Is planning approval easier for small sites if they are self build - 2023 update

Is custom and self-build development easier to get planning consent for?  Yes and no.

Positive encouragement for self build is baked into legislation and the National Planning Policy Framework.  In fact 6,374 consents were granted in the 12 months ending 30th October 2022. Below are some shortcuts to help your case feature in next year's success figures.

Self build has its own housing needs and supply requirement for which DLUHC very helpfully provide statistics every year. These have just been published (the link is at the bottom of this page) and provide useful evidence to support your planning application or appeal, as discussed in my blog last year.

Planning appeals for custom & self build housing

Given official encouragements for supporting self build, you would be forgiven for thinking they have a higher success rate at appeal.  The facts show the opposite story; self build appeals tend to have a low success rate. This isn't as gloomy as it first appears because many local planning authorities with a positive approach simply approve self build applications, so there are fewer appeals in the first place.  

Other LPAs have such negative Local Plan policies that Planning Inspectors can do little to overcome the Development Plan’s policy problems, giving you an uphill battle on appeal. The key is to identify these negative LPAs early on, and don’t waste your time or energy on them.

Shortcuts for success – helping you pick a good horse

Last year I concluded there’s no point flogging a dead horse. The key question is, “How do I identify the LPAs with a favourable approach and avoid those with a negative approach?” This year I’ve used DLUHC's data to give each LPA a ‘custom & self build positivity score’ which you can find here.

The table includes for each LPA the number of consents granted for the year ending 30 October 2022 but this figure should be treated with caution, taking into account the relative size of the LPA. Some authorities issue plenty of consents, just not within that particular 12 month period, making the latest figures unrepresentative. Nevertheless, it provides a useful summary but for a fuller picture the original DLUHC spreadsheet on right to build registers monitoring data can be found here.

When preparing your case, it can help to see how others have presented theirs and how it was received by Planning Inspectors. To find appeals featuring custom & self build, go to our Home page and pop “self build” (including the inverted commas) into the search bar.