I am happy to commend Mr Noakes. My hon. Friend has made a good point. Lloyds, Nationwide—whose representatives I met this week—and, indeed, other finance houses are very interested in this market, and want to see it grow. It is obviously a challenge for them to make assessments and provide funding on the basis of those assessments, but they are also keen to ensure that the market is as de-risked as possible, so that their finance can be as affordable as possible for consumers who wish to build their own homes.
Advanced technology and advanced manufacturing may provide one solution. If the National House Building Council and other organisations recognise that if a property carries a lower risk, it will be a better lending proposition for mortgage companies. Another solution is the provision of land specifically for local planning purposes—the Government sites that I mentioned earlier are an example of that—so that mortgage companies can focus on a particular area rather than adopting a scattergun approach. All those measures would help the market to develop. The more the market develops, the more secure it becomes, and the better the prospects become for lending and the affordability of lending.
We are actively reducing the amount of red tape. Self-builders are already exempt from the community infrastructure levy, and last year we announced additional changes to section 106 affordable housing contributions. Those changes have the potential to save custom and self-builders many thousands of pounds.
We are continuing to work closely with the National Custom and Self Build Association. I join others in congratulating the association, and thanking its members for the excellent work that they have done in promoting the sector. We are also working with others in industry to increase the amount of information that is available to consumers. The online self-build portal should be the first port of call for anyone who is interested in custom and self-build. I am sure that it will provide more information and advice this year, and that that will be enormously helpful to all who are interested in custom and self-build but lack the experience or confidence to embark on a project. We can see that those polices are having an impact. According to the National Custom and Self Build Association, more than 5,000 new plots are in the pipeline. However, if we are to achieve our aim of doubling the size of the sector over the next decade, we shall need to go further.
We believe that the main barrier that is stopping more people from building their own homes is the lack of suitable plots of land. That is why, in the autumn, we engaged in consultation on a new right to build that would give prospective custom builders the right to a plot of land from their local council for the first time. The consultation set out our vision for that right. Eligible prospective custom builders will be entitled to register with their local planning authority for a suitable, serviced plot of land on which to build or commission their own homes. The demand on the right to build register for custom build will be taken into account in the preparation of local plans, so that there are appropriate planning
policies for the provision of enough plots of land for custom build. Registered custom builders will be offered suitable plots of land—with planning permission—for sale through the local planning authority, at market value.
Many prospective custom builders, local authorities and members of the custom building industry, as well as other professional bodies, have contributed to our consultation, and we are now considering all the responses. We are working with 11 local authorities to test the way in which the right to build will work in different contexts throughout the country. I want to clarify that our intention is to legislate for the full right to build in the next Parliament. This is a new area of policy that requires careful consideration and we want to make sure that we get it right. The Bill is an important part of this process.
The role of local authorities in bringing forward land is particularly novel and needs further consideration, and we want to make sure that the right forms an integral part of the planning system. It must support the local plan making process and existing planning designations. This will continue to prevent inappropriate development and protect precious landscapes such as the green belt. That is why we are proceeding carefully and will ensure that the views from the consultation and the vanguards inform the full legislation for the right to build. However, this Bill will legislate for the first element of the right, namely that local authorities will be required to establish registers of custom builders in their area.
I will explain our proposals for the register. First, the register will be a useful indicator of the scale and nature of demand for custom build in each local area. It builds on national planning policy by putting the requirement on a statutory footing—something I know Opposition Members fully support. It will also collect valuable information on the precise nature of this demand. By asking what size of plot, what location and what price range, local authorities and the custom build industry will be more able to respond to demand for custom build.
The register will also become a useful tool in the making of local plans. Many local authorities have been proactive in planning for custom and self-build, as national planning policy requires. However, as Minister for housing and planning, I know of aspiring custom builders who have contacted me as their local authority is not planning to meet their needs. By creating the register and creating this statutory duty, we will improve the local plan-making process so it meets the needs of custom builders. We must ensure that there is enough transparency to allow the information on the nature of demand for custom build to be used by the custom build industry, while, obviously, the data of individuals are well protected. The register will be useful in this way only if it demonstrates actual local demand for custom build plots. Local authorities should be confident that those on the register genuinely intend to build or commission their own home and consequently have the financial means to do so—which touches directly on the point my hon. Friend the Member for South Norfolk made a few moments ago.
This is why we are proposing that eligibility criteria be set out in the regulations that flow from this Bill. That will ensure that local authorities have the right to reject an applicant, should they fail to meet these eligibility criteria, and be confident that applicants will not waste
their valuable time and energy. Local authorities should also have the power to remove individuals from the register in certain prescribed circumstances, to ensure that it remains an accurate and reliable source of information.
