National Model Design Code recognises importance of custom build housing in creating beautiful communities

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Custom Build Homes (CBH) welcomes the government’s announcement (Tuesday, 20 July).

Custom Build Homes (CBH) welcomes the government’s announcement (Tuesday, 20 July) launching a range of measures to achieve its vision for building beautiful places and putting people at the heart of new neighbourhoods, with an expectation that new housing projects should include custom build as part of the housing mix. 

In publishing the National Model Design Code (NMDC) the Government has provided detailed guidance on the production of design codes, guides and policies to promote successful design. An important element of good design when planning for all new housing set out in the Code is to provide for a mix of homes that custom build where possible. This should give councils the confidence to secure custom build housing on larger sites and give preference to schemes where such housing is proposed as part of the mix.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government also announced a new Office of Place to drive up design standards, testing and piloting the NMDC.

The NMDC also includes supporting Guidance Notes which, for the first time, define what custom build housing is – namely new homes built on serviced building plots that are designed or customised for the occupant and the purchaser has input into the design, this can also include different house types and tenures. This helps to provide much needed clarification in terms of what type of housing Ministers consider to fall within the legal definition under the Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 which is currently under review.

Design codes along with plot-based masterplans and plot passports are also recognised as important tools when planning for self-build and custom build.

To support the implementation of the NMDC the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) has been revised to set an expectation that all local planning authorities are to prepare local design guides or design codes consistent with the principles in the NMDC and which reflect local character and design preferences.  The NPPF also expects that development which is not well designed should be refused.

New houses will also be expected to be built on tree-lined streets with an emphasis on well-designed local architecture and support for walking and cycling to boost health, wellbeing and happiness. 

The government aims to digitalise the planning system to streamline planning decisions supported by design codes and enable local people to better navigate and access the planning process with online map-based local plans. This will allow people to visualise local plans for development and participate more fully in the planning system. 

Mario Wolf, CBH Director of Planning & Strategic Engagement at Custom Build Homes, said:

“The changes to the National Planning Policy Framework and new National Model Design Code mark an important step change in the consideration of design quality and the use of design codes in the planning and development process.

“The recognition that custom build housing is as an integral part of well-designed new housing schemes should not be under-estimated and we will be advising our clients that it forms an increasingly important material consideration when new projects are submitted for planning.” 

CBH is well positioned to maximise the opportunities from this latest announcement for its clients. All our developments are demand led and sit well with this range of new planning measures. We generate data from our subscribers who have expressed an interest in creating their own home and use this data to inform our masterplans and customisable housing products to communities. We currently have a database of over 100,000 people actively looking for a building opportunity.

CBH specialise in the preparation of design codes and plot passports for self-commissioned housing projects and typically use these for all our development projects. This ensures the look and feel of the places we create take full account of local preferences and fit into an area’s local vernacular. We typically work with a range of different types of landowners and match the development opportunity to the preferences of people who are actively looking to create their own homes. This maximises value and ensures that the development is built out as fast as the market allows. 

Our schemes also align with the government’s ambition to deliver housing via more innovative and modern methods of construction (MMC) which the NMDC supports.

The delivery of custom build housing using MMC can be supported by design codes and maintain consistency where customisable house types are used on larger phased developments. MMC can also reduce time on-site and therefore disruption to new and existing communities, which is especially important on bespoke custom build plots as sites are built out.

Using MMC over traditional building methods can also improve building performance with higher levels of air tightness and insulation which can mean a more sustainable and energy efficient house for new homebuyers. This is also what our demand surveys for sites consistently tell us. Infill and brownfield sites within existing urban contexts could also benefit from our customisable housing products as the impact on the surrounding neighbours is minimised given the reduced time spent on site.

Custom Build Homes strengthens through Urban Design

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Custom Build Homes (CBH) is delighted to welcome its newest addition to the team, Ellie Burroughs, an experienced and talented architectural designer with expertise in architecture, urban design and planning.

