WARRINGTON Borough Council is encouraging developers to collaborate on the delivery of self and custom build plots for local people within their developments.
The council’s recently adopted Local Plan promotes the provision of self-build and custom build housing. Now, the council is bringing forward self and custom build plot opportunities on a number of allocated sites.
This approach supports the work in Warrington to diversify housing options and cater to the growing demand for personalised properties, empowering residents who aspire to design and build their own homes. In addition, it aims to give people a different route to getting on or moving up the housing ladder.
So far, the council has brought forward self and custom build plots/opportunities for the outlying settlements of Croft, Hollins Green, and Winwick. Further opportunities should be forthcoming soon at Culcheth and Lymm and within the main allocations at Thelwall Heys, Fiddlers Ferry and the South East Warrington Urban Extension.
The council’s cabinet member responsible for housing, Cllr John Kerr Brown (pictured above), said: “As well as building our own houses through the council’s housing company, Incrementum, we are also committed to supporting residents who wish to design and build their own homes, either through self-building or a custom build route.
“By encouraging developers to incorporate these plots within their projects, we can help more people realise their dream of owning a truly personalised home. This collaborative approach aims to not only expand housing choice but also contribute to the creation of vibrant and sustainable communities.”
Provision of self-build plots is a specific requirement of the Local Plan site allocations, subject to demand.
For more information, visit the council’s self-build register page
3 Comments
Another rouse by WBC to syphon money out of the public by refusing planning permissions.
This is either the council just going through the motions to appear to meet their planning policy obligations to encourage self build, or a lack of joined up thinking.
Presumably these are serviced lots without planning permission, otherwise it’s not self build. If there’s full disclosure prior to purchase, it’s hard to see that there will many buyers.
New regulations came in April 2024, which require anybody seeking planning permission to develop a piece of land, to demonstrate how they will achieve 10% biodiversity net gain (BNG). It’s aimed at commercial developers and the regulations provide an exemption for self builders. But Warrington have effectively closed the door on the exemption. They require the self builder to sign a Unilateral Undertaking, which their lawyers have prepared, which says they will not sell the house within 3 years of completion. They enforce it by putting a charge on the property, which means it is not mortgagable. So only self funding buyers need apply. BTW, the self builder has to pay Warrington’s legal costs for their lawyers to look at your signature.
The self builder might decide to forego the self build exemption to avoid the UU, do the assessment and provide the required 10% BNG net gain. There’s an approved spreadsheet and guidance, which an ecologist will happily use to do your assessment, naturally at a cost. It is highly unlikely they will be able to achieve the necessary BNG points within a typical building plot – it’s more than planting a few shrubs or building a pond. The self builder will need to be ready to spend tens of thousands of pounds on buying offsets – pieces of land which have been set aside elsewhere for BNG.
And recall, the intention behind the regulations was to exempt self builder. Warrington are engaging in regulatory over reach.
I wonder if Cllr John Kerr-Brown knows all this and if so, what he thinks about it?
Thanks for that as soon as I read it I knew WBC wouldn’t offer it for nothing ?
All I can say is there will be a lot of gaps on the building site lol