Self Build Homes

We have worked on a substantial number of homes since our inception in 2007 across a wide range of local planning authorities in the North and South, including (but not limited to) Great Manchester Councils (Manchester, Trafford, Cheshire East, Chester & Cheshire West) etc

Self Build Homes are a specialist form of housing. While they fall under the general C3 use class, generally self build houses are more bespoke than speculative housing. Here we refer to self build homes as homes created specifically for the occupiers rather than necessarily physically constructing the houses themselves (although several of our clients have done just that).

It can be challenging to obtain planning permission for self build homes for several reasons. The context of the houses – whether in Green Belt, conservation areas, backland sites, tandem plots or garden land provide unique opportunities and potential limitations that need to be fully understood. Particularly in London Architects create unique homes on tight urban sites which otherwise wouldn’t normally expect such developments.

The designs of self build homes are generally different from their immediate surroundings and convincing neighbours, planners and Committee Members that they are acceptable is a vital part of the planning process.

We have a wide range of experience in all different forms of self build homes – please see some interesting examples below and contact us to discuss your specific project.

Since 2015 the Government have required local planning authorities to plan for custom and self build homes which have provided additional opportunities to create such properties and can potentially help to leverage planning permission where policies or initial investigations suggest such homes would be unacceptable.

A further category of self build homes we have significant experience in is Paragraph 79 (previously para 55) Homes – please see our dedicated case studies page for more information.