and the 14K is all for you to spend on bus fares and crisps. If your studentship is from a research council then this is definitely the case.

If 14k the stipend for your first year then you've got a good deal if its not a case studentship. EPSRC is £10,500 for the first year + fees paid (~£3000)

Just look at the staff and student profiles, that should reassure you. Open is internationally recognised so you'll find that to your advantage later.
The research facilities are excellent at their Milton Keynes campus (made from bricks and mortar too!) and there are no undergrads to distract you. I was highly impressed by them.
You should be able to live nicely on that stipend but in later years you could teach at other unis to supplement your income/ gain experience.

Thank you all for your help. It is most appreciated