CBH has taken the decision to bring urban design in-house as it seeks to gain further influence over creating places beyond individual homes. Ellie Burroughs represents the beginning of an exciting new team that will be tasked designing beautiful and sustainable new communities that will host custom build homes and their residents.   

Ellie joins CBH from award-winning practice, Aitken Turnbull Architects, Edinburgh. Ellie has a Master of Architecture (RIBA Part 2), with distinction focusing on flood-resilient housing. 

CBH was impressed with Ellie’s strong interest in community rich housing and place-making. To support her interest, she will continue in her role as director of Imagine If. Space CIC. This Edinburgh based collective focuses on education and research around co-housing and shared resources in housing. More recently, Imagine If. Space CIC won an RSA Medal for Architecture in the Open Exhibitions of Art and Architecture 2021. 

Tom Connor, Founder of Custom Build Homes, said:

“I am really looking forward to working closely with Ellie to develop our design ethos and style. Her obvious passion for community rich housing is infectious and I am sure CBH will provide her with an excellent environment in which to implement her ideas across larger schemes.”

Rising Star joins Custom Build Homes from Heriot-Watt

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Custom Build Homes (CBH) has welcomed Caitlin Andrew as its new Enabling Coordinator.

Caitlin joined the Enabling Team to support CBH in its mission of making it possible for everyone to design or customise their own homes – creating vibrant new communities where people want to live.  

Caitlin’s role involves managing the delivery of development projects from identifying land through to the delivery of new homes.   

As the UK’s leading custom build housing Enabler, we are delighted to shape future leaders in the sector. Caitlin graduated from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, in Urban Planning and Property Development.  

Leaders at CBH were impressed with Caitlin’s passion and enthusiasm for the sector. She demonstrated this through supporting the Heriot-Watt Property Society during her studies where she led discussions and debates amongst students of the construction and property sectors.  

CBH Founder, Tom Connor described the importance of Caitlin’s role at CBH, as it enters a new phase of growth and the importance of supporting young professionals within the sector. He said: 

“Custom Build Homes is at an exciting point in its growth, and our Enabling Coordinators are key to its success as they will accelerate custom build developments, making more opportunities available to homebuyers sooner. I’m delighted to have Caitlin join the company and I’m sure she will be a fantastic addition to the team. 

“Custom Build Homes strongly believes in supporting new emerging talent, right from the start of their careers.”

CBH partners with land promoter Landström to deliver custom build housing

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Custom Build Homes (CBH) has joined forces with specialist land promoter and development company Landström Group Ltd to unlock promoted land and deliver a custom build project near Hailsham, UK.

Landström operates on behalf of landowners to discover and maximise the potential of their land through the planning system. Their PropTech solution for identifying suitable land parcels for development is now bearing fruit as land appropriate for custom housebuilding is coming forward and Landström are recognising the opportunity to extend their proposition to become ‘Promoter Developer’.

The concept of ‘Promoter Developers’ has been advocated over recent years by CBH Founder Tom Connor. CBH is delighted to see land promoters, such as Landström, continuing with sites post planning, by creating serviced building plots and selling land direct to consumers. This approach is helping to unlock new sites for custom housebuilding and in turn maximising the return for their landowner clients. CBH looks forward to supporting this proposition as Enabling Partners in Hailsham.

The new custom build community, in East Sussex, benefits from Outline Planning Permission for five large detached homes. New homeowners will work with CBH to design and create their homes to meet their lifestyle needs now and in the future.

CBH is in the process of preparing a Design Code which will be utilised to secure Reserved Matters approval from Maidstone Borough Council and to set the parameters for individual house design, size, and specification.           

CBH holds the largest and most accurate database of people looking to create a new custom home in the UK. It includes people’s housing preferences and is used for shaping new custom build developments nationally. Therefore, as Enabling Partners, CBH is able to ensure customer propositions are being developed to respond accurately to known demand and marketed to an active audience.

