NaCSBA is delighted to share the news that Richard Bacon’s Review of the Custom and Self Build sector has been submitted to government on the 23 July, meeting the deadline set by Boris Johnson. It will now be down to government to review the document prior to publication, at which point NaCSBA will be sharing an update with its members – save the date 10am on the 9 September (provisional).
Johnson commissioned Richard Bacon to do the review in April, with Bacon being a logical choice thanks to his long-term support and campaigning for custom and self build. Specifically, the review was to examine the reasons why our new homes market fails to deliver innovative homes that give consumer choice through housing diversity.
“I would like you to reach out nationally and internationally to consumers and stakeholders, to develop a plan for a major scaling up of self-commissioned new homes – across all tenures – to boost capacity and overall housing supply.”
The review was required to collate evidence from stakeholders and data about the sector, and NaCSBA thanks all its members who took the time to speak to Richard. It also required a set of recommendations that will support government in its ambition to create a better environment for the sector to operate in, as Johnson explained:
“…we need to foster much wider awareness, capacity and delivery capability among consumers, landowners, planners, developers and among the providers of services and materials.”
Richard Bacon, author of the review, said, “My review makes it clear that a large scale custom and self build sector is a missing market in our housing supply model. The overview the review provides is much needed, and will provide a base for custom and self build to step up to be a key provider of housing in the UK, as it is in many other countries. This will round out the products of the mainstream builders, providing welcome additional homes that contribute to the government’s target of 300,000 homes a year.
“The review demonstrates that these homes will be better built, better designed and more sustainable than many on the open market due to the nature of custom and self build. This will diversify the housing market, giving many more people genuine choice in the type of home they want to live in. I look forward to government’s response to my recommendations for securing this change.”
Image: Allan Corfield Architects build at Graven Hill/Duncan Hayes
