Minister challenges local councils to find suitable self-build plots

Councils were challenged to step-up to help boost house building by finding land for local people to build their ‘Grand Design’ by Nick Boles

The minister said he was determined to help families who aspire to self-build and create their dream home. Speaking at Grand Designs Live during National Self-build week, the minister praised councils such as Bristol Council, who have already taken significant steps to identify suitable pieces of land for self builders in the city.

The government is already making it easier for people to build their own home by exempting self-builders from paying thousands of pounds on a levy charge that must be paid for all new buildings over a certain size.

The UK has the lowest level of self build homes in Europe, where more than 80% of homes are self build in Austria and more than 50% are in Scandinavia, Germany and Belgium.

Planning Minister Nick Boles said:

We urgently need to build more homes and now is the time for councils to act and earmark areas that encourage people to buy a plot of land and get a builder to build them a home.

We are determined to help family’s fulfil their dream of building their own home and are keen to work with the industry to showcase those councils leading the way in making specific sites available for self build, so aspiring homeowners can turn their plans into a reality.

Housing Minister Mark Prisk said:

I would urge councils to support aspiring self-builders in their area by considering their needs as they develop their local plans.

We’re determined to ensure anyone who wants to build their own home to have the opportunity to do so, which is why we’ve made £44 million available to help get their self-build projects off the ground, and why our proposed changes to the Community Infrastructure Levy will exempt self-builders, potentially saving them thousands of pounds.

About the author

Carl Nelson

Carl has over 15 yrs of experience in construction works including, Design & Planning, Project Management using GC/Wks & JCT Forms of Contracts. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building (FCIOB) and member of the Chartered Institution of Occupational Safety & Health (MIOSH). Carl takes a keen interest in Adjudication and is a member of the Forum for International Conciliation& Arbitration (FICA) and a named member for Dispute Resolvers.