The Labour party has announced its plans to create more housing by proposing to build on the Grey Belt, a new term for neglected parts of the Green Belt.
Shadow leader Keir Starmer shared the party’s vision in a new housing plan, Get Britain Building Again, which sets out proposals for the reform of the planning system. With a large emphasis on creating affordable homes, Labour wants 1.5 million new homes to emerge nationally, with the Grey Belt playing a key role in providing the much needed land.
The housing plan is part of Labour’s strategy to secure the highest sustained growth in the G7, under its five point plan for growth, which includes:
Labour maintains that the Green Belt is made up of genuinely nature-rich areas but also contains areas that are poor quality, such as low-value land, car parks and wasteland. The new category of Grey Belt would represent these areas, which have the potential to feed into the need for land near urban centres for building.
While it proposes the building on some of these sites, this would be offset by improving and protecting genuine areas of nature within the Green Belt, ensuring these rich environments are retained for future generations. Such areas would have strong conditions attached to them to prevent them from being released for building.
As part of its plans, Labour has also set out Golden Rules for good development:
Industry feedback has welcomed the proposals, especially if it promotes smaller sites, but has a shared voice that the devil will, as always, be in the actual details.
Words/image: Duncan Hayes
A rare opportunity has come to market for anyone wishing to build in the village of Coalpit Heath, South Gloucestershire with a custom build site of 11 reasonably-priced plots.
The plots are on the rural edge of the new Barratt’s development at Blackberry Park, a 215 home site with public open space and community allotments, close to Bristol. The site comes with Outline Planning Permission (Ref:P19/2083/RVC) and approval of reserved matters (Ref:PT18/6313/RM & P19/18441/RM).
South Gloucestershire Council has worked hard to create supportive policy to enable self build opportunities to emerge. The plots are the result of its ‘percentage policy’, which requires developers to sell at least 5% of plots on residential and mixed-use sites to self and custom builders (applied on sites over 100 homes).
Such plots represent the opportunity for more people to access custom and self build, but one of the challenges is to alert to alert would be builders to these opportunities.
While many aspiring self builders want a detached plot in the countryside, these come at a premium that means they are not accessible by many. Evidence shows that self builders building adjacent to each other, like at Graven Hill or on Grand Designs The Streets, often have a well-developed sense of community from going through similar experiences.
The serviced plots are for a range of house sizes, from 2- to 4-bedroom, and buyers will need to submit a full planning application for their home. This must meet the parameters for the site set out in the Design Code, which has been approved by South Gloucestershire Council.
The Design Code (available on request from David James, below) allows buyers options to customise certain elements of the exterior of their home, with greater freedoms internally. This works in conjunction with a Plot Passport for each individual plot .
This will include the appearance, landscaping, layout, and scale of the property, to ensure that the individual self build homes work in the concept of the wider development.
Plot prices: three of the plots are under offer (or sold), with the 2-bed and 3/4-bed plots available, with prices varying from £120,000 to £140,000.
Image: concept house designs, Blackberry Park Design Code.
In a new article on his website, NaCSBA member and architect Oliver Murray of ProtaHomes explains what ‘weight’ is in planning and why it can be a good thing for self and custom builders going to appeal following a rejected planning permission.
Self Build Portal users will know that they have the Right to Build – and will have used our search tool to find their local authority’s register.
But did you know that more and more planning appeals are now granting greater emphasis on the local authority’s custom and self build activity? This is in the context of where it can be proven that the council is not meeting the demand on its register.
Oliver came across the appeals while in pursuit of planning for his own self build home. Like many others, he had signed up to the Right to Build – the informal name for the legislation that requires councils to host a register, and consider this in its work.
But like many others Oliver found that his local authority was falling short on ‘permissioning’ custom and self build applications for those wanting to build. NaCSBA knows that this is a fault in the legislation, which has very little carrot or stick to address poor practice.
Researching the matter further, Oliver came across an appeal where the inspector ruled in favour of the applicant, with a contributing factor being that it had not met its duty under the legislation.
Since then there have been a series of wins where applicants have had more ‘weight’, that is importance, attached to their application because it is for custom and self build, and the authority is underperforming. And in some cases this has helped tip the balance in favour of granting permission.
Anyone who has been through the planning process will know it is never straightforward or easy, but these appeals may offer a route for moving forwards should an applicant chose to challenge a negative decision.
