At Scandinavian Homes, we look at building houses in a different way. We’re not a mass market housebuilder, throwing up dozens of homes on a site with little care what happens to them once we’ve sold them. We’re not an out-of-the-catalogue wooden box builder either. We’re a small family business and friendly team, and…

So, you’re finally going to build your dream home, and you want to make sure it’s also your forever home. There’s nothing worse than the idea of having to move from a house you’ve lived in and loved for decades because your health has deteriorated and you can no longer get up and down…

When you say the words ‘log cabin’, people generally imagine something rustic, tucked away in the woods, probably off grid and no running water, or they think about Center Parcs or similar holiday destinations. And it’s true, there are plenty of log cabins around that meet those descriptions, and they’re quite lovely, but houses…

Are you thinking of creating a new living space in your garden? Somewhere to work in peace, somewhere for the kids to make a noise, or maybe a yoga space to work out and chill out in? We have lots of options available, but you’ll need to think carefully about a few things before…

Whenever we see case studies of self build projects on TV or in magazines, we’re always surprised at how long the build can take. And yes, it probably will take longer than you hope, because things always do! We are also frequently asked by clients how long they will need to wait for us…

The Saffron Building Society has made its product range more flexible and will now accept mortgage applications with only outline plans instead of when full planning approval is in place. It has also developed a higher loan to value option for self-builders who have less money up front to start their development. Full details…

Welsh government Ministers are to launch a scheme in 2019 to help people build their own homes, with £210m of projected funding over the programme’s lifetime. The scheme will be subject to similar rules as Help to Buy in Wales – with successful applicants only able to use the scheme once, homes must be…

The Vernon Building Society has launched two new exclusive mortgage products for self and custom build with BuildLoan, to support intermediaries and their homebuilding clients. The products are a 2 year tracker Accelerator mortgage with an initial rate of 5.50% and a 2 year discount rate arrears mortgage with an initial rate of 4.74%….

Buckinghamshire Building Society has launched a range of self build mortgages with options for advanced payments where funds are released ahead of the build stages.   Full story here

The West Brom Building Society has partnered with BuildLoan to launch two mortgage products for borrowers who want to build their own home. Full story here

Incredibly, it is almost 2 years since we published our blog Learning From Other People’s Experiences – Our Top 5 Self-build Blogs, so we thought it was time we did a bit of an update. The blogs we recommended back then are still there and still well worth a read, but we’ve found some…

The Melton Building Society has changed its criteria to allow lending on modern methods of construction (MMC) properties. The society will now consider Timber Frame amongst other construction types for its standard self-build mortgages. They are one of a limited number of lenders who will also offer loans to purchase land, and their range of…

Plans for 156 new homes, 12 self-build plots, and business premises at Challabrook near Bovey Tracey have been approved by nine votes to six by Teignbridge District Council planners. The scheme must comply with 31 separate planning conditions. Full article can be found here

BuildLoan say that the Right To Build initiative is likely to drive an increase in enquiries for self-build loan products. Raymond Connor, BuildLoan CEO, said: “The bulk of enquiries will come from sites with multiple plots – custom build sites. These sites will generate business opportunities which will require a spread of lenders and…

The detailed proposals for a sustainable new eco-development on former china clay land at West Carclaze, north of St Austell in Cornwall are to be unveiled at a public exhibition on August 3rd and 4th 2018 at the Enterprise Space for Advanced Manufacturing (Esam) complex. As well as a range of 1, 2 and…

The Right To Build Task Force are offering 5 community led housing groups the opportunity to apply for free support from its panel of experts, but you’ll need to send in your application soon as the deadline date is July 31st. Mario Wolf, Director of the Right to Build Task Force, said “The Right…

Trailblazing Teignbridge District Council plans a 20 home custom build site, in addition to the self build plots being made available on other developments in the area. Teignbridge District Council brings on Howton Road Custom Build site

According to the Local Government Association, around 321,000 new homes were given planning permission in the UK during 2016 to 2017, but only 183,000 were actually built, while some 423,000 homes with planning permission are still awaiting construction. The Government has opened a consultation into possible changes to the planning system in an attempt…

