A trailblazer in the world of Custom and Self-build homes, Teignbridge District Council is to share its experience locally with Mid Devon District Council to help more people build their own homes.
Mid Devon DC recently agreed to accept expert advice and support from Teignbridge to pave the way for Mid-Devon residents to build their own homes, in the form of support from Charles Acland, Self Build Officer at Teignbridge DC. The support is being funded through the Government’s new burdens payment for self and custom build, and will be provided by the Right to Build Task Force.
Acland, who is an experienced self builder and Right to Build Task Force Expert, will be sharing the progress made locally and nationally with Mid Devon DC, working for Mid Devon 2 days a month for 6 months initially then as necessary until 31 March 2019. This is a great example of local authorities pooling and sharing resources, and offers a model for funding this work that could be adopted by other councils.
Mario Wolf, Director of the Right to Build Task Force, said, “In the rapidly evolving field of Custom and Self Build, shared learning and experience is vital to efficiency and success. The Right to Build Task Force is delighted to support Mid Devon’s ambitions by bolstering their technical capacity with the addition of Charles Acland, who will build on the progress already made at Teignbridge towards diversifying the local housing market with Custom and Self Build homes.”
Cllr Jeremy Christophers, Teignbridge District Council Leader and Deputy Task Force Ambassador said, “Leading innovative policy developments as a Government Vanguard for Custom and Self Build, Teignbridge DC has been at the ‘bleeding-edge’ for 6 years. This means that councils can learn from us and save time. With the support of the Right to Build Taskforce, Councils can bring forward Self and Custom Build plots within three years.
“Working on behalf of the Right to Build Task Force, myself and Charles help councils identify opportunities and benefits which different forms of Custom and Self Build housing can bring. Teignbridge will help Mid Devon bring Custom and Self-build homes to life, to help accelerate good quality affordable housing supply.”
Acland commented, “This work will help Mid Devon DC increase the number of planning consents for serviced Custom and Self-build plots, using lessons learned from Teignbridge’s experience over the last 6 years.
“My role is focussed on three main areas: to increase understanding about the benefits of self and custom build with residents, officers and council members; to assist Mid Devon officers’ discussions with developers and landowners to overcome challenges and unlock serviced building plots; and provide support to Custom and Self-build projects on a day-to-day basis.”
Mid Devon District Council Deputy Leader, Cllr Richard Chesterton, said, “This provides an excellent opportunity to open up the housing market in Mid Devon, benefitting house buyers and small builders by widening the access to more housing sites within the district. We look forward to this opportunity to work with the Right To Build Task Force to deliver this for our communities.”
Mid Devon District Council’s Forward Planning Team Leader, Tristan Peat, said, “This is a fantastic opportunity for Mid Devon. We look forward to the Right To Build Task Force supporting us to help broaden the choice of new homes in the district to meet housing needs and also to help smaller builders access more sites with development potential for housing.”
What do the Right to Build Task Force experts do:
- support interested people sign up to the Council’s self build register;
- help elected Members’ understand the opportunities and benefits that Custom and Self Build housing can bring for residents;
- establish a clear direction in how the Council can meet demand for this form of housing locally
- explain how custom and self build can help provide affordable housing;
- provide advice on funding options for the Council to pay for site procurement, servicing and access and how developers and community groups can access finance for their projects;
- advise officers on Self-build policies, including how neighbourhood planning can enable custom and self build;
- share funding options for developers and community groups to help bring forward projects.
Anyone wishing to sign up to their local register should visit NaCSBA’s Right to Build Portal.
Photo, L-R: Stephen Walford, Mid Devon District Council’s Chief Executive & Director of Growth welcomes Charles Acland, Teignbridge Self Build Officer.
