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From the Front Line
So this week I've begun looking in some detail at the first batch of announcements by local authorities about their intended charges for the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). What I've found is pretty depressing - so here goes.
First things first - an explanation. The CIL is designed to run alongside and eventually effectively replace the current ad hoc and not terribly transparent raft of planning obligations and section 106 agreements - which have affected self-builders in some areas, and not in others. The CIL will be a flat rate, non-negotiable, charged on all development and payable upon commencement of development (within 60 days). By 2014 all local authorities will have a CIL in place.
And if you're thinking that self-builders are exempt, you're wrong. CIL is charged on any new development over 100m2 - even large extensions qualify. A self-built home of 200m2 will be charged at 200 x (the set rate/m2). An extension adding 50m2 will be exempt; an extension adding 101m2 (not that there will be any of those in the future) will be required to pay 101 x (the set rate/m2).
UPDATE: Further research here suggests that the 100m2 rule doesn't apply if the proposal applies 'to one or more dwellings'. My reading of that is that even small self-builds will be liable, therefore.
And here's the rub. My initial research on charges councils intend to set indicates that a typical cost is going to be around £110/m2. Yes - that means on a typical 200m2 self-build you'll be required to pay an extra £22,000 that you won't have had to pay before.
The only glimmer of light is that the additional floorspace rule means replacement dwellings are usually exempt unless they were tiny in the first place. And I suspect that in the future we might see more phased building projects - i.e. a 98m2 self-build followed by a couple of similar sized extensions over the coming years.
The CIL is just becoming a reality for self-builders in parts of Nottinghamshire and all of Shropshire - where the early feedback is that self-builders simply won't proceed. We're conducting a major study into this issue and invite your feedback (and especially any local information you have). There is also a lively place on the site already for discussion on planning obligations and section 106s.
Previous blog posts ...
I'm sure I'm not alone in having central heating problems over the Christmas period, but - with the benefit of happy hindsight and having fixed the matter at hand - it did raise some useful points.
When we built our house a few years ago, we installed a boiler (I won't name it) that at the time was a state-of-the-art model - condensing (when it didn't need to be), with full controls and weather compensation.
read moreA simple and slightly desperate plea for help from homebuilding.co.uk visitors: anyone know of any decent LED lights?
read moreThe landscape for existing homeowners who want to add renewables just got easier. As of December 1st, ground source heat pumps are allowed under Permitted Development (alterations to your home that don't require planning consent).
read moreThe Government today (21st November) published its long-awaited Housing Strategy to kickstart the housing market. As Mark Brinkley said to me at the weekend, it's pretty much the Government's only policy for growth and so it had better work.
The strategy, which sets the framework for the Government's approach to housing over the period of this parliament, is notable for self-builders in that it brings together the various plans that I've mentioned before on this blog. They are:
read moreParish councils are likely to have more power to decide planning issues on their patch under the new Localism Bill, currently in the House of Lords. With that in mind, I'm reprinting this article from last night's edition of our local freesheet, The Chronicle:
Councillor Faces Wrap Over Water Throwing
A parish councillor threw water over an architect at a meeting that approved plans to build a four bedroom house overlooking his home.
Seventy-two year old Graham Howard is now facing a demand from the council chairman to explain his actions.
read moreReading the Times over the weekend, I remembered why I don't read newspapers as much as I used to - talk about bringing stress and unease to a Sunday morning!
read moreHave a read of the following extract from the new National Planning Policy Framework, launched yesterday:
"Local planning authorities should have a clear understanding of housing requirements in their area. They should: • prepare a Strategic Housing Market Assessment to assess their full housing requirements, working with neighbouring authorities where housing market areas cross administrative boundaries.
read moreSo amidst all the humble pie in Parliament yesterday, the BBC website ran a story about the Government's plans to increase self-build. It ran a generally positive story about how changes in planning, finance and land supply might well help to boost the number of people who build their own homes.
The article was interesting in two ways for me. Firstly, a remarkable comment from someone from the Housebuilder's Federation who said: "I wouldn't live in a house I'd built myself." It really does beggar belief.
read more
Jason Orme
Jason Orme has been the Editor of Homebuilding & Renovating for many years and has written on property and self-build matters for, amongst others, The Independent and The Telegraph. He self-built in 2004 and is looking for another plot.
Centaur Special Interest Media, Ascent Publishing Ltd, 2 Sugar Brook Court, Aston Road, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, B60 3EX. Tel: 01527 834435
Archispeak Blog
Well Jason - I completely agree with all that nonsense those architects like to drum up and charge large fees for. A friend of mine is on her third architect at considerable expense for small single storey extension, and is made to feel small by their arrogant approach to design. Builders are expected to do extensive, detailed estimates for all their customers FOC - architects on the other hand will not even talk to you until you have agreed their over inflated hourly rates. Plus they seem to get all the credit for the builder's hard work.
But I'm sorry to point it out this years awards have plenty of rubbish Archispeak, listen to this
"Philpott House evolves from the traditional of abstraction and economy of form, allied to a modern sense of light...and....Borne from a direct response to the constraints and opportunities of its site and compromising forms and materials appropriate for its function"
and some more...Contemporary self build in Wales...."The evolution of design came though understanding the phenomenology of place, carefully balanced against the client’s individual lifestyle... expressing a air of humility whilst replicating the simple linear form and structure of Gower vernacular ‘barn’ typology"
and some more...Aggregate House..."The project is composed of a collection of components serially developed through previous projects, but these components are loosely assembled rather than forming a single coherent composition – allowing visual dominance to oscillate between the original and new elements"
Oh and it keeps getting beter
A Victorian extension..."Determined from both the property’s existing geometry and a series of exploratory paper models; the impression formed is of a tailored garment turned inside out to reveal a complex structure of pleated seams....and.....Seemingly in constant motion, the planes shift and tilt, alternating with triangular roof lights that frame views of the sky, trees and distant chimney-tops."....
To me it's pretty clear which finalists have been entered in by the architects not the actual owners - the architect speak is cold, total rubbish...perhaps your magazine could have a monthly column listing the best or worst of this arrogant chat.
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