Last month, I reported on the new Right to Build registers. Every local authority in England is obliged to set up and maintain one to record demand for self and custom building in their areas. the idea is they must account for this by granting planning consent on sufficient viable plots within a three-year period (whether on their own sites, or privately or publicly-held land). It’s a bold initiative that could enable thousands more highquality projects every year – but at the moment very few councils seem to be actively publicising their registers. So there’s a danger that demand could be badly underreported, which might in turn lead to local authorities arguing (I’d suggest wrongly) that there’s very little call for bespoke housing in their regions.
Despite a lack of wider publicity (outside of Build It and other dedicated media)