Remember the early days of the coalition when then-housing minister Grant Shapps promised "Britain's army of self-builders" would almost alone solve the national housing shortage Well, it hasn't quite worked out that way.
Data from construction consultancy Barbour ABI shows that 16,792 self build planning applications were submitted in the first three quarters of 2008...and only 12,159 were submitted in the first three quarters of this year.
The figures highlight that self-build is down in every single region of the UK with the Midlands and East Anglia down 35 per cent each and Wales down a shopping 62 per cent.
In the Budget this spring the coalition introduced more measures to bring the concept of self-building back to life, including a £150m loan fund to help bring forward thousands of so-called "shovel-ready" building plots and a proposed "right to build" policy giving individuals the right to a suitable plot of land for self-building.
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Comments
I AM BASED IN DORSET AND THERE IS A MAJOR SHORTAGE OF SINGLE PLOTS DUE TO PLANNING CONSTRAINTS, ESPECIALLY THE HEATHLAND PROTECTION ZONES. THIS SHORTAGE BRINGS THE VALUES UP, AND WITH THE FEES REQUIRED BY THE LOCAL AUTHORITY FOR SOCIAL HOUSING CONTRIBUTIONS, REQUIREMENT FOR EXPENSIVE RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS, CODE LEVEL COMPLIANCE, AND THE MASSIVE LENDING FEES, (IF YOU CAN FIND A LENDER THAT IS WILLING TO FUND THE BUILD), PLACES ANY PLOTS OUTSIDE THE REACH OF A MAJORITY OF SELF BUILDERS.