Small plots for self-builds: building your own Grand Designs home is the easiest it's been in decades

There is help at last for people who dream of owning a custom-built home. Some may want to get their hands dirty but plenty more are content to sit on the sidelines and leave the customisation to an architect, project manager or niche developer.

Concerned about the dominance of big developers, London Mayor Sadiq Khan has launched a website for custom builders, with details of publicly owned land available for individual and group projects.

Sites include small plots such as a 0.13-acre backland strip in Albany Road, Southwark, perfect for a one-off home, as well as bigger plots such as a leafy 1.42-acre parcel at Beechwood Avenue, near the North Circular, which could easily accommodate two or more houses with big gardens. Visit The Self Build Portal for more.

THE RIGHT TO BUILD

A new “Right to Build” scheme requires local councils to keep a register of land suitable for self-builders, and to approve planning permissions. The aim is to double the number of custom-built homes to 20,000 by 2020.

Big developers are being encouraged to release self-build plots at larger sites, and 11 “vanguard” councils, including the Greater London Authority, have been chosen to push the initiative through.

The Government is also dangling tax incentives and urging lenders to make mortgages more widely available. In many parts of the world, at least four in 10 new homes are built or commissioned by individuals but here the figure is not even one in 10.

Many Britons built their own homes 100 years ago, but gradually parcels of land coming up for sale got larger, until eventually only housebuilders could afford to buy and develop them.

In the last 10 years the number of small sites in London has halved, and almost a third of small and medium-size developers have disappeared.

The Government believes self-build can reduce the housing shortage, empower people and communities and boost eco-friendly construction, a high priority.

It says self-build homes are “generally built more quickly and to a higher quality than other homes, and tend to use more productive, modern methods of construction”.

With traditional developers, a third of the final price is for land, with a third for the build and a third profit. Pure self-builders can save 20 per cent and they are likely to get a better, bigger, more individual home for the same price.

However, while the dream of tailor-making a home excites the architect in us all, the reality often frustrates: finding a plot, battling with planners and Nimbys, scratching around for finance.

Which is why niche firms are sprouting up to assist self-builders, offering “golden brick” plots with utilities and infrastructure in place, and various house design options that conform to a masterplan.

​Blenheim Grove is a development of seven customisable houses at Peckham Rye from bespoke sales agent Rare Space. The shell is built according to a planning brief, and Rare Space can assist buyers or leave them free to finish the job.

The three-storey houses offer split-level and double-height spaces, roof terraces, private courtyards and ultra-low running costs.

Prices start at £649,995 rising to £1,099,995. The highly rated developer claims buyers can save more than 20 per cent over an “off the peg” home. Call 020 3815 5367.

Kent-based Quinn Estates is targeting London commuters who want a good-value self-build home in a country setting.

Serviced plots are available at Hammill Park near Canterbury, from £225,000. Buyers must build according to a design code. Call 01227 831212.

Spectacular cliff-top plots priced from £475,000 to £750,000 are for sale at Broadstairs, Kent, through Castle Homes. The 13 plots are part of North Foreland Estate and residents will enjoy access to a private beach.

PREFAB CHIC

Specialist companies Facit Homes and Sylva design and digitally manufacture homes using a prefabricated structure made in a factory, offering wow-factor interiors, extensive glazing and open-plan spaces.

How much you pay depends on how elaborate the design and the quality of materials and finishes.

“Prefab chic” is the speciality of Huf Haus, a German firm producing custom-made timber-and-glass homes. With no attic, the interiors seem to reach to the sky. Everything is engineered, from the basic fabric of the house to timber floors and white Corian sinks.

Prices start at about £500,000 before land costs but can be millions, depending on client demands. One such fabulous home in Plaistow, West Sussex, is on the market as a resale for £4.5 million, through Emoov.

Huf Haus can design a home as small as 1,000sq ft up to 10,000sq ft and says the typical cost is £200 per square foot, including superstructure, on-site assembly and interior finishes. Call 01932 586550 or visit the sales centre at Brooklands, Surrey.

