Custom Build Homes (CBH) is acting as the enabler delivering Swale’s first custom build development, a community of nine custom build houses to be built at Callum Park, Lower Halstow.
Formerly an equine centre, the site is being enabled in partnership with a local development company Masters Knowles Developments. Callum Park overlooks the River Medway in a rural setting, with excellent links to London, meaning it offers the best of both worlds for would be buyers.
Included as part of the nine homes are two smaller properties which are ring-fenced for locally based homebuyers.
Purchasers have the opportunity to choose their preferred serviced plot and associated house design. The planning permission gives prospective homeowners the ability to design their interior layout based on a series of options, which are then built out on their behalf as a ‘Blank Canvas’ by the developer for the owner to complete. The homes are then handed over as a plastered and painted shell with services brought to each room.
Upon purchase buyers have access to a unique ‘My Custom Build’ App, a digital platform that gives freedom of choice in terms of designing internal spaces. Homebuyers then fit-out their homes with kitchens, bathrooms, flooring and decorations, taking advantage of local trades and vendors, all with support from the App.
Set out in this way, the custom build model means that much of the up-front risk and stress is taken care of in comparison to finding a plot from scratch, with buyers can engaging with the elements that will personalise their home.
Outline planning permission is in place and Custom Build Homes has recently submitted a Reserved Matters Application for the custom house designs and the range of options available to homebuyers. CBH expects Full Planning Permission to be secured in early in 2023, with works on site, alongside a sales launch in early summer.
Find and sign Swale’s Self Build Register
For anyone looking for land, Potton has a range of plots available to make the process easier. Searching for land remains one of the most significant barriers to anyone wishing to self build, but more and more companies are now bringing on multi-plot sites where custom or self build is an option.
Potton has a range of both types of plot options available, as do other NaCSBA members, such as Hugr Homes’ Wellbank site in Cumbria.
Typically on such sites you custom build, where you engage with an enabler already associated with the site to build out your home, with various options for customisation on a site by site basis. But on some multi-plot sites you can self build, so it is worth talking to the promoter about the route available on a development.
For self building on such sites you may have the freedom to commission your own home for the plot, although you will have to meet some preset requirements. These are typically set out on a development level in the design code, and a plot level in the Plot Passport.
Just north of Swindon, Tadpole Garden Village is an award winning Crest Nicholson development, that includes 14 plots of land. Buyers can customise the Potton custom build home that is agreed for each site. Plots are currently all reserved, but it’s always worth registering your interest as buyers sometimes fail to proceed – meaning the plot returns to the market.
Set in a village near Maidenhead, Kent, this development includes nine plots, in a range of sizes, where buyers can custom build. Potton will work with the buyers in the design and construction of the home, which contractor Northchurch Homes will then provide a fixed-price for the build of the turnkey home – meaning they build the entire house. Buyers have complete control of the internal layout and specification.
You can expect more sites like these to come forward over 2023, including in Norfolk, Kent, Hertfordshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Sussex, Worcester, Essex and Bedfordshire.
The beauty of such multi-plot sites is that they come with certainty that a house can be built from a planning point of view, with services and wider infrastructure, like roads, in place.
Potton also offers a range of training opportunities, including dedicated Ask the Experts sessions where you can get help and advice about your project – whatever stage you are at.
Visit its Self Build Academy for details, including of its next events in January, at both the Potton Show Centre in Cambridgeshire and the National Self Build and Renovation Centre in Swindon.
Custom Build Homes has secured outline planning permission at Cross Nursery in Goffs Oak, Hertfordshire for 14 detached homes that can be customised to buyer’s choices. Coming to the market in 2023, the development includes a range of house and serviced-plot sizes.
The company secured outline permission with the help of planning consultants Tetlow King Planning on the site of a derelict former horticultural nursery site in a semi-rural location in the Hertfordshire Green Belt.
The plots are laid out in an attractive landscape, and come with permission for “blank canvas” homes that are fully customisable, with buyers having freedom of choice around room layout, interior fixtures and fittings and green utilities. There is also the opportunity to build in greater affordability by using “sweat equity”, whereby owners can take part in their home’s completions.
The application at Cross Nursery was approved in compliance with Broxbourne Borough Council’s supportive local planning policies, which enables suitably designed custom and self-build housing to come forward on former nursery sites in the borough. This is despite being classified as inappropriate development under Government Green Belt policy.
