Yes, sorry we bring you news of yet another revolution! This time we are referring to the growing army of aspiring self-builders in the UK. At the beginning of the year, Housing Minister Grant Shapps called on this influential body of home developers to make a housebuilding revolution their New Year's resolution. Self-builders are already Britain's largest housebuilder, and account for one-fifth of Britain's new homes each year, but for far too long the aspirations of ordinary people to build their own home have been thwarted by barriers and infamous red tape.
These obstacles have resulted in the UK having one of the lowest proportions of new homes built by self-builders in Europe - so the Minister has pledged to make self-building more accessible. Barriers that stand in people's way will be torn down - including the current complex and bureaucratic planning system, regulatory burdens, and lack of access to land and finance.
A new Community Right to Build will offer communities the chance to give the green light to new developments without the need for specific planning applications.
This could be local people working alone to build their own homes, or entire communities coming together to build the homes the area needs.
This could be local people working alone to build their own homes, or entire communities coming together to build the homes the area needs.
At the moment, self-builders complete as many as 10,000 building projects each year - so making it easier for more people to build their own home will provide a welcome boost to the ailing housing market.
Mr Shapps has asked the National Self Build Association (NASBA) to work with his officials to develop an action plan to boost the number of self-builders across the country - and address the common barriers aspiring self-builders face, which include:
availability of land - including making public sector land available for house building
availability of finance - working with lenders to ensure self-building communities can get the finance they need
availability of expert support - how self-builders can support communities looking to build the homes they need, and how those new to self-building can be supported
Building your own house (and of course creating your ideal outdoor living accommodation) has to be the most rewarding – and often financially savvy – means of achieving your dream home. So is it time you joined the revolution?
No comments:
Post a Comment