The Government has today (Wednesday 16 December) announced further measures to enable the delivery of more homes across England.

Central to this is the Government’s confirmation that January 2021 will see the launch of a new £100 million Brownfield Land Release fund to support brownfield development, estates regeneration, development on public sector land and self and custom-build serviced plots to come forward. A large portion of this new fund will go to supporting self and custom-build developments. 

In making the announcement the Government underlined its ongoing commitment to support more people to build their own homes- a sector which it believes is growing. 

The announcement has also called on councils to use the time between now and the launch of the fund to start to consider and prepare their bids for funding. 

A further element of the announcement which will impact on housing supply is the introduction of a new standard method for assessing housing need which targets urban areas and prioritises brownfield development and will be central to planning for new homes in local communities.

This announcement builds on the recent Government spending review announcement that the Government is launching a new ‘Help to Build’ equity loan scheme for people who want to build their own homes, providing access to low deposit mortgages, which is expected to launch in Spring 2021 and we reported on last month.

The government has also said it will be encouraging councils to plan for family homes and ensure the right mix of home sizes, types and tenures for local communities come forward.

Mario Wolf, Director of Planning and Strategic Engagement at CBH, said:

“This announcement is further testimony that the Government is serious about scaling up custom and self build housing and is great new for our sector and clients. It will undoubtedly help unlock more projects on larger sites. We look forward to further details and working with councils to identify and bring forward their opportunities when the fund launches in early 2021.”

More information about the full announcement can be found here.

Could custom build housing be the answer to widespread consumer frustrations, as detailed by the Ipswich Building Society in their recent survey? The new Report states people have increasing concerns over whether they will find a plot for their new home and 40% believe financing their build would be the most difficult aspect of the project.

Custom Build Homes (CBH) is on a mission to diversify new housing supply in the UK by enabling everyone to customise and create a home that meets their lifestyle needs. CBH works in partnership with multiple landowners, local authorities, developers and housebuilders to create beautifully designed communities for now and the future.

In light of CV-19, the concept of accessing a new home that has been designed to meet the needs of individual homeowners has never been more appealing. As national lockdown descended, the suitability of our housing stock was tested like never before and the results were damning. It exposed the limitations of many volume-built designs, including their lack of liveable space and lack of natural light. As a result, the latest data shows more people are looking to move out of cities and to a home where they can have greater input into its design and use. This new consumer appetite has magnified the need for Government to further pledge its support to those wishing to custom build. The 30^th October 2020 marked the second “Right to Build Day” and also the day when Robert Jenrick MP – Secretary of State for Housing & Communities stated there will be new reviews into the planning process to make accessing a plot for custom build easier and more affordable.

CBH has analysed the data from more than 9,800 individuals who are currently looking for a plot since March 2020. The data illustrates; 31% desire garden space, 23% desire a garage and 79% prefer a detached home with three (38%) or four (37%) bedrooms.

The Ipswich Building Society Report also states 20% of people believe finding the right contractors will be the hardest part of the process. While this may be true for some who wish to self-build, these concerns can be mitigated by many emerging custom build delivery models, where plot purchasers are supported by professionals to design or customise a new home before it is delivered on their behalf, either to completion or to an agreed stage.

It also highlights that many people believe funding their new home could be problematic. While the mortgage products and the process for arranging funding may differ for custom and self-build, there are a number of specialist lenders available nationally. Specialist Broker, BuildStore is excellently placed to support plot purchasers understand their budget and access funds with a large panel of lenders operating exclusively through them.

The Report went on to reveal the main motivators for building a new home includes; the desire for control over design (51%) and people’s increasing consciousness of environmentally friendly living (28%). While others recognise the various financial benefits to building their own home (17%), such as; reduced SDLT and possible VAT savings.

Meanwhile, the data accessed by CBH illustrates the reasons for people wishing to create their own homes are to create appropriate living spaces (17%), to create an energy efficient home (14%) and to live in better and more affordable homes (14%).

The Report highlights that location remains the most important factor when choosing a plot (40%). Others include the type of planning permission (21%), price (17%), size (12%) and commuting distance (6%).

