The publication of The Bacon Review, by Richard Bacon MP in 2021, has now resulted in a commitment by the government to establish a Custom and Self Build Housing Delivery unit within Homes England, which could pave the way to more people building their own homes.
This will enable the creation of serviced plots on small and large sites, plus support the delivery of custom and self build at scale across the country.
The government has also launched the Help to Build equity loan scheme, backed by £150 million funding, that will help buyers with 5% buyer deposits towards land and building costs.
The Bacon Review was commissioned by the Prime Minister, who asked him to undertake an independent review into scaling up self-build and custom housebuilding.
Richard Bacon made six recommendations:
- A greater role for Homes England with the creation of a new Custom and Self-Build Housing Delivery Unit within Homes England.
- Raise awareness of the right to build, with the Government, working through Homes England with the custom and self-build industry, create a custom and self-build housing show park, strengthen existing legislation to mandate the wider publicity of self-build and custom housebuilding registers.
- Support community-led housing, diversity of supply and levelling up by reigniting the Community Housing Fund; creating accessible opportunities for communities to help themselves by introducing a Self-Help Housing Programme; and introducing a Plot to Rent Scheme.
- Promote greener homes and more use of advanced manufacturing by supporting the pathfinding role of the custom and self-build housing sector in advanced manufacturing and in greener homes.
- Support custom- and self-building through the planning reforms by maximising the opportunities for access to permissioned land for custom and self-build across all tenures. This would include changing right to build legislation.
- Iron out any tax creases so any perceived disadvantages in the tax system between the custom and self-build delivery model and other forms of housing are ironed out.
The government’s response has now been published, with Housing Minister Rt Hon Stuart Andrew MP saying the “government strongly believes that self and custom build housing can play a crucial role – as part of a wider package of measures – in securing greater diversity in the housing market, increasing overall supply and helping to deliver the homes people want.”
It agreed to some of the recommendations. “In some cases, where we are not able to commit to recommendations today, the Government has committed to do additional work to investigate their viability for future years, as we continue to deliver on our manifesto commitment to support self and custom build housing,” added the Housing Minister.
What this means for Hugr Homes
We have long focused on delivering sites with plots that are ready for homeowners who want to custom build their own home.
Our research has shown there is growing demand for plots, demonstrated by the numbers of enquiries we receive about available land.
The Bacon Review and the launch of Help to Build equity loan scheme are welcome boosts to the market and will help to us to serve an even wider range of buyers.
We remain engaged with our customers so we can focus on their requirements and help them to build the house they want. We hope the launch of the specialist delivery unit within Homes England will allow enablers and developers like us to scale up our model and deliver more land for potential homes.
If you want to find out how you could enjoy living in your own custom built home, contact the Hugr Homes team today by emailing hello@hugrhomes.com or telephoning 07540 754153.
