council leader summit
NaCSBA hosts high-level summit at Downing Street A
t the beginning of December the NaCSBA hosted a high-level summit at Downing Street where Council
Leaders were urged to become ‘champions’ of self and custom build housing. The Council Leaders that attended the
Summit heard from a number of senior politi- cians including the Housing and Planning Minister, Brandon Lewis, and the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group that supports self-build, Richard Bacon. TV presenter and self/custom build champion, Kevin McCloud, also addressed the Summit, together with the chair of the Local Government Association, Lord Gary Porter. Richard Bacon welcomed the guests
before setting out the key messages, which included the need to boost housing supply. He confirmed that potential new homeown- ers want to build their own properties because it provides them with homes they cannot purchase from a standard developer. He claimed there is a huge demand by peo- ple who want to stay in communities much longer and create homes that are more inno- vative, support local economies, small
builders and jobs. The Housing and Planning Minster, Brandon Lewis, reinforced the government’s commitment to double the number of custom and self build homes built in the UK. He also outlined the various measures the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has taken to help meet this target including the Right to Build and the new Housing and Planning Bill. Kevin McCloud stressed that we have a
lot to learn from the self and custom build homes that are being built abroad. He welcomed the government’s support and the work of NaCSBA’s R&D to develop the sector. Local Government Association (LGA)
Chair Lord Gary Porter confirmed the LGA’s growing support for custom and self-build housing. He introduced Barry Wood From Cherwell District Council and Jeremy Christophers from Teignbridge District Council who explained the steps taken by both councils to help develop the custom and self-build sector. Both stressed the importance of strong political backing for
local initiatives, and the positive impact they are getting from their electorates. Closing the Summit Richard Bacon reminded Council Leaders of their key role and encouraged them and their planning and housing teams to look at the recently launched Custom & Self Build Toolkit, covered on page ten.
self-build development Self-build development for South London R
USS, a community self-build group that aims to provide homes for those priced out of the housing market, has been
named preferred bidder by Lewisham Council to deliver homes in Lewisham, South London. RUSS will develop a scheme of 30 new, high quality, sustainable homes on the site of an old school in Ladywell, Lewisham. This follows six years of work led by volunteers in the com- munity to secure the bid. The project will create a mixed community
made up of people from diverse back- grounds. The development will include one- bedroom to four-bedroom homes, available on a range of tenures including social rent, affordable rent, shared equity and shared ownership. It will include properties aimed specifically at providing training opportunities through the construction of shared-flats for young people. The specific mix of properties and tenure will be tailored to suit the mix of residents that come forward for the scheme. People interested in the project will be able to get involved in the self-build process and learn new skills, regardless of their skill level at the outset. RUSS founder, Kareem Dayes, who grew
up in Lewisham’s early self-build housing scheme in Walter’s Way in Honor Oak, said:
“It is brilliant that RUSS has been chosen as preferred bidder. After five years of planning and negotiating we are now able to begin the real work of building a truly affordable and sustainable community. We can now move a step closer to empowering local peo- ple to create an alternative to private owner- ship and private rented housing. “We aim to establish a new precedent, a replicable model in community-led housing that will benefit people currently unable to access housing on the open market. As a Community Land Trust we invite all local peo- ple to get involved, become a member of RUSS and participate in the realisation of this project. People can get in touch via our web- site and come to our public meetings and we’ll be opening for official expressions of interest soon. “This project is one step of many towards
creating a better housing market that offers people high quality sustainable homes that they can afford. Thank you to all the people who have supported RUSS over the years. We look forward to the continued develop- ment of our partnerships within the local com- munity and Lewisham Council to create a space we can all be proud of.” Councillor Damien Egan, Lewisham’s
Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “This is an exciting initiative that follows co-operative housing principles. It shows that there are many ways in which we can creatively address our housing need. This is an aspira- tional, ambitious and affordable scheme from a passionate group who have got the local community behind them. Lewisham were pio- neers of self-build housing in the 1980’s and we’re proud to welcome a new generation of self-builders.” RUSS will now work with Lewisham
Council to finalise the development agree- ment and lease. The RUSS project team will facilitate the members, local community, neighbours and the council to bring forward a sustainable design. The target for starting on site is spring 2017 with a view to com- pleting by 2020.
Ladywell site
selfbuilder & homemaker
www.sbhonline.co.uk
5
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68