Commenting on partnering with Landström, Founder of CBH Tom Connor, said:

“I am particularly excited to see Custom Build Homes collaborating with Landström.

“Their digital proposition for capturing the potential of land for housing is as interesting as it is proving successful and on the right sites is delivering land for custom and self-build homes.

“I am confident that together we can deliver fantastic new places for people to live, in homes they love,” he added.

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Government launches plan to boost custom building housing

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Custom Build Homes (CBH) welcomes the Government’s announcement today (Saturday 24 April) of a major Action Plan, including over £150 million funding, to help more people build their own homes.

The Plan, which comprises of new initiatives, marks a further step in the Government’s ongoing backing of the self-build and custom housebuilding sector in England: 

  • A new “Help to Build” low deposit mortgage scheme supported by over £150 million
  • Funding for local authorities to develop public land for custom and self-build housing
  • A review into how delivery of custom and self-build housing can be increased and accelerated
  • A law review to enable more people to access plots in their local areas
  • Further support for the national Right to Build Task Force.

Each of the initiatives target an area of challenge which to date has constrained the growth of the sector and are expected to improve people’s chances of accessing a custom home. 

A new “Help to Build” mortgage will be launched to enable people to custom build a new home with only a 5% mortgage deposit. The scheme which is akin to the hugely successful “Help to Buy” product will also feature Government backed equity loan. Help to Build is expected to have a fundamental effect on the sector as it will open it up to a segment of the market which has been most affected by rising house prices and under supply of affordable new homes namely, young professionals, first time buyers and those on lower incomes.

CBH has access to the largest and most accurate database of people looking to create a new home nationally. This includes people’s housing preferences as well as information relating their preferred location and budget. From this, we are confident the Help to Build scheme can have a major positive impact on many people and boost the number of new homes delivered annually.

Another initiative announced is the Brownfield Land Release Fund (BLRF), which is designed to support local authorities to bring forward their brownfield sites for housing development and self and custom-build serviced plots. The fund makes up to £25 million capital grant available to eligible English local authorities to support the release of brownfield and greenfield sites they own, for self and custom build developments. The Fund, which will be administered by One Public Estate, must be utilised before March 2022. Funding is for capital works, to release local self and custom-build plots by the end of March 2024 and must address a local market failure. Priority will also be given to projects which align with the Government’s ambition to level up the housing market and the degree to which projects will support deprived areas of the country. 

While this measure is welcomed, the funding terms could be improved to enable local authorities to forge private sector relationships to access advice and professional services throughout the development process on their land. CBH has worked with a number of authorities with the desire and opportunity to bring forward custom and self-build housing but lack of funding and professional support has delayed progress. Furthermore, with only five weeks in which to make a full application uptake is likely to be reduced.

Part of the Government’s Plan includes a commission by the Prime Minister for Richard Bacon MP to prepare an action plan to develop a strategy for the major scaling of self-commissioned new homes, across all tenures, to boost capacity and overall housing supply. The plan will be published in the Summer with recommendations for Government policy. To date, custom and self-build has remained on the fringes of the housing market and has generally been seen as being out of reach for most homeowners. The report will look at what investment is required to change this and what we can learn from other successful markets. CBH will be engaging closely with this plan to ensure that its conclusions and recommendations are ambitious, practical and will deliver the desired impact so that all future homebuyers can aspire to design and create a home of their own in the future.

Alongside the report on unlocking sector growth, the Government has also committed to reviewing the Right to Build legislation, to ensure councils provide enough land and take proper consideration for these homes when making planning decisions in their area. With industry saying for some time that the law needs changing, we expect Government to look closely at issues like the charging of fees for people to register and how councils can be held to account if they fail to provide enough plots in line with demand. Changes to law could be put forward as early as the autumn, as part of potential new planning reform legislation.

The Government has announced it will continue to fund the Right to Build Task Force, to ensure councils, landowners and industry have access to technical support to bring forward more opportunities for self and custom build housing.

