On Saturday 19 July a wonderful write up on Flosh Meadows site by Jenny Barwise in the News & Star evening paper came out of the blue.On 16 July 2014 Copeland Borough Council Planning Panel unanimously agreed to grant permission and allow the Self Build Planning application at Flosh Meadows, Cleator.… Read More »Planning panel says YES to Flosh Meadows Self Build
Why, when it comes do buying a shirt do we have almost infinite choice, yet when it comes to investing in a new home, we seem to have hardly any? says MP for South Norfolk Richard Bacon
The current new-build housing market, dominated by a few large-volume companies is “intellectually bankrupt”, according to South Norfolk MP Richard Bacon.
The answer? Empowering more people to be able to build their own homes.Read More »South Norfolk MP calls for a self-build homes revolution to limit dominance of major housebuilders
(sub titled as I am advised by family & friends that ‘Wimps’ is a harsh word !!!)
A plethora of advice, for and against self build now also being called Custom Build for family homes is now available online, especially at the excellent and comprehensive National Custom & Self Build Association web site
Building your own home can be one of the best life style & financial choices a family can make but it should be entered into only following thorough research and a willingness for hard work. It can bring exceptional financial benefits if you ‘put in’ a lot of the work yourselves and control your costs by careful buying of materials and sub contractor costs; if this is not what you want to do it may prove more expensive than buying a standard house “of the peg”.
Flosh Meadows owners say “All prospective self builders should carry out an in-depth study of their personal wishes, ability, determination, time and finances before committing to any irrevocable purchase or action”.
A self builder cautioned me some years ago; “you spend 12 month building your perfect designed high quality home and possibly if you are not careful 24 months re-building your relationship” so be fully aware of the difficulties before you make a life changing decision.
It is not our intention to sell you the idea of self build. We simply offer our self build, Flosh Meadows serviced plots in a wonderful part of West Cumbria within short walking distance of the internationally renowned The Lake District National Park a World Heritage site.
We consider the following article by the well known and financially astute people at This Is Money website is a brilliant place to start:
Read More »Self Build is not for Wimps
The Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles on 15 October 2013 said he will turn the UK into a “nation of self-builders” by offering subsidies and tax breaks to people who create their own home.
The UK must become like countries including Austria, Belgium and Sweden, which “reward” people who choose to build their own property, Mr Pickles said.
He said that helping tens of thousands of people to build their own homes will stop “homogeneous, pasteurised housing” being built across the country.
People in the countryside will then be much less likely to oppose custom built housing than larger developments and estates, Mr Pickles said.Read More »Turn UK into a Nation of Self-Builders says Government Minister
England’s 353 councils are set to share a cash payout of £661m over the next year, after delivering 142,000 new homes, including self Build and affordable properties.
This funding under the New Homes Bonus scheme will also reward councils for bringing 13,000 long-term empty properties back into use.
This latest allocation, to be paid in the 2013 to 2014 financial year, means councils will have received £1.3bn through the scheme since its launch in April 2011.Read More »New Homes Bonus scheme adds up to £660m for councils
New guidance has been published by the National Self Build Association (NaSBA) which provides advice on how planners and custom-build developers can make it easier for people to build their own homes. The guide explains how new Government policy included in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) encouraging self-build can be applied locally.
These include:
encouraging larger scale, self-build communities – like those that are already underway in Continental Europe – using public land to proactively facilitate self build projects – setting a target for a certain proportion of new homes to be self-builds when allocating sites or planning for new homes – treating modest low-cost self builds as ‘affordable’ housing – specifically encouraging self-builds in certain areas – for example on ‘infill’ sites, OR AS SMALL- SCALE EXTENSIONS ON THE EDGE OF TOWNS OR VILLAGES.Read More »Self building guide published-November 2012