This issue of Build It incorporating SelfBuild & Design hits the printing press just a couple of days after the chancellor’s Spring Budget. I’d thought (perhaps even hoped) that we might need to make a few last-minute changes to our news round-up (see page 12) to accommodate some big stories affecting self builders.

In the event, aside from welcome reports that we are likely to avoid technical recession, there’s not a great deal in there for those seeking to create an individual home. The biggest measure had been telegraphed for weeks – namely relaxing immigration rules by adding trades such as bricklayers and carpenters to the Shortage Occupation List. There’s been a deficit of skilled labour since Brexit, with the FMB reporting 60% of jobs are currently stalled as a result. So, this was a no-brainer to get projects moving. Hopefully increased availability will filter through into lower quotes, too. There was also a pledge for further support to councils where nutrient neutrality issues have put the brakes on housebuilding, which may help pull some projects out of the planning quagmire.