Be aware though that going to appeal offers no guarantee of certainty and will require additional costs, so needs careful consideration. While we would love to see more self build homes being permissioned, each application must satisfy wider local plan ambitions about what is acceptable development before the issue and custom and self build comes into play.
If you are considering an application make sure you are aware of what council’s local plan says about the area where you want to build, and consider using a planning consultant with self build experience.
Want to hear more? Join Oliver Murray and Andy Moger of planning consultancy Tetlow King on stage at Grand Designs Live 1 May for How to Claim your Right to Build.
Grand Designs Live is on at Excel London 29 April – 7 May.
Glatthaar UK’s Starwalls are precast retaining walls that offer a great solution on a self build project. The precast concrete walls are clad with natural stone – eliminating the need for onsite cladding – and are positioned in-situ using concrete foundations, with the potential to reach up to three meters.
As well as offering a quick-to-erect boundary wall treatment, the factory-made walls are ideal for stabilising sloping sites, which are often a feature on self build plots as the perfect flat plot becomes harder to find.
Starwalls are the brainchild of prefabricated-basement specialist Glatthaar, who found that several of their clients wanted to use them on their site, where traditional labour-intensive landscaping elements threatened to slow the process down. Not only was this due to the time it took to do the work, but also in the struggle to find available trades to take on the job.
In addition, Glatthaar say that its Starwall product bridges the gap between the visual appeal of traditional stone-built walls with the structural strength that is normally delivered by reinforced concrete retaining walls, offering a blend of beauty and practicality.
As with everything on a build project, planning ahead is vital as the panels are manufactured in Germany and shipped to the UK, a lead time that needs factoring in. However, concrete foundations can be prepared in advance, allowing for speedy on site erection – and once cured, the walls can be backfilled to create the finished look.
Careful planning can strengthen the finished look of the home, with the materials of the build and its hard landscaping helping the new home to fit in its setting.
As well as retaining walls, the Starwall system can be used to create areas of drama and landscaping features such as screening walls for privacy.
Many people source land for their project that needs work to ensure the build is structurally safe. This may be due to uneven ground, a sloping site or other stability issues, such as back-filled land, and the landscaping costs associated with such work must be realistically factored in as part of the overall budget. Make sure you check with your architect and surveyor what is need upfront, so that no nasty surprises catch you out part way through.
On such sites, failure to create retaining walls as part of the self build risks movement during or after project completion, which can cause significant damage and may invalidate your warranty if the up-front works turn out to have been skimped on.
Equally, builds that factor in a basement also need careful planning in the management of any excavations, especially where lowered courtyards offer a source of light. This is where using a reputable company, like Glatthaar UK, can pay dividends, as they bring a wealth of experience to your project in relation to ensure that all works are robust and fit for purpose, as well as what works from a design perspective. Glatthaar also offers a range of pre-cast modular basements, ideal for work spaces or plant rooms, and can advise on costs and suitability on your project.
South Gloucestershire Council has announced the availability of six self build plots within the Charfield Gardens development, close to the market town of Wotton-under-Edge (Planning reference PT16/6924/O). The six self build plots have been launched as part of a ‘percentage policy’ scheme that requires developers to sell at least 5% of plots on residential and mixed-use sites to self and custom builders (applied on sites over 100 homes).
The size of each plot at Charfield Gardens ranges from 220m² to 254m² and are priced from £125,000. The plots are on the larger Barratt Homes development in Charfield Village, which includes permission for 121 residences and a retail unit, as well as public open space, play areas, allotments, and an orchard.
The six self build plots come with utilities, including foul and surface water drainage, water, gas, electric and telecom. Purchasers must submit a full planning application, outlining the appearance of the build, as well as outline proposals for landscaping, scale and layout.
Planning applications must be aligned with the wider design of the site, as well as the individual Plot Passport, which is a simple and succinct summary of the design parameters for a given plot.
This welcome move makes sets the council apart as a great example of a local authority working to support those people on its self build register.
Image by Mastersenaiper from Pixabay
If you work in the custom and self build sector don’t miss NaCSBA’s first conference, on 1 November at the National Self Build and Renovation Centre in Swindon.
Themed around the idea of remaining resilient in the current market, the Custom and Self Build Conference marks Right to Build Day 2022, the date when the registers close on the 30 October for another complete base period of the local authority registers.
While numbers on the registers are growing, research shows that many people remain unaware that they can sign up to the registers, six years on from them commencing.
For these working in the industry, the conference is an essential opportunity to find out more about a range of factors impacting development, including many environmental changes.
