13 October 2014
A south London community group is to consult with local residents about their proposal for a self build project.
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The Lewisham-based Rural Urban Synthesis Society (RUSS) has proposed a community-led housing development of 34 dwellings (pictured), offered for rent, shared ownership and outright sale to older people, on an empty council-owned site at the end of Church Grove in Ladywell. The scheme was first reported by the Self Build Portal in 2012.
The homes would range in size from one-bed flats to five-bed houses and rent/shared ownership costs would receive a 30% “sweat equity” cut as the self builders undertake a proportion of the construction work themselves. Proposals suggest a timber frame construction, with an on-site temporary factory to fabricate the structural frame, and the homes would be built to Passivhaus standards. The build would be organized into a series of phases, each requiring a dedicated team of self builders and apprentices led by a professional tradesman to train and manage the team.
The land and property would be managed by a Community Land Trust which would represent the different stakeholders with residents all becoming members.
RUSS wants to gauge the needs and desires of self builders, before establishing the requirements of the local council and consulting with the existing residents of Church Grove, and is inviting local residents to a day of talks and discussion on Saturday 18th October to find out about the plans and how they can get involved.
Several other projects take shape around the UK
A number of self build plots have been made available as part of a new housing development in Scotland. Phase Three of Orkney Islands Council’s (OIC) Watersfield housing development will provide 13 serviced plots, alongside 25 council houses and a new Children’s Home. Four of the serviced plots will be developed as slightly smaller ‘affordable’ sites with a capped value allocated to people from a waiting list. Further serviced sites are planned for Black Building in Kirkwall (ten plots) and St Margaret’s Hope (four plots) to complement a number of other building plots already for sale including two in Garson, Stromness, two in Burray, and four in Finstown.
Milton Keynes Development Partnership (MKDP) is seeking expressions of interest for three serviced self build plots, each around a fifth-of-an-acre in size and large enough for a detached dwelling, on Queensbury Lane, Monkston Park. To express an interest in the site and receive an electronic buyer’s pack, email MKDP or write to Milton Keynes Development Partnership LLP, Saxon Court, 502 Avebury Boulevard, Central Milton Keynes, MK9 3HS by Friday 24th October 2014.
Six architectural consultants have been invited to submit tenders for the early construction stages of a self build scheme in Scotland. The project at Leperstone Avenue, Kilmacolm has been passed by Inverclyde Council to regeneration outfit Riverside Inverclyde after nearly 130 people expressed an interest. Five of the six consultants contacted by Riverside Inverclyde are expected to make bids.
Work has started on two self build homes in south Cumbria, nearly two years after planning permission was finally won. Two families in Witherslack are each building a three-bedroom house as part of the local Community Land Trust (CLT). Land beneath the homes was gifted to the Witherslack CLT by the Witherslack Estate, which then transferred the freehold of the plots to the self builders.