In making the planning case Custom Build Homes worked closely with Tetlow King to present a strong demand, viability and design-led case, with BuildStore and Custom Build Homes’ demand data being an important part of the planning arguments.
Custom Build Homes praised the officers at Broxbourne Borough Council for their positive and consistent engagement on the Cross Nursery site, with Mario Wolf, Director of Planning at Custom Build Homes saying: “We are delighted to have secured planning permission for our customisable homes range on this challenging green belt site.
“As a specialist enabler of custom build housing, we work closely with our landowner clients and local authorities to design high quality housing communities which maximise value and are sensitive to their local context.”
Find your self build register on the Self Build Portal.
NaCSBA has called out Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council for its “shameful actions” in amending the conditions for joining its Right to Build register to make it almost impossible for most people to sign up.
Solihull council chose to announce its new restrictions during the week of the innovative Grand Designs Live show, which was ironically held at the National Exhibition Centre in Solihull.
The new restrictions mean that anyone wanting to create a self-commissioned home in the borough could well struggle to join the register – an essential demand tool for the council and one that is set out in legislation.
Restrictions are allowed under the legislation, which can entail a local connection test, a financial viability test and the right to charge people, both to join and remain on the registers.
For anyone keen on building locally, Solihull Council now requires people to demonstrate a local connection to qualify for joining Part 1 – the element they must consider when considering their wider housing duties. Those without this link will join Part 2, which has no impact on council activity.
It also places a financial test on anyone wishing to join, which NaCSBA considers the worst of the tests imposed by the council. This states:
There will also be an assessment of financial resources. The Council will require relevant evidence of sufficient resources as follows:
NaCSBA reports that the tests are impossible to pass.
In addition, the council’s guidance references the Council of Mortgage Lenders – an organisation that ceased to exist five years ago.
Kevin McCloud designer and presenter of Grand Designs stated: “At a time when we need a greater focus on sustainability and more affordable homes, it is beyond belief that any Council is making it impossible for such homes to be delivered.”
Andrew Baddeley-Chappell CEO of the National Custom & Self Build Association stated: “I have no doubt that these changes being introduced by the Council are contrary to the letter and spirit of laws aimed at helping people to build or commission their own home, known as the Right to Build. The Council needs to reverse these changes and understand how it got into such a mess in the first place.”
The Self-Build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 as amended by the Housing & Planning Act 2016 is primary legislation. It states: “This is intended to make it much easier for people to find land to build or commission their own home, diversifying housing supply and revitalising smaller builders who have not experienced the same level of recovery as the large housebuilders since the financial crisis.”
The legislation requires all local authorities in England to establish a Register of all those who wish to self-build and to then ensure that sufficient plots come forward to meet the demand.
The legislation allows for three restrictions to be imposed on joining the Registers, but there are tests that need to be met for this to happen. As was intended, very few Councils (7% at 30 October 2021) impose all of these tests. Approaching 6 years after the legislation was introduced, Solihull is choosing to introduce all 3 restrictions. Furthermore, the way it is imposing some of these restrictions makes it impossible for anyone to meet the tests and so benefit from the legislation.
The reason for introducing these restrictions is clear. The Council is seeking an easy way of getting out of the duty that the legislation places on it. As at 30 October 2021 (the last date for which data is available), the Council had a shortfall in delivery of 247 plots, and this number was continuing to increase.
NaCSBA is highly critical of the policy, which it links to other ill-conceived examples of discredited polices, such as Epping Forest District Council.
The action by the Council is directly contrary to the message from central Government that continues to support the growth of the sector. Just this year the Government responded positively to the independent review on growing the sector (The Bacon Review) and launched Help to Build enabling access to the market to those with a 5% deposit. As stated in commissioning the review: “We know that self and custom builders deliver high quality, well designed homes that are energy efficient, accessible affordable and welcomed by their communities.”
Image: On stage at Grand Designs debating the Right to Build – (L-R) NaCSBA CEO Andrew Baddeley-Chappell, Richard Bacon MP, Kevin McCloud, Kunle Barker, TV personality and Mario Wolf of Custom Build Homes.
