On the 31st October, the long-awaited Right to Build was finally activated. It’s been two years since 11 vanguard councils were chosen to pilot the scheme, which sees local authorities obligated to maintain registers of individuals and groups keen to purchase a plot of land on which to create their own homes – and to meet that demand by granting planning permission on enough serviced sites. Now the policy applies across the whole of England (hopefully the rest of the UK will soon follow suit).
The legislation has the potential to enable thousands more of us to self or custom build each year, but it’s early days and we’re yet to see how well councils will respond. What’s more, recent research by NaCSBA suggests that in eight in 10 members of the public don’t even know about the Right to Build registers. Given my experience of talking to local authorities over recent weeks (many planning officers don’t seem to have heard of it either), I’m surprised that figure isn’t higher! The issue here is that if so many people don’t know about it, true demand can’t actually be measured – which will only lead to under-reporting and a failure to deliver the housing people actually want and need. This month, we’ve put together a five-page special report on what the Right to Build means for you and how you can sign up – including which councils don’t yet have a register. Turn to page 62 for our in-depth guide to what you need to know.