It’s no secret that Britain is in the midst of a grave housing shortage, the likes of which we haven’t seen for many years. In response to this, local councils have taken action in order to help increase the supply of affordable homes with the new ‘right to build’ legislation.
From next month, under the legislation, councils in England will be obliged to ensure that plots of land are available to anyone wanting to self-build their own homes. It is thought that this will provide a much-needed boost to the number of housing options available across the country. The policy is following in the footsteps of a similar drive that has taken place in the Netherlands and has seen positive results.
Aspiring builders need to register their interest in creating a self-build and the council is obliged to satisfy their demand within three years of their application. Possible sites for these homes include public sector land, perhaps that owned by the NHS or the Ministry of Defence. As architects, we are really excited about the design possibilities this new legislation represents.
We’re designers who always put the client first, we always enjoy working on self-build projects as it allows us to assist people in achieving their dream home. By essentially ‘starting from scratch’, it gives potential buyers the freedom to pursue a design that is to their specific tastes.
As well as the design opportunities a self or new-build can represent, in terms of budget, there is evidence that a self-build could save up to 30 percent of the cost of buying an existing home. The drive also presents the opportunity for different kinds of building, including sustainable builds – which is something we hope to be doing more of here at Fibre Architects.
We look forward to seeing how this new legislation affects the number of self-builds taking place, and we hope to be involved in a lot more of these types of projects in the future!
