10:00 - 15:00 03 October 2012
Location: tbc
This seminar addresses a basic
question – how can custom build
neighbourhoods be delivered in England?
The background to this question is the continuing low level of housing delivery by custom build - at approximately 10%, compared with levels of over 50% in Germany, Ireland and Sweden. In its recent Housing Strategy, Government has lent its support to custom build housing by requiring Local Authorities to gauge demand in their areas, accelerating the disposal of public land for custom build purposes and, in a clear indication of support for larger projects - a new £30 million fund to assist aspiring group custom builders. More recently, the Housing Minister Grant Schapps announced that public land would be released to custom builders at seven sites across the UK. These recent announcements raise the prospect of larger custom build developments, along the lines of well-known schemes in Germany and the Netherlands, but also a question how a good idea can be translated into practical reality. The seminar will hear from Ted Stephens - chairman of the National Self-Build Association (NaSBA), Mario Wolf – Senior Policy Advisor at DCLG, Jackson Moulding who was instrumental in the creation of the Ashley Vale community self-build scheme in Bristol, and from Wulf Daseking who was until recently director of planning for Freiburg and who oversaw the creation of the two famous neighbourhood schemes of Vauban and Rieselfeld where group build has been employed. In order to explore how group custom build can progress the seminar will do the following:
(i) Evaluate current policy and ask how planning can maximise support for group build;
(ii) Examine how building groups can form and how they can be practically supported;
(iii) Assess what else needs to be done to done to support schemes of a neighbourhood scale, as an alternative to mainstream volume build housing.
Approximately 40 places will be available for this event, on a first come, first served basis. If you would like to reserve a place, please contact Iqbal Hamiduddin (i.hamiduddin@ucl.ac.uk).
Refreshments and lunch provided.
The event is sponsored by the Regional Studies Association.
Programme
| 0930 - 1000 | Arrival and Coffee | |
| 1000 - 1010 | Welcome | Nick Gallent (Director, Bartlett School of Planning) |
| 1010 - 1030 | Introduction | Iqbal Hamiduddin (Research Associate, BSP) |
| 1030 - 1100 | Custom Build Housing | Ted Stephens (Chair of NaSBA) |
| 1100 - 1130 | Policy Support for Group Build | Mario Wolf (Senior Advisor, DCLG) |
| 1130 - 1200 | UK Case Study: Ashley Vale, Bristol | Jackson Moulding (Ashley Vale Community Group) |
| 1200 - 1215 | Questions and Discussion | |
| 1215 - 1230 | Response: Perspective from Germany | Wulf Daseking (Director of Planning, Freiburg) |
| 1230 - 1315 | Lunch | |
| 1315 - 1400 | German Case Study: Freiburg | Wulf Daseking |
| 1400 - 1430 | Panel Discussion: Moving Forward | All speakers - Chair: Claudio de Magalhaes (BSP) |
| 1430 - 1445 | Closing Remarks |
Iqbal Hamiduddin / Nick Gallent |
| 1445 | Tea and Departure |
Speakers
Ted Stephens
Ted is the Chairman of the National Self Build Association (NaSBA), an organisation set up to represent the self-build industry to the Government.
Mario Wolf
Mario is Senior Policy Advisor in the Housing Market and Supply Division of the Department for Communities and Local Government, and a two time self-builder himself.
Jackson Moulding
Jackson is at the forefront of community self-build in the UK. Having been instrumental in creating the Ashley Vale community scheme in Bristol, he runs the self-build organisation Ecomotive.
Wulf Daseking
Wulf was Director of Planning in Freiburg between 1982 and 2011, during which time he oversaw the transformation of the city into a role model for sustainable development. He is a professor at the University of Freiburg and visiting professor at the Bartlett School, UCL.