Right to Build tested in Oldham and Pendle

Oldham and Pendle have been selected by government as two of 11 areas across the country that will benefit from the Right to Build initiative to help self-builders.

Oldham Council will receive £15,000 to support self-builders in the area by selling off local authority land.

Pendle Council will receive £46,000 to provide self-build plots in the area, and explore opportunities for affordable homes.

A spokesman for the Department for Communities & Local Government said: "The chosen areas will establish and maintain a register of prospective custom and self-builders in the area and begin to identify shovel-ready sites for those on the register – becoming the first to offer local people the right to design and build their own home."

The 11 areas announced this week will be the first to offer this new right to their residents, and will each receive a share of £550,000 to do it. They are Cherwell, South Cambridgeshire, Teignbridge, Shropshire, Oldham, West Lindsey, Exmoor and Dartmoor National Park, Pendle, Sheffield, South Norfolk and Stoke-on-Trent.

This first wave of areas will form part of a consultation on Right to Build. It will be decided whether the initiative should be extended across the country later this year.