A new survey has revealed 39% of councils are already taking action to help people build their own homes, according to a survey of custom and self-build activity in England.

The research, conducted by the National Custom & Self Build Association (NaCSBA), found one in five councils have already set up a local custom and self-build register or carried out assessments to measure local demand for people who want to build their own homes.

Many councils have also included opportunities for private homebuilders through their Local Plans, with 30 councils identifying suitable sites or locations where private homebuilding is encouraged.

The study found that councils in the North East (70%) have made it the easiest for people who want to build their own homes, while only 21% of councils in London have taken action to boost private homebuilding.

Mario Wolf, the leader of the research and development team, said: ‘This work suggests that many councils are keen to support the Government’s ambition of doubling the level of private homebuilding in the UK to help address the growing need for more housing. If realised, it will help diversify our homebuilding industry, create local jobs and support smaller builders and thousands of suppliers up and down the country.

‘But we have also found that councils need on-going help to drive forward these initiatives, and that the financing of private homebuilding projects is a lot easier abroad.’

NaCSBA estimates that by the end of 2018, councils would have enabled up to 10,000 self or custom build opportunities to come forward, doubling the scale of the current self-build sector.