Harpenden in Hertfordshire could benefit from a new site for custom and self builders for up to 30 homes, on a 6.7hectare site at Cross Lane Fields. The project is the vision of Lansdown, a NaCSBA member specialising in strategic land promotion and development.
In conjunction with Imagine Places, Lansdown is holding a public engagement event on the 10 September, to give neighbours, would be builders and other stakeholders a say in shaping the development from a design perspective. This will be followed by a post-event online debrief for interested parties.
Those looking to build in the area are also encouraged to complete the Cross Lane Fields survey, to help Lansdown gauge local appetite for the model.
Cross Lane Fields is a piece of visually contained Green Belt land that Lansdown will seek outline planning permission for to create a pioneering development of self and custom build homes. These will be exemplars in energy standards, design and sustainability, bringing much needed homes to the area.
Currently the model involves self builders designing their homes, in line with design codes that create a set of ‘rules’ for the site, to support a cohesive scheme. The planned homes will include a mix of sizes, with homes either self built or self-commissioned to Passivhaus Standards. It is hoped that 40% will be affordable homes with a discount of 30% on the land at point of purchase.
In addition, parts of scheme will be rewilded, with a new orchard and pond to create habitats and mitigate damage to wildlife and from flooding.
Senior Planner at Lansdown Ethan Davies said, “The Cross Lane Fields scheme will provide people with a unique opportunity to build exceptionally fine, energy efficient homes surrounded by beautiful and biodiverse open spaces within a community of like-minded self-builders”.
Interested in building at Cross Lane Fields? Fill out the survey
Image credit: ImaginePlaces
The first phase of a new self build community in Ashford has been given the green light, with an outline planning permission granted for 25 self build plots in Kent. The sustainable development is the result of a partnership between Urbanise, a Kent-based developer, and Steenvlinder, the Dutch custom and self-build (CSB) home specialist that’s now operating in the UK.
The Orchard Farm site has been allocated for housing in the Ashford Local Plan, and the expectations is that the 25 self build opportunities will be the first of a much larger, up to 100-home, site to meet local housing demand.
Purchasers can choose from a range of plot shapes and potential house sizes to suit their budgets, with a Design Code and Plot Passports providing a framework for what is acceptable from a planning permission for the designs and styles.
The site in Kennington is on the northern edge of Ashford, and two miles from Ashford International station. Orchard Farm will appeal to anyone wanting an owner-commissioned home, with options for buyers to build independently or to opt for the help of an architect and builder working as part of the development.
With permission granted, Steenvlinder will be working to get the site operation for this first phase, ensuring that infrastructure, including roads, drains and services, are in place.
Adam Roake, Owner of Urbanise, said, “By partnering with Steenvlinder to create Orchard Farm, we are realising our ambition to change the way that housing is delivered. We will bring real choice to the housing market by enabling people to build their own home. Together, we will create an exciting, sustainable community unlike any other found in Kent.
“Some of the plans under consideration include community orchards and drainage systems that improve water quality. In addition, to reduce the community’s carbon footprint there will be no gas and the use of heat pumps, onsite electricity generation and community heating will be encouraged. No doubt many other sustainable initiatives will be brought forward by the self-builders.”
Hans Sparreboom, CEO and Co-Founder at Steenvlinder, said, “The Netherlands has led the way in innovation in the CSB housing sector and we’re now excited about helping the UK build back better with homes designed and built to last. Our continued mission is to make self-build accessible and pleasant for everyone involved.
“To enable buyers to embark on their self-build journey, we provide a dedicated customer coach who ensures they fully understand the process and then acts as a guide while they explore all the options available to them.”
Orchard Farm is being developed by Orchard Farm Kent Ltd., a partnership between Urbanise and Steenvlinder. Image shows Hans Sparreboom and Adam Roake on site in Kent.
With many homes completed or underway, Graven Hill has released the latest nine plots for self builders at Bicester based self and custom build development. More plots will be released as the year progresses.
As well as offering a route to market for anyone wishing to build but struggling to find plots, Graven Hill is firmly establishing itself as a vibrant community of like-minded residents from first-time buyers to retirees.
Interest in the new plots is high, with prices ranging from £235,000 to £265,000, with the largest able to cater for a 6-bedroom home. They are in a character area of the site called ‘Circular Railway’, which incorporates features of the existing historic railway and next to green spaces.
