Self-build and Custom Housebuilding | Westmorland and Furness Council

The Council is committed to supporting more individuals and groups to directly build (self-build) or commission (custom build using an architect and builder) their own homes.

Self and custom-build housing provide an opportunity for more innovative, bespoke, greener and more affordable homes that better meet households’ needs than ‘off the shelf’ standard homes generally provided by developers.

If you are interested in self-build or custom housebuilding within the Yorkshire Dales or Lake District National Parks, please see the links below, as the Westmorland and Furness self-build register only applies to the Local Planning Authority Area and therefore excludes the National Parks:

Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Register

The Self-Build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 (as amended by the Housing and Planning Act 2016) requires Local Authorities to keep and maintain a register of individuals and groups who are seeking to acquire serviced plots to self-build or custom-build homes. Local Authorities are required to have regard to this register in relation to the exercise of their duties in respect of planning, housing, land disposal and regeneration.

Eligibility criteria

Any individual or each individual in a group or association will need to meet the following criteria.

You must be:

aged 18 or over
a British Citizen, a national of Switzerland or a national of a European Economic Area (EEA) State other than the United Kingdom
looking to acquire a serviced plot of land in the Westmorland and Furness district (excluding the National Park areas) to build a house to live in as your sole or main residence

A 'serviced plot of land' means a plot that has access to a public highway and connections for electricity, water and wastewater, or, where we are satisfied that the site can be provided with access to those things within the duration of a development permission granted in relation to that land.

How to register

By joining our register, you will help us:

find out more about the demand for serviced plots for self-build and custom housebuilding in this area
explore ways in which we may bring people and plots together
develop our future housing and planning policies. Our current policies can be found in our Local Plan

Note that in keeping this register, we are making no commitment to provide self-build or custom-build plots. The register will not be a public document, but we will publish headline data from it annually.

Removal from the Register

To keep the custom/self-build register up to date, we will contact applicants every 12 months to check whether they wish to remain on the register. Applicants are also asked to contact us if their contact details change.

You may apply for removal from the register at any time. Please contact localplan@westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk with your request.

Published Register / Monitoring Information

Data extracted from our register is published below to illustrate the demand for self-build and custom housebuilding across the district and estimated supply of sites.

Period	Number of entrants	Base period 1 approvals	Base period 2 approvals	Base period 3 approvals	Base period 4 approvals	Base period 5 approvals	Base period 6 approvals	Base period 7 approvals	Base period 8 approvals	Base period 9 approvals	Total approvals
Base period 1 (Apr 2016 - Oct 2016)	25	-	61	64	77	-	-	-	-	-	202
Base period 2 (Oct 2016 - Oct 2017)	19	-	-	64	77	52	-	-	-	-	193
Base period 3 (Oct 2017 - Oct 2018)	30	-	-	-	77	52	30	-	-	-	159
Base period 4 (Oct 2018 - Oct 2019)	86	-	-	-	-	52	30	46	-	-	128
Base period 5 (Oct 2019 - Oct 2020)	35	-	-	-	-	-	30	46	25	-	101
Base period 6 (Oct 2020 - Oct 2021)	37	-	-	-	-	-	-	46	25	6	77
Base period 7 (Oct 2021 - Oct 2022)	24	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	25	6	31
Base period 8 (Oct 2022 - Oct 2023)	16	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Base period 9 (Oct 2023 - Oct 2024)	9	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Further guidance, support and funding options

National Custom & Self Build Association portal provides additional information on self and custom-build homes.
Government Guidance: self build and custom housebuilding
Own you home: Help to Build Scheme find out about the government's loan scheme to help you own your own home 
Affordable Housing Grants Policy Westmorland & Furness Council operates an Affordable Housing Grants programme to support community-led housing initiatives, which could potentially apply to Custom and Self-Build projects.
Plot Browser is a national online plot finding service to search for potential self and custom build plots in the UK.

Note that within the former South Lakeland District Council area, a Community Infrastructure Levy is raised on new developments. However, self-build houses are exempt from this charge. For more information on CIL, visit our CIL charges webpage.

Data protection and Privacy policy

Westmorland and Furness Council is the data controller for the personal information you provide. You can contact the Data Protection Officer at dataprotection@westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk. Your information will be used to assist in the compilation of the Self-Build Register and may be used to notify you of plots available. Your personal data will not be published or shared with third parties. Your information will be retained for as long as the contract is maintained. For more information on your rights, please see the Council’s data protection and privacy policies.