Shapps unveils £30 million for self build homes
Author: Susanna Millar, Planning |
Housing minister Grant Shapps has announced a £30 million fund to help people who want to build their own home and has pledged to double the size of the self-build housing industry in Britain.
Shapps has gone to the Netherlands with Channel 4’s Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud, who has just been appointed by the National Self Build Association as a champion for the industry.
They are travelling with a UK trade delegation to Almere in Amsterdam to see what lessons can be learnt from Dutch self-builders there.
The £30 million fund is designed to provide short-term finance to part fund land acquisition and early development costs for projects where groups of self-build homes are built at the same time. The money would be repaid on completion of the project.
Shapps said more than 100,000 people were looking for self-build plots across the country.
But despite this interest, Britain still lags behind the rest of the world in terms of the proportion of homes built each year by self-builders, according to Shapps.
These types of projects have been held back in the UK because of reluctance by lenders to provide finance, he said.
Shapps said: “I am determined to change this so anyone who wants to embark on a self-build project has the opportunity to do so.”
“That’s why I am delighted Kevin McCloud has agreed to represent the industry – championing the cause of existing and aspiring self-builders across the country.”
McCloud said: “In the past we have built some of the poorest performing, most expensive and smallest homes in Europe. But there is another way. What if we became a nation of self builders like the Dutch? What if each household in the UK had the option to build their own place? What if large-scale developers provided finished-slab, fully-serviced sites for homebuilders?”
“Self build is seen as a long, difficult and self- sacrificing process. But with the right planning, help and support it can be enjoyable and – on collective schemes – empowering.”
McCloud has also backed a new website offering help and advice for aspiring self-builders.