Mario Wolf, Custom Build Homes’ Director of Planning & Strategic Engagement, said:

“The Government’s Action Plan marks a significant milestone in the level of support which the Government is offering to anyone who wants to build or commission their own home.

“The Plan shows that the Government is serious about truly diversifying our housing market. By offering low-cost mortgages akin to Help to Buy, targeted funding for public sector land and commissioning the preparation of a report into the scaling up of self-build and custom build housing we can expect demand and supply for this form of housing to rise to new heights in the very near future. At Custom Build Homes we are ready to play our part.”

£25M Fund Opens: Bid to Unlock Self & Custom Housing Plots

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One Public Estate is urgently calling eligible English local authorities to bid for a share of the £75M Brownfield Land Release Fund (BLRF).

Custom Build Homes (CBH) welcomes the allocation of £25M for the Self and Custom Land Release Fund to encourage local authorities to unlock greenfield and brownfield sites in public ownership with viability issues, for self and custom build developments. Deadline for applications close Wednesday 2 June 2021.

CBH is working with a number of local authorities to bring forward new self and custom build developments. The company is in prime position to support local authorities to prepare their bids for projects that can be delivered within the parameters of the new Funds where there is evidence of real demand for our products. 

Commenting on the Fund, Custom Build Homes’ Director of Planning & Strategic Engagement Mario Wolf said: “This Fund is further evidence that the Government is serious about unlocking the potential of the self-build and custom housebuilding market and complements the support available to the private sector- so it should be welcomed.

“We will be looking to offer our support to our local authority partners to identify suitable sites and prepare a credible business case so they can access to the fund and work with them to bring high quality custom build homes to market in the timescales specified.”

Scotland’s first long-term housing strategy

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Custom Build Homes welcomes the Scottish Government’s vision for housing in Scotland to 2040.

A vision where homes are affordable for everyone

The ‘Housing to 2040’ document demonstrates what the Scottish Government wants housing and communities to look and feel like, with actions on how to get there. It aims to deliver their ambition for everyone to have access to a high quality, warm, safe, energy-efficient and affordable home that meets their needs, in a community they feel part of and proud of.

Plans to deliver 100,000 affordable homes over the following ten years up to 2031/32. The vision’s aim is for everyone to have choices about where they live, no matter what tenure they live in.

“Custom Build Homes is delighted to see Scotland’s first long-term housing strategy including self-provided housing (which it recognises also includes custom build homes) as a core part of its Housing to 2040 route map, said Mario Wolf, Custom Build Homes’ Director of Planning & Strategic Engagement. 

“The commitment to a year-on-year increase in self-provided housing delivery to boost consumer choice and make it a mainstream housing option should be welcomed, he added.

Notable actions to deliver this include: 

  • The National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) taking a more directive approach to where new development should take place;
  • Supporting the provision of sites for self-provided homes; 
  • Progressing with establishing ‘Lists of Persons with an Interest in Self-Build’ as provided for in the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019, and issuing guidance to help local authorities prepare these lists for their area as part of the evidence base;
  • Extending the Self Build Loan Fund for an additional year to September 2022;
  • Developing a national advice service; and 
  • Encouraging local authorities and public landowners to provide land suitable for these types of homes and, where possible, infrastructure ready plots in both rural and urban areas.”

More information can be found at https://www.gov.scot/publications/housing-2040-2/

Custom build reflection & projection 2020/21

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Mario Wolf MRTPI, Custom Build Homes’ Director of Planning and Strategic Engagement highlights 2020 custom build milestones and what the sector has in store for 2021.

2020: A year in custom build housing

2020 will live in our memories in infamy for years to come! We remain in the depths of an unprecedented pandemic which has put our lives on hold for the foreseeable future until our national vaccination programme begins to have its effect. Despite all the negatives that happened in 2020, the housing sector has shown resilience during the economic downturn. Other sectors have, and are continuing to be, ravaged by national and regional lockdowns and stay-at-home policies

Imposed by the Government, but the housing market has remained active. Construction activity returned strongly after the first lockdown in Spring, with UK house prices hitting an all-time high of £250,000 in November with an average increase of 7.6% over the year to November 2020, according to the ONS, buoyed by the temporary stamp duty suspension on property sales in July and record low mortgage rates.

