Responding to a letter written by NaCSBA on behalf of the sector, Secretary of State for Housing the Rt Hon Christopher Pincher MP confirmed the Government’s commitment to owner-commissioned housing.
The letter states:
“This Government is firmly committed to supporting self and custom housebuilders and the wider construction sector, particularly during these most challenging of times. The Government has put in place an unprecedented package of measures to provide support for public services, individuals and businesses, to ensure the impact of coronavirus is minimised.
“As we come together as a nation, we strongly believe that self and custom housebuilders can play a crucial role by boosting housing supply and reinvigorating and diversifying the housing market.”
The letter is a response to NaCSBA’s CEO, Andrew Baddeley-Chappell writing to Robert Jenrick, Secretary of State, about the omission of custom and self build from Government’s guidance for safeworking for construction during Coronavirus.
The guidance about working safely missed out custom and self build, an omission that was quickly corrected following NaCSBA’s intervention, with explicit reference to Custom and Self building.
NaCSBA firmly believes that our sector has a valuable role to play in housing. It estimates that there are currently 15,000 self commissioned homes in the process of construction, with a similar number approaching the start or in the final finishing stages.
“Together we are not small but we could and should be much larger, as there is huge unlocked potential that custom and self build can play in our recovery,” wrote Baddeley-Chappell.
NaCSBA members can read the letters in the members section once logged in. Any log in issues please email.
Check out NaCSBA’s guidance for safe onsite working.
Credit: Christopher Pincher, Flickr, Creative Commons
