Self-build and custom housebuilding portal

The self-build and custom housebuilding portal contains information that may help you with your project.

About Hastings

Hastings is a coastal town located in the South East of England, which is mostly urban in character. The town has 8 miles of coastline and is surrounded by the mainly rural district of Rother, bordered by the High Weald to the north, Combe Haven Valley to the west and Fairlight to the east. Most of the undeveloped areas of the Borough are subject to environmental designations that restrict or prohibit development, including areas of functional flood plain, SSSI, Local Wildlife Sites, Ancient Woodland, Local Green Spaces, Local Nature Reserves, Historic Parks and Gardens, and the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty which covers 18% of the Borough.

Due to the existing built form and the constraints set out above, there are severe pressures on land available for development. With a limited supply of land and competing development needs, finding additional plots of land in the borough that can be specifically used for self-building is likely to be very challenging and in most cases these will be expected to arise through 'small site windfall' where the self-builder acquires and develops a small plot that has not been allocated as a site within the local plan.

The Self-Build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 requires all local authorities in England, including Hastings Borough Council, to keep a register of people who are seeking to acquire serviced plots of land in the Borough on which to build their own homes.

The Council has therefore set up a Register to determine the demand for sites from those interested in undertaking self-build or custom build housing projects which is divided into two parts:

• Part 1 keeps track of local demand for self-build and custom housebuilding which must be met via the grant of sufficient development permissions for serviced plots of land.
• Part 2 keeps track of general demand for self-build and custom build, with no requirement to grant sufficient development permissions for serviced plots of land to meet this demand.

You do not need to be on the register to build your own home or find a plot. There is no preferential treatment of people who are on the register at planning application stage.