We have also seen these positive market signals reflected in our client engagement with more sites being identified for housing as landowners look for new opportunities to maximise value. We have also increasing consumer demand for self- build and custom housebuilding, reflected in statutory Right to Build Registers held by English councils and our Group’s demand register which has over 100,000 people looking for plots.

Drivers for moving home

At Custom Build Homes we are very clear that the pandemic has and will continue to change the property market, with homeowners wanting more from their properties. Home buyers now want more flexible indoor space and rooms for privacy, home offices, bigger gardens with space for pets, family- friendly local areas and more. Many are therefore attracted to what customisable homes have to offer. Not only for homes on individual building plots but also on larger housing sites.

Another driver has been and continues to be, the positive support which our sector is receiving on the public policy front from the Governments in England and Scotland.

Shaping policy

At Custom Build Homes we are working closely with our sector trade body (the National Custom and Self Build Association), the Government sponsored Right to Build Task Force and through our links to Government to shape the policy landscape for the benefit of the wider market.

August

In August, the Government published its White Paper on Planning for the Future which set out a fundamental reform package for the planning system in England. It received over forty thousand responses, including ours. We continue to engage with the Government to help shape these reforms from our sector perspective and remain in no doubt, when implemented, it will generate significantly more new opportunities for custom and self- build housing across England.

October

In October, the Housing and Communities Secretary wrote to all local authorities in England to remind them of their duties under the Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 and launched a review of the legislation. The underlying aim of the review is to tighten the law and stamp out gaming by councils, to ensure they provide enough land and take proper consideration of custom and self-build housing when making local planning decisions.

We know from our own experience and those of our clients that many councils fail to grasp the implications of the legislation and seek to game the system by introducing barriers for people to register. Consequently, what we see is a suppressed version of the demand in these areas!

He also announced that the now outdated Planning Practice Guidance to support his national planning policy framework would be revised by the end of the year. Regrettably this has not yet happened despite the urgent need for policy clarification in several areas.

November

In November, the Chancellor announced in his Spending Review that as part of £2.2bn of new loan finance being provided to support house builders the Government will be introducing a new Help to Build scheme for custom and self-builders, and will provide more funding for SME housebuilders and Modern Methods of Construction. He also announced that Government would provide £100m of funding tosupport,amongstotherthings, the release of public sector land including for serviced plots for self and custom builders

December

In December, Homes England, the Government’s housing delivery agency announced it was simplifying how it engages with developers and housebuilders to bring its land to market. A new Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) – to be introduced in Jul 2021, will replace the closed shop of what has been the Delivery Partner Panel (DPP3). Our engagement with Homes England has given us confidence that custom build 

housing enablers and developers will have a key role to play in the DPS, to partner with developers and housebuilders to bring larger sites forward.

We also saw several planning appeals coming through which have established a number of principles for planning decisions involving custom and self-build housing.

These include;

  • the need for councils, as the incumbent of the duty, to evidence they have met demand; that a shortfall of supply in previous years weighs heavily in favour of a scheme; that it is insufficient to rely on CIL exemptions to demonstrate supply;
  • that custom and self-build is an important material consideration whose social and economic benefits should attract substantial weight in a decision;
  • and, that the policy presumption in favour of a project can be triggered where plans are out of date and can’t demonstrate supply.

August

In August, the Government published its White Paper on Planning for the Future which set out a fundamental reform package for the planning system in England. It received over forty thousand responses, including ours. We continue to engage with the Government to help shape these reforms from our sector perspective and remain in no doubt, when implemented, it will generate significantly more new opportunities for custom and self- build housing across England.