OAK IS ALWAYS IN FASHION

Despite availability of hi-tech steel frames and ever-improving man-made materials, good old-fashioned oak is still the favoured structural material for many self-builders.

It’s strong and dependable, energy-efficient, aesthetically pleasing and sustainable, and whether beams are exposed or concealed, oak allows for the wide, open-plan interiors loved by self-builders. Potton, a timber-frame manufacturer, offers a complete design-and-build package.

At the company’s base in St Neots, Cambridgeshire, you can view show homes, including a contemporary-design “Passivhaus” model that deviates from traditional cottage and farmhouse designs.

Potton also provides help with plot-finding and runs free courses for self-builders. Call 01767 676400.

A RADICAL MOVE TO A SELF BUILD IN SURREY

After 25 years in an Edwardian semi in Woking, Surrey, Lynn and David Paynter made a radical move to an ultra-modern timber-and-glass house, prefabricated in Germany and erected on a six-and-a-half-acre plot set in National Trust woodland in Haslemere, at a build cost of £600,000.

“At first, neither of us believed we would adore such modernity, but when we learned what was possible, we were smitten,” says Lynn, 57, a finance director.

The couple saw an ad for Huf Haus homes in a local paper and immediately set the wheels in motion to build their dream house.

They sold their Woking home and rented a barn conversion as a stopgap. “The barn was a brilliant transitional home, preparing us for the spacious, open-plan living of our new Huf home.”

After scouring West Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire for a plot, the Paynters found their ideal space, a bank repossession with a derelict bungalow and planning permission for a new house.

They visited Huf Haus HQ in Germany to choose the design and finishes, including more than 1,000 fittings. An old paddock provided infrastructure for the ground source heat pump. Within five days of the various components being transported to the site, the structure was up and the roof began to go on. “Incredibly, there was no scaffolding,” adds Lynn. “Less than 18 months after finding the site we moved into the house.”

Soon after, their attention turned to landscaping. “The house had so many glass walls, providing a great opportunity to create a breath-taking garden. We planted a wildflower meadow and woodland walk, built a sculpture garden for my husband’s art, and a Japanese garden inspired by Kew.

Last year we held an Open Studio exhibition, with 20 artists exhibiting. “It’s wonderful to enjoy the fruits of our labour. We love having visitors who are enchanted by our home, which we share with the local wildlife, and we look forward to many more years here.”

BUILDING A DETACHED FAMILY HOME IN KENT

The Storey family are building a detached 3,600 sq ft house with a garage on one of 14 fully serviced plots at Broughton Park, formerly a garden centre, in Kent.

They paid £265,00 for the land, and expect the total cost of their project to be £650,000, which will include £20,000 for just putting in the foundations.

“We’ve designed the house to give us exactly what we want — more space for the children, a large and open-plan kitchen/family hub and a big garden,” says mum Helaina.

“Each of the 14 homes at the site is completely different except that all the owners have to use the same type of exterior brick to ensure the development looks cohesive.”

MARYLEBONE TO OXFORDSHIRE

Finance workers Marc and Laura Marsdale, of Marylebone, have begun a custom-build project at Britain’s biggest self-build site, Graven Hill in Oxfordshire, where 1,900 homes, from glass cube minimalism to heritage lookalikes, are being built on serviced plots.

The local council bought hundreds of Ministry of Defence acres and created a masterplan of streets with individual plots, open space, nurseries, cycleways and even a pub.

Buyers choose a plot and can use an architect or builder, or finish their home themselves. Designs are fast-tracked through the planning system.

A prescribed palette of materials seeks to ensure that the finished estate will look cohesive.

The Marsdales, who commissioned prefab specialist Facit Homes for a five-bedroom, £800,000 house, with a finishing date of Christmas, say: “We get to be part of the design team, and then leave it to them to crack on.”

Graven Hill plots cost £125,000 to £310,000. Buyers must pay for groundworks, which can run into tens of thousands of pounds, and can use recommended design and build companies including Beattie Passivhaus, which will provide the shell of a 195sq m four-bedroom house for £114,800, or complete the house for £272,611.