This policy states that ‘5% of all new homes in residential developments of 20 dwellings or more will be required to be custom and/or self-build, provided that the Greater Cambridge self and custom build register is recording a demand for self and/or custom build homes when a planning application for 20 or more homes is considered.’ It is notable that the Homes for our future Greater Cambridge Housing Strategy 2019 – 2023 evidence base document sets out that there are just under 400 applicants on the South Cambridgeshire self-build register. Based on the current Plan housing requirement of 44,400 new homes this requirement would deliver up to 2,220 new custom and selfbuild, over five times those on the current register. We would contend therefore that the high quantity of provision aspired to the in the Policy is not truly justified by the number of registered interested parties.
Notwithstanding the above, Countryside are supportive of the suggestion that ‘a mechanism will be included within the policy to allow for plots identified to be for self and/or custom build homes to be delivered by the developer or others if the plot has not been sold as a self or custom build plot after at least 12 months of appropriate marketing.’ However, 12 months is a long period of time, and concern is therefore raised regarding the implications this may have for the timescales for delivery of developments and the associated increased costs with developers potentially having to revisit earlier phases in order to complete the dwellings. This timescale should therefore be reduced to 6 months.