As with most custom and self builds at Graven Hill, each plot comes with its own unique ‘Plot Passport’ that sets out the parameters for what can be built on that plot. This includes, for example, the maximum number of bedrooms and gross internal areas and also the choice of pre-approved building materials.
Financial support in the form of the Government’s new Help to Build scheme is also available on these plots, allowing buyers to benefit from a 5% deposit, alongside a Government-backed equity loan.
A range of new custom build homes are also due to be launched soon, for those wanting personalisation, without having to don a hard hat.
With these homes, the earlier in the build process the homes are purchased, the more customisation options the buyers will have, including layout, fixtures and fittings. Those purchasing custom builds will also be able to take advantage of the Help to Build scheme.
Gemma Davis, customer experience director at Graven Hill said: “The UK housing market is undergoing huge change and we’ve seen a dramatic spike in interest in self-building. Unfortunately, in the past, plot availability, finances and planning permission have all acted as barriers, with only a small minority able to overcome them. However, we’re changing this with the housing options we provide at Graven Hill.
“Our self-build plots have always been popular, getting snapped up quickly, and that doesn’t look to be changing any time soon. Self-building results in a truly diverse community, which celebrates the uniqueness of its residents. This is in stark contrast to the cookie-cutter homes that have come to be associated with new build developments. The people who purchase our new plots will be adding their personality to Graven Hill, and we can’t wait to see the result.”
In a reflection of the buoyant market for custom and self build, Netherlands-based Steenvlinder has announced a major investment in the UK with three new sites. If they all go ahead, this could bring 150 plot opportunities to the market, centred around Ashford, Birmingham and Basildon.
NaCSBA member Steenvlinder is working with a range of partners to bring on the sites, including Czero and Unboxed Homes, and is in the process of recruiting for more staff for its UK operations.
Steenvlinder was set up by Hans Sparreboom and Marnix Norder in 2015 to create owner-commissioned custom build homes in the Netherlands, and it has delivered 2,000 homes since then, with more in the pipeline.
Netherlands has been a pioneer for initiatives to scale up the provision of self and custom build homes, which Richard Bacon MP saying in his review that, “Despite its size, the Netherlands has led the way in innovation in the housing sector, with the new town of Almere being an international model of what can be achieved at scale.”
Currently, Steenvlinder’s site at Pound Lane in Basildon – a collaboration with several architects – has 12 plots, available for purchase. The sites in Ashford is going through planning, with 105 plots potentially coming to the market, with the Birmingham site having scope for 30-50 plots – although the location has not yet been announced.
Owner commissioned homes are firmly on the government’s agenda, with the publication earlier this year of the Custom and Self Build Action Plan and Richard Bacon’s independent review to develop a plan for scaling up the sector, making it the perfect time for new and European companies to make the most of the positive environment.
Hans Sparreboom, Steenvlinder CEO, said: “With the English government supportive of the CSB methodology we need to spend less time asking how to build more houses and more about making ‘how to make houses’ more popular. We’re excited about helping the UK build back better with homes designed and built to last.”
The Rt Hon Christopher Pincher MP, Minister of State for the Department for Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), said: “It is encouraging to see further investment in the customer and self-build market in the UK. It has the potential to deliver thousands more homes each year as we bring forward the recommendations in the Bacon Review to scale-up the sector and introduce the Help to Build scheme which will make home building a realistic and affordable option to many more people.”
NaCSBA continues to work and support government as it considers the recommendations put forwards in the review.
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
A new survey by the National Self Build and Renovation Centre (NSBRC) reflects a series of data about people’s real, or planned, projects, including averages, such as age, household income and budget. This helps give a realistic picture of people building or renovating a home right now, showing what motivates them and what barriers they face. NaCSBA’s most recent surveys have asked questions of the general public, reflecting people’s aspirations rather than the realities of those actually involved in a build.
Conducted in partnership with NaCSBA in June 2021, this new survey asked questions of NSBRC customers, and of the 681 people that responded, 73% were building a brand new home.
The survey fed into Richard Bacon’s Review of Custom and Self Build, a detailed report commissioned by Boris Johsno examining the opportunities and barriers to the sector scaling up. The review, which also puts six recommendations for government to consider is due to be published shortly.
