16 September 2013
A raft of new measures to help self builders were announced today by the Coalition Government. In particular the Government has unveiled plans to support people on modest incomes who want to build low cost homes.
The Government has also confirmed that all self and custom build projects will be exempt from the Community Infrastructure Levy and from paying inappropriate section 106 tariffs.
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Speaking at a fringe meeting as part of the Liberal Democrats conference in Glasgow, Communities Minister and Bath MP Don Foster (pictured, above left) said local people planning to build affordable homes will, for the first time, be eligible for a share of the £65m Affordable Homes Guarantee Programme. The Government will also be releasing more small parcels of publically owned land for self builders, and it will encourage councils to draw up a register of local people seeking building plots for their own homes.
Foster said the measures would help end the misconception that self build is the pastime of a privileged elite, rather than a mainstream option. He explained Ministers were determined anyone with aspirations to build their own home has opportunity to do so: “For many people the concept of building your own home means one thing: a fantasy mansion built by people with deep pockets and endless spare time. We are determined to end this misconception so anyone with aspirations to build their own home has the opportunity to do so, including people on low incomes”.
Welcoming the new measures the self build industry’s champion, Kevin McCloud, said: “Its great that many of these additional measures are focused on helping people on modest incomes deliver affordable self build homes. I particularly like the fact that community self build groups will be able to get funding, and that more small plots of publically owned land will be made available to self builders. The news that self builders will be exempted from the Community Infrastructure Levy and other similar charges will also be well received. Collectively the measures should result in thousands of additional self build homes being built over the coming years.”
At the LibDem conference Foster announced these four initiatives:
- Providing new grant funding for community self builders. For the first time community self build and community-led affordable housing projects will be able to apply for a share of £65 million from the Affordable Homes Guarantees Programme to build the affordable homes they want in their area.
- Working with councils to increase land for self build plots. New planning practice guidance will be introduced to ensure councils establish the demand for self build in their area, as well as take steps to help aspiring self builders. This will include compiling a local register of people who want to build their own homes so they can be given first priority when new brownfield sites become available.
- Removing unfair taxes from self builders. New council tax discounts will be introduced for self-build family annexes, removing an unfair council tax penalty surcharge. Meanwhile, genuine self-builders will be exempted from paying inappropriate Section 106 tariffs and the Community Infrastructure Levy, which will cut the cost of self build by thousands of pounds.
- Freeing up more redundant public sector land for self builders. A review of the Homes and Communities Agency’s large number of smaller plots will identify those which are not viable for large-scale house building, but are perfect for small housing projects like self build. More property asset data will be published online and the Community Right to Reclaim Land enhanced so self builders can request redundant public sector land is released and sold for self build projects.
Foster said the measures should help the self build industry double in size over the next 10 years. “These measures will open the door for hundreds of potential building projects across the country, and consolidate the progress we’ve already made to establish self build as a mainstream option.”
He reminded the delegates to the conference that the Government had already done a lot to support the sector. This included the Home and Communities Agency allocating more than 130 plots for self build development, including a larger site of up to 60 homes at Trevenson Park in Pool, Cornwall. In addition more than 50 councils are now bringing forward sites and offering assistance to self-builders and many developers are exploring the selfbuild business mode. Collectively this should bring forward more than 3,000 individual plots across various projects in England, he said.
Self builders across the country have been reacting positively to the news. Barbara Warsap lives near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire – she and her husband considered selling their building plot after discovering they would face a £20,000-25,000 CIL charge. “I am really pleased by this announcement”, Mrs Warsap said, “This huge levy charge would have prevented us from building the house of our dreams. A self build project is an incredibly difficult and stressful process and the CIL charge compounded this and has stopped many self builders from attempting to build their own home and attain their dream. Now that dream could become a reality once again.”
