August 2021
Richard Bacon’s Review of Custom and Self Build – the ‘missing market’ – has been published by government, including six recommendations for scaling up the sector in the UK.
Six Key recommendations:
Greater Role for Homes England
Raise awareness of the Right to Build
Support community-led CSBhousing, diversity of supply, levelling up
Promote greener homes & increased use of advanced manufacturing
Support CSB housebuilding through the planning reforms
Iron out any tax creases
“”When we have fully opened up the housing market and the planning process to the power of consumer choice, we will see more great places being developed which are warmly welcomed by their communities, with beautiful and more spacious houses, at keener prices – and that are better designed, better built, greener & which cost less to run, which enrich the lives of the people who live there – while driving innovation and inward investment.”Self-build and custom housebuilding can play a crucial role in increasing choice for consumers and ensuring people can live in the homes that they want, and that are designed to meet their needs.”
May 2021
Boris asks Richard Bacon MP to develop a plan for a major scaling up of self-commissioned new homes:
“Working closely with Robert Jenrick MP, the Housing Secretary, I would like you to reach out nationally and internationally to consumers and stakeholders, to develop a plan for a major scaling up of self-commissioned new homes – across all tenures – to boost capacity and overall housing supply. This should include increasing the availability of serviced plots of land across England.”
“Self-build and custom housebuilding can play a crucial role in increasing choice for consumers and ensuring people can live in the homes that they want, and that are designed to meet their needs.”
April 2021
Help to Build Scheme Announced by Government – Great News!
New plans supported by over £150 million in new government funding will make it easier and more affordable for people to build their own homes, the Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has announced today (24 April 2021).https://www.gov.uk/government/news/over-150-million-funding-to-kickstart-self-building-revolution
The ‘Help to Build’ scheme will ensure that self and custom home building can become a realistic option to get onto the housing ladder through lower deposit mortgages.
Housing Families Can Afford
40 years ago most families could afford to rent or buy a home and survive on one income but now average house prices are over 8x the average income and in some cities over 17x!
If it seems like everyone is working twice as hard to afford a smaller, poorer quality house that is because they are. Visit: https://www.mothersathomematter.com/affordable-housing
March 2021
You Have the Right To Build
I attended this excellent webinar with Richard Bacon MP. I love his ideas – truly inspiring.
Visit: NaCSBA.org.uk
An Audience with Richard Bacon MP & NaCSBA
An Idea whose time has come…
“The NHS is one of the biggest landowners…the asymmetry between the average income and the average cost of the average dwelling has become so extreme now that we need to take quite radical measures to sort it out…and the NHS at least for its own staff has the answer staring at it in the face.”
“…this is such a powerful idea with such wide implication that it’s going to be very difficult to keep it down.”
“…Serviced plots for everyone, everywhere, and by everyone I mean everyone from ex-offenders, to local authorities to social housing providers to private individuals with a plot shop in every town.”
Email: media@nacsba.org.uk
Coming Home
Another Excellent webinar I attended March 2021
At the heart of this report is the idea that simply building more houses – whilst important – is not sufficient to address the prolonged housing issues this country continues to face. We need more truly affordable homes and stronger communities that people can be proud of and where they can feel safe and welcome, put down roots and flourish.
We are also determined to address the legal and institutional barriers to using church land for social and environmental benefit.
If our recommendations are accepted, we expect to see more truly affordable homes being built on church land and a shift towards new developments that give a much higher priority to community infrastructure and environmental sustainability.
The Church Commissioners, who manage much of the Church of England’s land and other assets, have stated their commitment to signing up to the 2020 UK Stewardship Code
Diary of a Wannabe Self Builder 