October

In October, the Housing and Communities Secretary wrote to all local authorities in England to remind them of their duties under the Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 and launched a review of the legislation. The underlying aim of the review is to tighten the law and stamp out gaming by councils, to ensure they provide enough land and take proper consideration of custom and self-build housing when making local planning decisions.

We know from our own experience and those of our clients that many councils fail to grasp the implications of the legislation and seek to game the system by introducing barriers for people to register. Consequently, what we see is a suppressed version of the demand in these areas!

He also announced that the now outdated Planning Practice Guidance to support his national planning policy framework would be revised by the end of the year. Regrettably this has not yet happened despite the urgent need for policy clarification in several areas.

November

In November, the Chancellor announced in his Spending Review that as part of £2.2bn of new loan finance being provided to support house builders the Government will be introducing a new Help to Build scheme for custom and self-builders, and will provide more funding for SME housebuilders and Modern Methods of Construction. He also announced that Government would provide £100m of funding tosupport,amongstotherthings, the release of public sector land including for serviced plots for self and custom builders

December

In December, Homes England, the Government’s housing delivery agency announced it was simplifying how it engages with developers and housebuilders to bring its land to market. A new Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) – to be introduced in Jul 2021, will replace the closed shop of what has been the Delivery Partner Panel (DPP3). Our engagement with Homes England has given us confidence that custom build

housing enablers and developers will have a key role to play in the DPS, to partner with developers and housebuilders to bring larger sites forward.

We also saw several planning appeals coming through which have established a number of principles for planning decisions involving custom and self-build housing.

These include;

  • the need for councils, as the incumbent of the duty, to evidence they have met demand; that a shortfall of supply in previous years weighs heavily in favour of a scheme; that it is insufficient to rely on CIL exemptions to demonstrate supply;
  • that custom and self-build is an important material consideration whose social and economic benefits should attract substantial weight in a decision;
  • and, that the policy presumption in favour of a project can be triggered where plans are out of date and can’t demonstrate supply.

Inspectors are also testing whether a scheme will be built out for custom and self-build and looking to planning agreements to achieve this. Critically statutory registers have also been held to underestimate demand and that our Group’s demand data provides an important secondary data to consider.

Our Podcast with Christopher Young QC and Andy Moger MRTPI from Tetlow King Planning unpacked some of these issues with great insight. Watch it now >

In Scotland too we saw the publication of the Revised Scottish Planning Policy in December which includes positive planning policies supporting the provision of plots for self-build through local development plans.

The outlook for 2021 looks increasingly positive

So, as we move into 2021, where is the custom build sector heading and what can we expect on the policy front?

Although some analysts predict a slowing of the housing market as result of the pandemic, the extent of this will no doubt be affected by the Chancellor’s Budget in March and his decision on whether to lift the stamp duty relief or extend it further.

At Custom Build Homes we are optimistic that we will be seeing more custom and self-build projects coming forward. We know from our data that local plans are increasingly identifying new allocations for custom and self-build housing on small and large sites, as well as many of the new garden settlements planned. Landowners will increasingly look to custom build as a valuable housing model, to help win consents in the face of the 

public policy reforms and strong consumer demand.

Spring

In the Spring we can expect a game changing mortgage support product in the form of an equity loan being introduced by the Government for formal launch in the Autumn. If designed right, it will boost consumer demand further and build market confidence. We can also expect the launch of a Brownfield Fund to incentivis

councils to bring sites forward for custom build homes on public land.

Autumn

In the Autumn we can expect a wide ranging new Planning Bill to set the framework for the planning reforms. A downside of this is likely to be that local plan production will slow further as councils decide to wait for the implementation of the reforms. This will however create opportunities for new projects 

where councils have out of date plans and under perform on housing supply.

We can also expect more work to be done to build our industry capacity to take up the opportunities which are being created. An agenda we are closely engaging with.

Enabling developments

At Custom Build Homes we enable our clients to benefit from our unrivalled knowledge of planning practice for self- and custom housebuilding in the UK. 

