Can self and custom build be scaled up?
We take a detailed look at Richard Bacon MP’s government-backed review of the selfcommissioned homes market and the power of putting choice in the hands of consumers
Above: A bird’s-eye view of the Graven Hill development in Bicester, where community, quality and customer choice are the watchwords, with hundreds of plots being delivered as self and custom build opportunities
Back in late August, Richard Bacon, MP for South Norfolk released his landmark report aimed at scaling up delivery of custom and self build (CSB) homes in the UK. Regular readers will know that Richard is a tireless champion for the proliferation of self-commissioned homes. He was the main driver of legislation enabling the Right to Build (whereby councils have to record interest levels in self build in their areas, and permission enough serviced plots to match that demand), and continues to push for better quality and more choice in the housing market. So it was fantastic news when the Prime Minister commissioned him to conduct this wide-ranging review earlier in the year.
Entitled ‘House: How putting customers in charge can change everything’, the report highlights a “missing market” for self-commissioned homes. Richard addresses areas such as consumer choice, planning challenges, lack of land supply and difficulty in accessing finance – culminating in six headline recommendations all designed, at the PM’s request, to be actionable. For those of you who want to dig down further into the review, you’ll actually find 36 detailed recommendations across those six areas.