You may be fortunate enough to have a plot already at your disposal - a large side garden, for instance, that could accommodate a new home. However, for many would-be self-builders, the process begins with finding a suitable building plot.
BUILDING ON A SLOPING SITE This timber frame self-build (the frame was provided by Potton) was constructed on a sloping plot. The homeowners, Lesley and David Lennox, built an expansive deck (approximately 70m2) to provide a patio with a level threshold from the main living spaces.
IMAGE:JEREMY PHILLIPS
It’s important to approach plotfinding with an open mind. Rarely does a flat plot of land, adjacent to open countryside in a picture-postcode village, present itself (without a high price tag to suit, of course). Self-build plots come in all shapes and sizes. Typical plot ‘types’ include:
• Garden plots. As the name suggests, a garden plot may be a large side or front garden on which the owner has sought planning permission to build a new house.
• Greenfield plots are areas of previously undeveloped land. A greenfield site is often a parcel of land in an urban area or village that occupies a ‘gap’ in the streetscape.