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Q&As
How Can I Get the Council to Sell Me Land for a Self Build?
Over some years, I’ve been trying to get my local authority to sell me a piece of land - disused allotments - to build an eco home. I’ve quoted Right to Build, the Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015, written to my local MP and Richard Bacon MP who is fronting a new self build Initiative. Nothing.
What mechanism can I employ to get the council to comply with all the initiatives?
I hope you can help.
Regards,
John Self
One Answer
There are two different points here. The first is how to get the council to meet its obligations to provide adequate plots to meet the local demand for self-build plots. The second, is getting them to agree to sell you some of their land.
On the first point, there’s no quick fix. You really need to get involved when the council’s local plan or neighbourhood plan is updated and lobby hard for policies that enable self-build.
On the second, the council is not obliged to sell land it owns. Where councils do decide to sell, they generally feel obliged to be seen to be getting the best possible price, and so sell in the open market.
Mike Dade (Build It Planning Expert)