Free for NaCSBA members, the conference brings together leading stakeholders from across the sector, such as custom build enablers and planners. Self Build Portal users can get 50% off, using the code PARTNERS (see below for instructions).
Running order to be confirmed, but sessions include:
PLUS
*Speakers and subjects may change. Conference runs from 9:30-4:30
FREE – NaCSBA members (up to two tickets for Regular members and six tickets for Gold Partners).
£195+VAT for conference only
£295+VAT combined conference ticket and NaCSBA’s Custom and Self Build Market Report (PDF and hard copy while stocks last).
Anyone joining NaCSBA as a member during or in the week following the event will have the cost of their ticket repaid.
To access the 50% discount, use code PARTNERS to generate a halfprice ticket – simply click the link and then the TICKETS button on Eventbrite – then click ADD PROMO CODE (in blue) and APPLY to generate the discount.
If you are a NACSBA member contact Duncan on media@nacsba.org.uk for your code to get a free ticket.
Anyone coming to self build for the first time will know that finding a plot can be the biggest hurdle in getting a project off the ground.
There have been many initiatives to support the process of finding land for developing on. First off, NaCSBA would advise anyone to sign up to their local self build register, which every council in England must host (but not in other countries of the UK).
You can find your register on our Right to Build Portal page, where you’ll also find some FAQs about what this will and won’t do for you. In addition, there is a template complaint letter if you need it, if your authority applies tests or charges which you feel are unfair.
You’ll find lots of other advice to get you started on our ‘How to Build’ support pages, including advice about finding land and plots.
But NaCSBA member ProAktive insurance has produced a handy infographic on different types of plots, which you may also find of use in understanding the issue of types of land.
We love their clear approach, but would point out that unlike greenfield (or fields) or brownfield, Greenbelt does in fact refer to an allocation of land by type and is specific planning term. This land has been specifically designated as a buffer to prevent cities and towns sprawling into the countryside. However, it is not all green and lovely, as it can include previously developed land too.
It’s highly emotive, but also raises many issues as most Greenbelt was established many years ago. However, local plans do often review Greenbelt, so the situation can change.
Have a look at Urbanist Architecture’s handy map of Greenbelt land to get an idea of what is around you. We can’t vouch it’s 100% accurate, but it is a useful starting point.
A NaCSBA member update
Richard Bacon, MP for South Norfolk, has published his Review of Custom and Self Build, which identifies a ‘missing market’ of owner commissioned homes, that could deliver between 30,000 to 40,000 self build homes a year.
The report was commissioned by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in April, as part of the Custom and Self Build Action Plan to look at the ways in which custom and self build could help provide the extra homes that government needs to help it reach its target or building 300,000 homes a year.
Richard Bacon was tasked with looking at the entire sector, including examples of how owner commissioned homes are built abroad in countries where the model is common.
One such example is Germany, where 55% of new homes are commissioned by their owners, with large show parks dotted across the country where you can go and experience houses built and designed by a range of companies (have a look at Musterhaus for a German example).
The result is a comprehensive overview of the sector, together with the barriers to growth. The report is respectable 114 pages and includes new economic analysis by Chamberlain Walker that identifies the sector as a ‘missing market’ in the UK.
This is due to a combination of reasons, such as planning and the dominance of the mainstream housebuilders, but is largely attributed to the lack of land available to build self or custom build homes on.
To remedy the findings, Bacon puts forwards six strong recommendations for creating a new system that would support activity.
Housing Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said: “As we build back better, we want to help more people build their own home, making it an option for thousands who’ve not considered it or ruled it out before. This will help get more people on to the housing ladder, ensure homes suit people’s needs whilst providing an important boost to small builders and businesses too.
“I warmly welcome Richard Bacon’s report which matches our ambitions for the custom and self-build sector. We will consider it fully and respond to the recommendations in due course.
“The launch of the Help to Build equity loan scheme will be a game-changer to the self and custom build market and will allow individuals to borrow with lower deposit mortgages which will go towards the design and build of their new home.”
Mr Bacon said: “At no other time in our history would new housing be thought of as a form of pollution, creating a monoculture to be resisted from villages to towns. The central problem is that most customers have almost no clout when it comes to buying a home.
“There is a “missing market”. Instead of customers who are able to choose for themselves what they actually want, which of course will vary hugely – just as people vary hugely in their tastes, preferences and lifestyle choices – in practice most customers have very little say. Indeed, for the very item on which customers spend the largest proportion of their incomes – their homes – they hold the least consumer power.”
