Shapps to make public land open to self build, urges council support

The Housing Minister has promised to make publicly owned land available to boost the number of new self build houses in the UK and make such developments “a mainstream housing option”.

In a speech to Grand Designs Live 2011, Grant Shapps urged local authorities and housing associations to show their support to self builders. He said he also wanted private investors to bring forward plots.

The first government-owned land to be made available for housebuilding under the Build Now, Pay Later scheme would be announced shortly, with some plots retained exclusively for self-builders, the minister added.

Shapps said: "Self builders deliver affordable, greener and more innovatively-designed homes; and make a big contribution to the number of new homes built in this country, yet there is scope to significantly increase the number of self built homes in the UK – both for individual households and for community-driven projects.

"I want to turn around the fortunes of self-builders by cutting the red tape and bureaucracy they often face and make self build a reality for many more people.”

The Housing Minister said he was encouraged by the ongoing work of the industry-government self-build working group, which was launched in February this year.

The group is developing an action plan to reduce the barriers that aspiring self-builders often face, he said. “These efforts will help bring self-build into the mainstream, and not simply be the preserve of the privileged few – meaning not just Grand Designs, but common designs.”