If you have land or want to bring a custom build housing scheme forward, please contact us at [email protected] as we may be able to support you.

Large scale custom build housing site to be determined by Essex planning authority

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The emergence of custom build housing on smaller sites has been well documented following legislation passed in 2016 and successful pilot schemes by Custom Build Homes (CBH) and others.

We are delighted to have several larger sites on our radar and to be involved in the pre-enabling work that is required to support landowners and promoters to secure potential custom build development sites in local plans and achieve planning permission. 

Over the course of the previous 12 months we have been engaged by a SE of England based promoter to support them secure outline planning permission for 220 custom build homes, including 67 affordable homes, many of which will be delivered as intermediate affordable custom build homes, if permitted. 

Tom Connor, Founder at CBH said: 

“To continue to accelerate consumer understanding and demand for customised homes, the sector must be able to deliver housing at scale and at pace. We are excited to be able to support this scheme through the planning process as we believe it could really help to supply pent up demand from new home buyers for greater choice and affordable prices.”  

Our work to support the application to date has largely consisted to providing up to date demand assessments for custom and self-build housing in District and to shape the application to give confidence to planning officers as to the deliverability of the scheme as customised homes of varying types, sizes and affordable tenures. As such, we remain optimistic with regard to the planning outcome and we look forward to developing our plans for delivery further, together with all stakeholders. 

*Image credit: Land Logic Ltd  

New Government policy on design includes custom build housing as part of housing mix

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The Government has today (Saturday 30 January) announced new rules to improve the design quality of new development across England.

Key elements include: 

  • Proposing changes to the National Planning Policy Framework to place greater emphasis on beauty and place-making, and to ensure that all new streets are lined with trees.
  • Publishing a draft national design code that provides a checklist of design principles to consider for new developments, such as street character, building type, facade, and the requirements that address wellbeing and environmental impact, which councils can use as a foundation for their own local design codes.
  • Encouraging all councils to publish their unique design code, so residents have a real say in the design of new developments in their area.

The proposed changes to the Framework ask councils and decision makers to reflect the National Design Code and guide in local plans and planning decisions and is expected to be a significant material consideration in the planning process.

The National Design Code makes clear that design codes and guides can be helpful in facilitating custom-build, self-build and the use of modern methods of construction. It also makes specific reference to custom build housing by asking that new development include a mix of tenures and house-types including live/work and custom-build units where possible. 

The accompanying guidance underlines that design codes can facilitate the growth of the custom and self build housing sector by encouraging self- and custom build both on infill sites and on larger schemes where plot-based masterplans can enable individuals to build their own homes. It also helpfully distinguishes between self-build and custom build housing for the first time and refers to the use of ‘plot passports’, a term used to describe the design rules for building plots and which is now becoming widely used across the country as part of design codes.

The announcement responds to the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission set up to advise the government on design, whose final report is also published, and paves the way for the new planning reforms which are expected to be introduced in Parliament later this year and which follow the publication of the Government’s Planning for the future White Paper last year.

It also includes reference to a £150 million over 4 years to support a new mortgage scheme for self and custom builders which was announced by the Chancellor in the Spending Review last year as well as the establishment of an ‘Office for Place’ within the next year. It also includes reference to a new Community Housing Fund to support community-based organisations backed by £4 million for local planning.

It also commits the Government to publish the long-awaited revised national planning policy guidance for self-build and custom housebuilding.

Mario Wolf, Director of Planning and Strategic Engagement at Custom Build Homes, said:

“We welcome these wide-ranging proposals and look forward to further engagement with the Government to secure their implementation. Custom build housing has a key role to play in creating well-designed communities and is an important part of housing mix to offer home owners greater choice over the design of their homes. With demand for this form of housing increasing in these unprecedented times, the policy proposals set out in revised National Planning Policy Framework and National Model Design Code will enable more sites to come forward for high quality customisable housing on small and large sites.”