“Those who have managed to step outside this prevailing framework and commission or build their own dwelling see a result that is to their own taste – greener, better built and more welcomed by local communities. And while thousands of people have succeeded in doing this – often with the help of NaCSBA members – it is still difficult to do, whereas it needs to become normal. Indeed, it should be no more difficult than ordering a new car.”
“There is a solution. It involves creating the conditions in which customers are treated as if they matter the most, rather than – for the most part – scarcely mattering at all. And this is what happens when people themselves commission the houses they would like to see. Homes England, whose remit includes making markets, has a key role to play in kickstarting this market including providing land and investment and helping to streamline planning – and my core recommendation is that a Custom & Self-Build Delivery Unit should be established with a mandate to deliver the required changes, staffed by skilled professionals with deep experience of delivering custom and self-build projects for customers across all tenures.”
Andrew Baddeley-Chappell, NaCSBA CEO said: “There is clearly something wrong with any market where customer choice is so notably absent, in particularly where such choice so demonstrably leads to better and greener homes. At the heart of the challenge is a planning system that appears hard wired to produce a product that most of us do not want, and which fails to reflect the diversity of our communities.
“Yet there is a proven viable solution. One that works everywhere else in the world, the question is not whether change is needed but how that change happens. To make that change we must ensure that sufficient land comes forward on which people can chose the home they want to live in. We must also open the eyes of the public to the possibilities that are out there. Both these aspects require the leadership of Government to address the failures in our current market.
“The recommendations in this report, which include the review of the Right to Build and the rapid launch of Help to Build have the capacity to positively transform our country’s relationship with the new homes market.
The Self and Custom Build Action Plan includes:
Government has announced a series of measures to boost the output of the custom and self build sector, including a Help to Build equity loan scheme.
The Self and Custom Build Action Plan includes:
Together, the Action Plan represents the biggest push to allow more people to create a home of their own that suits their needs, budget and tastes. NaCSBA believes that the plan will help custom and self build scale up so that it is seen as more of a mainstream choice for people’s housing needs.
Andrew Baddeley-Chappel, CEO of NaCSBA said, “The action plan that has been announced today represents the single most important announcement for the custom and self build sector since the establishment of NaCSBA over 10 years ago.
“England has for too long been out of line with the rest of the world with regards the lack of consumer choice in our new homes market. The consequences of this have become all too clear as has the need for change. This action plan should help ensure an environment exists in England that delivers more and better homes.
“Our focus now is ensuring that, as in every other country, the wider public see this as a natural approach to ensuring their new home meets their aspirations and needs. We also need to do more to build the business capacity and structures that underpin the choice that exists elsewhere. Finally we need councils to do their bit to ensure the plots that are needed are permissioned so that these homes can be built.”
For more detail about the individual elements of the Custom and Self Build Action Plan visit NaCSBA’s member’s website.
Image credit: A Potton home being erected
Anyone considering a community led homes project will be interested to know that the clock is ticking for proposals to be submitted for a 0.10acre site in Waltham Forest, London, with submissions due 11.1.21.
The land is available to deliver affordable housing in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, and the council is keen to hear from community led housing groups in the area who are looking for a site.
The land in question is a former garage site in a residential area of terraced housing, which is currently partly being used for parking. There is a range of site investigations already undertaken, that bidders will want to see.
You can also contact the council’s community led housing team.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has created a new website for selling small publicly-owned sites as a pilot for providing plots for the capital’s small- and medium-enterprise builders.
Find out more about community living with Community Led Homes and Community Led Housing London.
For small developers and groups, the Greater London Authority hosts a Small Sites webpage, with links to small, publicly-owned parcels of land that are suitable for delivering housing. The sites are available for developers, housing associations and communities.
An initiative of Mayor Sadiq Khan, the site was originally piloted in 2018 to market 10 small sites for London’s small- and medium-enterprise (SME) house builders. Since then, the site has grown offering SMEs and groups a route to publicly-owned land, making it a valuable resource.
There are currently 40 sites available through the Small Sites, Small Builders programme, details of which are available on the website or via the newsletter. Sites to look out for are Tower Hamlets which is release a series of small sites to self builders as part of its Affordable Self Build Programme.
As well as sites owned by local authorities, some land is owned by Transport for London. The site also includes resources for small builders, including links to development finance.
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