Right to Build Consultation Launched

Chris Bates, Editor of Build It magazine
by Chris Batesmith
27th October 2014

An open consultation has been launched by the government with the aim of identifying the best way to structure the proposed Right to Build a new home.

First announced in the Budget 2014, the Right to Build is intended to give custom builders in England a right to a viable building plot. Its aim is to address the shortfall of suitable land by giving local people access to a suitable plot with the help of their local council.

The government is inviting views from local authorities, the custom build sector and prospective custom builders via a 39-page Right to Build consultation document.

The hope is that this will not only support the custom and self-build sector, but also increase the capacity and diversity of the house building industry – ensuring more high-quality homes come onto the market faster.

Pioneering self-build

The consultation comes hot on the heels of the government’s appointment of 11 Right to Build vanguard councils to pioneer the scheme. Fundamentally, each of these 11 local authorities have volunteered to operate a Right to Build model and test how the initiative will work in practice.

Broadly speaking, the Right to Build will operate in the following way:

  • Prospective custom builders will be entitled to apply to their local planning authority for a suitable, serviced plot of land on which to build or commission their own home
  • The application will be recorded on a Right to Build register for the local area (provided the custom builder meets eligibility criteria)
  • The demand on the register will be taken into account, in particular in the preparation of local plans, so that there are appropriate planning policies in place to bring forward sufficient plots of land for custom build
  • Registered custom bulders will be offerd suitable plots of land for sale through the local planning authority at market value. These will have some form of planning permission and servicing in place

The first element of the Right to Build – the establisment of a register of prospective custom builders who are seeking plots – is being pushed forward under Richard Bacon MP’s private members’ bill (the Self-Build and Custom Housebuilding Bill), which is backed by both the government and Labour. The Bill recently had its second reading in Parliament and is now set to proceed to committee stage.

Two authorities (Chelmsford City Council and Teinbridge District Council) have already established their own online registers for expressions of interest in land for custom build projects.

“I hope as many prospective custom builders, local authorities and business as possible respond to this consultation to help us tailor the Right to Build to every local area and aspiring self-builder in the country,” said Brandon Lewis MP (minister of state for housing and planning) in his foreword for the consultation.

Read more about the consultation and express your views via the DCLG’s website.

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