Grant Shapps £30m plans to back self build, came a step closer this week with the release of parcels of land for 80 new homes. The pieces of land are to be released by the the Homes and Communities Agency as part of a new pilot scheme, reports Inside Housing.
Ministers hope to encourage self-builders to develop a quarter of a million homes over the next decade. Last year, fewer than 14,000 homes were self-built in the UK. Shapps has announced a £30 million fund to promote the practice in the form of a revolving short-term loan facility to be made available to councils and other housing providers and which will be recycled once it is repaid. Details of the terms under which loans will be offered as well as the five pilot projects are due to be announced shortly.
The self build scheme comes as the governmenbt appears to be stepping up efforts to try and unblock the house building log jam. Homebuilding slumped 11% in the first quarter of the year, with housing associations starts plunging 21%, official figures have revealed.
This week David Cameron used his speech on the economy to indicate he had asked Treasury to look at the possibility of using state guarantees to boost investment in housing and infrastructure.
During a trade visit to Almere in Holland on Monday, where the local authority has launched the biggest self-build project in Europe with 3,000 homes planned, housing minister Grant Shapps also said he would seek an exemption to the community infrastructure levy to encourage more self-builders.
‘We do not want to see the CIL levied on properties that are self-built,’ Mr Shapps said. ‘It is counter-productive to everything we have been doing to try to promote the self-build industry.’
The CIL is a charge that can be levied by councils on new developments of any size. It has recently been criticised by developers who have said
it will limit the money available to provide affordable housing.
A CLG spokesperson said: ‘Ministers are actively considering ways to help as many people as possible realise their self-build ambitions, and this includes reviewing financial arrangements such as the community infrastructure levy.’
Cherwell Council in Oxfordshire has plans in place to develop 250 self-build homes, with a mixture of outright sale, affordable rent and shared ownership units. It will do this either through its own community land trust or a partner housing association.
…. As Southwark announced 1000 new council houses
Southwark Council said it plans to build 1,000 new council homes – averaging 100 a year – before 2020. The south London local authority plans to use spaces in Southwark which are underused, vacant or problematic, such as garage spaces, for large-scale development.
The homes will be council-funded and managed giving greater control over rents and management. The council hopes to use the homes for local residents in priority need, allowing it to re-let existing homes and create better mobility on estates.
Leader of Southwark Council Peter John said: ‘We are absolutely committed to delivering more high quality, genuinely affordable council homes for Southwark, which is why we have ambitious plans to build 1,000 in Southwark by 2020.
‘Over the past year we have already delivered 600 affordable homes in Southwark, but no one else is talking about building council homes on this scale.’
The council has received successful returns from regeneration and development projects, he said, and it would make economic sense to plough this back into council housing.
The first proposed site for new homes to be built is at the former Borough and Bankside housing office site on Long Lane, SE1.
…and United House regenerates Poplar
Contractor United House and commercial regeneration expert Allied London have joined forces in a £100 million programme to undertake the regeneration of the Chrisp Street area in Poplar, in London’s East End.
United House and Allied London, in partnership, have been chosen as preferred developer following a procurement process by Poplar HARCA. Chrisp Street Market, a purpose-built market square, created for the Festival of Britain in 1951, will be at the heart of the transformation of the area.
The vision is to create a new food shopping destination, with new outside eating areas, improving the area to benefit local businesses, and a mix of private and affordable homes, ensuring the current mix of traders and local residents is maintained. Leisure, health and fitness, cultural, commercial and retail space, with community and new public spaces, focused around the Market Square is also planned as part of the new development.
The aim is to start work in 2014 with completion in 2017.
Jeffrey Adams, Group Chief Executive of United House, said: “The world is looking East and this is a great opportunity for United House and Allied London to work together to create new homes, shops and a new community focus for local people and for visitors to enjoy vibrant Chrisp Street market and the surrounding area. United House has an outstanding track record of working with local communities to deliver award-winning regeneration programmes and we look forward to creating a new sense of place in Poplar.”