A number of councils around the UK are in the process of agreeing plans for housing developments that will include an element of self-build. The advent of Right to Build and the work of NaCSBA, pioneering councils like Teignbridge, and champions of self build like MP Richard Bacon, founder of the All Party Parliamentary Group…

Decide on the area you want to look in, and research it. It may sound obvious, but lots of people have a vague idea of wanting to live ‘in the Lake District’, which covers quite a large area where it is difficult to get planning permission unless you’re already a local. Be prepared to…

Recent research by the National Custom and Self Build Association (NaCSBA) has revealed that the number of people wanting to self-build has risen by 80% since this time last year. A further 18,000 people have now signed on to the Right to Build Registers held by councils across the UK, meaning that councils now…

I was reading through some articles in Scottish Construction Now (yes, I do lead an exciting life) the other day, and came across a series of pieces on how the Chinese have enacted a ban on what leader Xi Jinping has called “weird architecture”. Apparently Chinese architects have been getting a little excitable and…

A new estate of self build homes is well on the way to becoming a reality in Seaton, Cumbria. The project is the brainchild of local man Mark Hodgson, who owns the land south of Lowca Lane in Seaton, where he has outline planning permission for a development of 43 self build homes. He…

York City Council has revealed its proposals for the Lowfield Green site that was the home of Lowfield school until it closed 10 years ago. There will be 6 self-build plots made available, as well as 96 two, three and four bedroomed houses, 26 bungalows, and 16 one and two bedroomed apartments for people over…

The London Assembly planning committee has urged Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, to step up and make it a priority to use system building techniques to mass-produce offsite manufactured homes (OSM) on developments in London.  Off Site Manufacturing Systems, which include timber frame panel houses, can be used to build houses much more quickly,…

Jon Broome, a pioneering architect who worked with self-build legend Walter Segal, is currently involved with the Rural Urban Synthesis Society’s self-build housing project and community land trust in Lewisham. He has concerns that the plans announced in July by communities secretary Sajid Javid to ban the sale of new homes on a leasehold…

Community housing charity Giroscope, based in Hull, is looking to move into community self-build as a step on from its well-established renovation schemes. Giroscope buys and renovates empty properties and rents these at an affordable rent to people in housing need – for example, people on low incomes or claiming benefits, young people, single…

The Guardian has recently published an article in its Art and Design section, talking about the community self-build movement, the current project underway by RUSS, and the original Segal houses at Walters Way and Segal Close. You can read it here – but whatever you do, don’t read the comments!

If you are interested in the idea of building your own home, you may well have come across the concept of “community self build”. You might also be aware that timber buildings tend to go up faster than the brick and block style of construction that is standard in the UK. What you may…

The RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Journal Magazine has some interesting statistics on the ‘revival’ in the UK self-build housing market. It quotes figures from the recently released “Self and Custom Build Market Report 2017” from NACSBA, including the fact that 13,000 self-build projects were completed in the UK in the past financial…

Scottish recycling expert, Angus Carnie, has built himself a house using entirely recycled or reused materials – everything would have ended up in landfill or in an incinerator. It is built in the style of a traditional Scottish cabin, but the walls are made up of ‘logs’ of shredded plastics that have been compressed together….

Steve Rotheram is the newly elected, first Metro Mayor for Liverpool City, and he has a manifesto for improving the housing situation in the city region. His ideas to deal with what he regards as the poor state of housing in the area include: A “high-level housing summit” to be convened within his first…

Michael Holmes, Chair of NACSBA, has written a piece for www.cabinetmaker.co.uk calling for the Government’s Help to Buy scheme to be extended to include people wanting to self-build.  We quote below from the article. “In response to the Committee’s question on funding, the sector would like to see the extension of the Help to…

West Berkshire Council’s Housing Site Allocations Development Plan Document (HSA DPD) has been given the go ahead by David Hogger, the inspector appointed by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. Amongst the developments that will now be able to go ahead is an area of one hectare at Purley Rise for 35…