The National Custom & Self Build Association (NaCSBA) launched the inaugural “Right to Build Day” on the 30 October 2019. The date marked the first year where all English Local Authorities are required to demonstrate they have granted sufficient planning permissions for serviced plots as dictated by the demand generated on their discrete statutory demand Registers.

Hester McQueen, Chief Marketing Officer at CBH said: “Amazon, Netflix and Spotify have set consumers expectations when it comes to personalisation and it is becoming evident through research that people want greater levels of choice and personalisation where possible. So, it’s unsurprising people want to live in a home that’s been designed and built just for them.

“At CBH we want to make customising homes more accessible and affordable to all. Together we can build better, and to help us with this we are encouraging people to sign up to the Custom Build Register.  Their demand data will help us bring forward more plots and homes which respond accurately to satisfy people’s thirst to create as well as meet their individual needs. Sign up today on the Custom Build Homes website!”

The Ipswich Building Society’s research illustrated that 52% of people were unaware they need a special mortgage when creating their own home.

“We understand more needs to be done to explain how the mortgage process works and we are committed to this as is our partner BuildStore”, she added.

Custom Build Homes has today (Friday 30 October) welcomed the commitment from the Government to review law on how to make it easier for people to create their own home.

The review into custom build housing has been announced on “Right to Build” day. Councils are further urged to ensure planning permission is granted for suitable plots for local people to build a home to suit their lifestyle.

Commenting on the commitment to examine how effective the Government’s support is for the custom and self-build sector, Custom Build Homes’ Founder Tom Connor said:

“The announcement from the Housing Minister is welcomed as it further demonstrates the Government’s commitment to supporting people’s right to live in a more suitable home.  I hope the review will lead to strengthening policies to ensure more plots which are permitted for custom housebuilding are actually delivered as such.”

Custom Build Homes (CBH) is pleased to announce it will be working closely with Tetlow King Planning (TKP) to drive forward its ambitious growth plans to lead the delivery of large scale custom build housing projects across the country.

TKP will act as the preferred planning consultancy for CBH working closely with its growing network of designers and construction affiliates to provide professional planning advice to its clients. 

Mario Wolf, Director of Planning and Strategic Engagement at CBH, said: “We have a growing client base nationally and firmly believe that by working closely with a specialist planning consultancy like TKP, we will be in a strong position to service the growing demand for our enabling service.

“Our mission to lead custom housebuilding in the UK by providing people with the opportunity to purchase and create their own homes at scale is underway. We are enabling high quality, custom build, homes on large and small housing sites, to create beautifully designed places, irrespective of tenure, offering greater choice to consumers and inspiring many more people to create their own homes.

“The custom build housing sector in on the verge of an imminent explosion in activity with more and more sites coming forward at scale and increasing interest from landowners to include customisable housing in their projects. We need to convert these opportunities into planning permissions to unlock the potential of this growing market.

“TKP has become a leading planning consultancy supporting the Custom and Self-Build development sector providing professional advice where it is needed most. With a challenging national planning reform agenda ahead, we are delighted to have them support us in our programme of work,” he added.

Andy Moger, Associate Director at TKP who is also represented on the Government supported Right to Build Task Force and has been working with CBH on several projects to date, said: “Tetlow King are delighted to partner with Custom Build Homes in this exciting and rapidly expanding sector of the housing market. The Government has consistently supported the growth of self and custom-build housing since the 2011 Housing Strategy for England and this support is now firmly entrenched in both the National Planning Policy Framework and the Planning Practice Guidance. 

“A growing number of appeal decisions have also highlighted the importance of custom and self-build development, several of which have been as a result of expert witness evidence at inquiry by Tetlow King Planning. 

We look forward to a fruitful working relationship with Custom Build Homes and the delivery of successful self and custom build developments to address the latent market demand.”

Custom Build Homes’ CEO/CVO Tom Connor and CMO Hester McQueen are joined by Rhys Denbigh from Facit Homes to discuss what makes Facit Homes so unique and their plans for future.