Community Self Build London ...

What is Community Self Build London?

In spite of London’s high land costs and competing priorities, as many as 26 Community Self Build Schemes have now been completed in the capital, starting with Lewisham Council’s pioneering work in the 1970s with Walter Segal. There is a continuing demand from people on low incomes who want to build for themselves, and there is a growing awareness that Self Build produces more positive outcomes than almost any other kind of activity – affordable homes, skills training, capacity building and empowerment.
 
An East End regeneration officer recently said that he valued Self Build for creating small sustainable communities in areas of high turnover, and self builders as icons of initiative in areas with a deep dependency culture. But there was a slackening of activity in the late 1990s, as housing associations found it hard to service intense grassroots activity – which is why the Housing Corporation’s recent introduction of an extra four per cent on-cost allowance for Self Build schemes is particularly welcome.
 
How Community Self Build London Works

In order to stimulate activity and help self build groups establish themselves, the Community Self Build Agency and the Walter Segal Self Build Trust, the two main agencies committed to helping self build groups, came together to make a successful joint bid to the Community Fund to establish Community Self Build London (CSBL).
 
In April 2001, Nicholas Taylor was appointed Director of CSBL. His job is to open up opportunities for group self build by:

• Advising and supporting groups of self builders and organisations wanting to launch a self build project
• Promoting the idea of Community Self Build to councils and regeneration agencies
• Brokering partnerships between groups, projects and suitable housing associations and consultants
• Giving independent advice at all stages of a self build project
• Community Self Build London is supported by the Community Fund.