Local authorities will now be required to produce and maintain brownfield land registers, which will be available to the public, to help house builders identify suitable brownfield sites for development. They will allow local communities to highlight local derelict or underused building sites that are primed for development. Housing and planning minister Gavin Barwell…

Scandinavian Homes attended a breakfast briefing by the National Custom & Self Build Association at the NEC in Birmingham last week. As Association members, we were interested to hear what they had been up to, and it turns out they’ve been quite busy over the last year! Many with an interest in self-building will…

Saffron Building Society has announced a ‘Spring Sale’ on its self build mortgages. MortgageStrategy.co.uk quotes Saffron head of mortgage sales Anita Arch as saying: “Spring is traditionally the time when self-build projects get underway and we therefore thought a mortgage sale would be a welcome offer. Our sale means that self-builders can borrow at variable rates…

Nottingham Building Society has launched two self-build mortgages through new build advice website BuildStore. The first is a 4.39 per cent two-year discounted product, and the second is a 5.19 per cent two-year fixed rate product.   Full details here

A week ago, we reported that a development at Cleve Park in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, which included 14 self-build plots, was likely to be given the go-ahead on the advice of the planning authorities.  Instead, at a 3 hour long council meeting on 10th March, a motion was proposed to reject the proposals, and passed…

Demolition of the former Grafty Green Garden centre buildings is underway, with the Boughton Malherbe Parish council fully backing the development. Robert Turner, chairman, Boughton Malherbe Parish Council,  which includes Grafty Green, said: “We believe this development will be of great benefit to the village, not only in terms of providing new and well-designed…

Plans to build up to 350 homes, an elderly care facility and commercial space on a site north of Bristol are set to get the green light from councillors this week (9 March 2017). Welbeck Strategic Land, via Dominic Lawson Bespoke Planning, submitted an application in 2016 to develop a 54-acre site on the…

Glasgow City Council are starting Phase 2 of the Maryhill development that has already provided 6 new self-build plots in the city. Now they are looking to release a further 17 plots for sale. More details about this can be found in this article

In line with the Government’s Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Regulations 2016, which came into force on 31st October 2016, an increasing number of land developers are including self-build plots for sale as part of a development package. Just in the last week, we’ve spotted self-build plots mentioned in articles on developments in Somerset, Kent…

It really looks like the place to be, if you want to self build, is Teignbridge in Devon. Teignbridge is a Right To Build Vanguard Council, and is now sharing its expert knowledge and experience in this area with other South West councils. The council recently hosted a custom and self-build workshop on behalf…

A self-build site with 25 plots has been created in Lynwood Road, Branston. East Staffordshire Borough Council is hosting an information event from 3.30pm to 6pm on Tuesday, January 31 at Branston Golf and Country Club, where visitors can find out more about this opportunity to build their own home in Branston Village and…

Another article assessing the state of affordable housing in the UK that concludes that community self-build projects can make a significant contribution to improving things Read the full article here

Scottish Ministers believe more review decisions should be made by councils rather than by government, and there are proposals are designed to zone more land for housing, promote self-build homes and give communities more of a say in local planning. Read the full article here

Back in November, the Scandinavian Homes team were at the Homebuilding and Renovating Show in Harrogate, when an older gentleman came to chat with us. He wasn’t in the market for a self-build house, but he was interested in our timber frame homes, as he had lived in a timber frame house as a…

The National Custom and Self Build Association (NaCSBA) used Freedom of Information requests to England’s 336 councils to establish that 14,300 people signed up to the registers between 1 April and 31 October 2016, in addition to the 3,700 people who had already signed up to the registers for 12 vanguard councils, which have been…

The Building Societies Association has issued a report called Laying the Foundations for Modern Methods of Construction which suggests the use of offsite construction methods, like Scandinavian Homes’ timber frame and post and beam houses, could provide high quality affordable homes at a faster rate than is currently possible with traditional construction methods such as brick…