NEWS


selfbuilder +homemaker


PUBLISHER Anthony Parker


MANAGING EDITOR James Parker


ASSISTANT EDITOR Tom Boddy


CONTRIBUTORS Debbie Jeffery Heather Dixon Jennifer Grimble Roseanne Field


STUDIO MANAGER Mikey Pooley


PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS Georgia Musson Kimberley Musson


ACCOUNT MANAGER Sheehan Edmonds


SALES EXECUTIVE Nathan Hunt


PR EXECUTIVES Suzanne Easter Kim Friend


AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT


MANAGER Jane Spice


MANAGING DIRECTOR Simon Reed


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selfbuilder +homemaker


SHEDDING LIGHT


ON SOLAR PV Our expert answers some of the big questions on specifying solar PV for your build


Go neutral


Design tips to create a great ambience in the kitchen


Timber or


composite? Advice to help you choose the right decking option for your garden makeover


All Rights Reserved MAY/JUNE 2021


Subscription costs just £18 for 6 issues, including post and packing. Phone 01435 863500 for details. Individual copies of the publication are available at £3.25 each inc p&p.


A refurb of refinement


David and Martin Ratcliffe’s London renovation blends Victorian elements with contemporary space


ON THE COVER... © RICHARD CHIVERS (PAGE 38)


No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photocopying, recording or stored in any information retrieval system without the express prior written consent of the publisher. Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of material published in Selfbuilder & Homemaker, the publisher can accept no responsibility for the claims or opinions made by contributors, manufacturers or advertisers. Editorial contributors to this journal may have made a payment towards the reproduction costs of material used to illustrate their products. The manufacturer of the paper used within our publication is a Chain-of-Custody certified supplier operating within environmental systems certified to both ISO 14001 and EMAS in order to ensure sustainable production.


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www.nsbrc.co.uk/eco-workshops


HOMEBUILDING & RENOVATING SHOW 8 - 11 JULY, BIRMINGHAM


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THE NATIONAL SELF BUILD & RENOVATION SHOW 23 - 24 JULY, SWINDON


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FROM THE EDITOR...


After much pre-publicity through 2020, the Government’s ‘Help to Build’ scheme (playing on Help to Buy which excluded most self-builders) has finally launched. It promises aspiring self- builders to “make it easier and more affordable to build their own homes,” and as such comes with hopes that it could revolutionise self-build, which is lagging behind other countries.


The scheme provides £150m for either standard ground-up self-building or for custom-built (“built to order”) properties from developers. For beneficiaries it will reduce the deposit required to secure a self-build mortgage to 5 per cent, therefore opening the way for a much wider section of society to get involved. The Government thinks that 30,000 – 40,000 homebuyers could potentially takeup the scheme, which will appear fully in late summer.


With self-build presenting a host of challenges, as well as pleasures, it’s not for the faint of heart, particularly when it comes to the escalating bills. Anything that makes the gateway to beginning the process easier, and therefore which alleviates the pain of later cost hikes somewhat, has to be hugely welcomed. The scheme comes with funding for councils to develop public land, and the inevitable ‘reviews’ of how delivery can be accelerated, and how laws can be tweaked to help. Planning has barely been touched however, as yet.


With Covid having taken a toll on the nation’s finances, and sure to do so for the foreseeable future, people’s disposable income is not going to be conducive to taking on self-build on a whim. Instead it’s going to have to be a carefully thought out, and supported decision for whoever decides to make the jump, and do it themselves.


55,000 people are on UK council Right to Build registers, and around 16,000 self-builds are completed per year. Contrast with Canada, where according to our National Custom & Self Build Association (NaCSBA), half of all new homes in Canada are self-builds, and in Austria it’s a hard-to-believe 80 per cent. We have a long way to go!


JAMES PARKER DATES FOR YOUR DIARY


may/june 2021


www.sbhonline.co.uk


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