In 2015, Fareham Borough Council recognised the newly introduced self and custom-build legislation as an exciting opportunity to diversify local housing and promote home ownership and were eager to integrate these housing options into the community.
The council signalled its commitment to this sector in the same year through the adoption of the Welborne Plan, a local development document which includes a requirement to deliver 60 custom-build homes within a 6,000-home garden village site.
Additionally, the Fareham Development Sites and Policies Plan, also adopted in 2015, outlined the council’s support for self-build housing, encouraging residents to build their own homes where possible.
In 2018, the council adopted a focused action plan as part of a strategic response to the Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 and the Housing and Planning Act 2016.
The plan aimed to positively enable self and custom-build housing, influencing key stakeholders involved in delivering these housing forms, and included a commitment to a specific self and custom-build policy and exploring opportunities to allocate sites for such homes in the Local Plan review.
The action plan also included the aim to share experience in the emergent sector.
To achieve this, the council engaged with the Right to Build Task Force and the National Custom and Self Build Association (NaCSBA).
In September 2018, Fareham Borough Council hosted a Right to Build Expo, featuring presentations and expert talks from NaCSBA, Richard Bacon MP, and various experts from the Right to Build Task Force.
This event underscored the council’s dedication to fostering a supportive environment for self and custom-build housing.
Specific policies in the council’s recently adopted Local Plan demonstrate its ongoing support.
For example, responding to the need identified by the self and custom-build register, housing sites of 40 or more dwellings now need to deliver 10 per cent as self or custom-build homes.
Additionally, the plan includes a specific self-build allocation and a policy supporting small self and custom-build developments adjacent to urban areas.
The support from the Right to Build Task Force while navigating the local plan through examination to adoption was crucial.
Working against a backdrop of changing planning legislation and guidance, the council received vital advice and validation that helped officers establish robust evidence and successfully counter challenges from developers regarding the soundness of the policies.
Despite these efforts, the delivery of self and custom-build housing in Fareham has faced challenges.
The lengthy local plan process meant that a number of allocated sites, which would have been subject to the percentage policy, received planning permission before the plan’s adoption.
This has significantly reduced the overall number of self and custom-build dwellings the policy sought deliver. Nevertheless, Fareham Borough Council continues to champion the sector.
In 2023, it adopted a self and custo- build Supplementary Planning Document and in 2024 granted outline permission for the first three discount market custom-build homes as part of a large housing development.
This ambition to support self and custom-build delivery has been informed and supported by the advice and guidance provided by the Right to Build Task Force through their programme of masterclass webinars, health checks and direct support, which council members and officers have found invaluable.
- The LGA’s virtual event ‘Delivering self and custom-build homes: the council perspective’ takes place on 30 October. The Right to Build Task Force, part-funded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, provides advice and information to support the delivery of custom and self-build homes. See also ‘Empowering self-build and housing diversity’.