Of course, we are keen to allow a necessary degree of flexibility. There are areas of the country, such as areas of low demand, where the local connection test is counter-productive. We want the register to help develop affordable custom build housing and propose that individuals can register through registered providers.
The Bill will require that local planning authorities publicise their register. Custom builders must be aware of the register if it is to provide information on the nature of demand. The Secretary of State has the power to issue guidance to ensure that registers are adequately publicised. How precisely the register is publicised will be at the discretion of the local authority, once this guidance is taken into account.
We are currently testing how the custom build register and the entire right to build will work in practice with 11 vanguard local authorities across the country. There was a high level of interest from local authorities to pioneer the right to build. I believe we are now working with some very innovative local authorities who are a great example across the country. I particularly appreciate the diversity of authorities that submitted expressions of interest.
These vanguards are committed to establishing registers and making suitable plots available to those on the registers. They vary in location from Teignbridge to Oldham. They vary in size of project from thousands of units to single figures. They vary in context from cities, such as Sheffield, to national parks, such as Exmoor and Dartmoor. They also vary in experience. Every single vanguard brings something new to the table.
I also want in particular to mention South Norfolk, the local authority where my hon. Friend’s—he is the owner of the Bill—constituency lies. It shares his passion and is getting other authorities and institutions involved in custom build. I am sure that we will see much more custom and self-build demand met in that area in future. Its work alongside neighbouring local authorities, including with the Broads Authority, is an excellent example of co-operation in more complicated administrative areas.
All these vanguard projects will help design the right to build that we will legislate for in the next Parliament. However, they will additionally inform the regulations for this Bill, and I am pleased to say that all the vanguards intend to have custom and self-build registers, like those that this Bill would require, online this month. The vanguards will also give us a greater understanding of the resource requirements of the register. This experience will inform the regulations of this Bill to ensure that the costs of the register are proportionate and not burdensome on local taxpayers. In case anyone is concerned that we have somehow “forgotten about London”, we are working with the Greater London authority to test the feasibility of a pan-London register.
Our experience with the vanguards and the responses to the consultation will help us to ensure that the right
to build supports the development of affordable housing as well, and I have outlined today the £7,500 example from by Beattie Passive. We want the right to build to support the development of affordable housing.
I am pleased to say that there are examples that demonstrate that this is possible across this country. Many registered providers have produced affordable housing and shared-ownership schemes through custom build, such as Coastline Housing in Cornwall. Some of our vanguards are working with registered providers to bring forward custom build development in this way. Custom build affordable housing offers a unique approach to shared ownership as the level of finish that the homeowner takes responsibility for can give them a greater equity share and help get them more firmly on the property ladder. I saw a direct example of this with a housing association I visited in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich North (Chloe Smith) just before Christmas.
New affordable housing solutions are one result of the diversity that custom build and this Bill will bring to the market. If we look to Berlin, we can see how much further this could go. The building groups of Berlin, formed of ordinary citizens, have come together with support from the local government, and have now produced thousands of homes, many in the last five years. If we look to Holland, we see another model of custom build development for urban extensions. I have touched on yet another model that could significantly improve build-out rates, which custom build opens up. Advanced housing manufacture harnesses technology to increase the speed of construction without sacrificing design. It is used worldwide to support housing delivery, but is a relatively small industry in this country. Custom build is the perfect part of the sector to see it develop and to benefit from it. Nevertheless, housing groups, such as the Accord Group in Birmingham and others I have mentioned, are taking the lead in developing the advanced housing manufacture industry, and they can produce a wide range of high-quality and environmentally friendly timber frames, and specialist insulation and innovative techniques that can be put up in just one day, as I have seen for myself.
I have explained how custom build could change the housing market with our support. This Bill will put in place the legislation for the first part of the right to build, allowing individuals wishing to build their home to register with their local authority for a suitable plot of land. As such, it builds on national planning policy and guidance which already requires local planning authorities to identify and plan for local demand for custom build in their local plans. I hope, following the outcome of the consultation and the experience of the vanguards, that we will be able to bring forward legislation in the next Parliament to implement the full right, giving registered custom builders the opportunity to be offered a suitable plot of land for sale through their local council.
With that in mind, and clearly with the support of the entire House today, I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for South Norfolk again. I am more than happy to support and endorse this Bill.
Question put and agreed to.
Bill accordingly read the Third time and passed.