Government Unveils Custom Build Action Plan

The government has published a new action plan aimed at boosting the amount of self building and custom building, aimed at making it easier for people to construct their own homes.

It said the new plan for self and custom build is designed to “establish it as a mainstream option for people to choose to get on the housing ladder or when moving home”. The blueprint brings together a series of different initiatives already set up by the government to encourage self-building under one umbrella.

This development may be welcomed by people thinking of building a log cabin in the UK. This could be made easier by more favourable planning rules, as well as potentially forming part of a self-build development, one that uses organic materials and combines a main home with a second building.

According to the document, the number of new homes built this way could be raised from the current level of around 13,000 a year to around 30-40,000.

The document identified a number of common barriers to such projects, including a lack of finance for individuals and developers alike, a shortage of available land and a lack of knowledge. Measures aiming to deal with these issues include more funding for local authorities to release brownfield land and a review of legislation to establish and eliminate shortcomings.

In the latter case, there will be a review of the 2016 ‘Right to Build’ legislation to see how this is working. The rules created by this law required all local authorities to establish a register of available land. People signed up to the register would be notified when plots became available.