Updated planning guidance on self build
The government has updated its Planning Practice Guidance on Self-build and Custom Housebuilding.
The revision to the original April 2016 legislation strengthens the guidance on the Right to Build, the common term used to describe the duties set out by the Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015, as amended by the Housing and Planning Act 2016.
Under the changes, custom-built homes on multi-plots and communal schemes can now qualify for exemption from the Community Infrastructure Levy. The guidance also adds weight to the RTB registers in terms of them being considered by local authorities as evidence of demand. Several other measures will support the delivery of custom and self build as part of wider local housing strategies.
Andrew Baddeley-Chappell, CEO of the National Custom and Self Build Association, said: “The guidance helps to create a positive environment and temper some poor practice, and is a step in the right direction.
“Even better news is that there is more to come – with Help to Build, the upcoming grant-funded Serviced Plot Fund (Brownfield Land Release Fund) and the wider review of the Right to Build legislation.”
Mario Wolf, former director of the Right to Build Task Force, said:
“The need to bring the guidance up to date has been pressing for some time, as councils and practitioners have grappled with the Right to Build and questions around the application of national policy and the law in this area.”
Wolf, who is a director of Planning and Strategic Engagement at Custom Build Homes, added: “Although we are seeing a lot of sites coming forward, our clients remain frustrated by inaction and game playing by some councils in how they exercise their statutory duties and unnecessary debate around the meaning and intentions of the government’s policy.”
