Self Build Planning Appeals

Anyone involved in an appeal involving a self-build dwelling or custom-built dwellings will find an invaluable resource at the Right-to-Build-Portal provided by the NaCSBA. The Right-to-Build Portal provides an online summary of every local planning authority's self-build register that enables you to quickly and easily compare the number of people registered for self-build plots against the number of plots with planning permission. An example result is shown below:

This welcome resource from NaCSBA will prove invaluable in helping to find the self-build registers on Council websites, which can otherwise feel like searching for a needle in a haystack.  We highly recommend the NaCSBA's Right to Build Portal.

The Right to Build puts pressure on LPAs

From October 2019 each LPA has a legal duty to provide enough self-build plots to meet the demand for self-build plots registered for the base period 3 years previously. For example, in October 2019 a local planning authority has a legal duty to provide the number of plots to meet the demand for self-builders registered in October 2016.  This time-delay introduces an element of complexity, but overall the Self Build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 and its associated Regulations 2016 bring a welcome objectivity to the process.

We can expect a great many more successful appeals as local planning authorities wake up to this legal requirement.

Planning Inspector checks plots are genuinely self-build

In a key decision at Woodville, West Leicestershire in June 2019, Inspector Harold Stephens decided that planning consents for single plots was insufficient to qualify as meeting demand for self-build.  In that appeal, only plots that had a s106 mechanism to ensure they were dedicated for self-builders were considered to meet the statutory requirement.  It remains to be seen whether other Inspectors adopt the same approach.

For more details about the Woodville appeal, please see our 1st August 2019 blog here.

To find other relevant self-build appeals, use the search on our Home page.