The Housing and Planning Act 2016 provides a legal definition of self-build and custom housebuilding.  

The initial owner of the home must have primary input into its final design and layout. Once this is satisfied, relevant authorities will then be able to determine whether the house is a self-build or a custom-built one. 

A serviced plot of land has access to a public highway (roads). It also has connections for electricity, water and wastewater. Alternatively, it can be deemed a serviced plot of land if it can be provided with access to public highway (roads), connections for electricity, water and wastewater, in specified circumstances or within a specified period.

We've reviewed the registration application form, and the criteria have been updated. If you'd like to complete your own self-build or custom housebuilding project in Warrington, please access the registration form via the link below, completing all of the relevant sections.

The three legal eligibility criteria are as follows:

• You're aged 18 or over
• You're a British citizen, a national of an EEA State other than the United Kingdom, or a national of Switzerland
• You're seeking (either alone or with others) to acquire a serviced plot of land in the relevant authorities area to build a house to occupy as your sole or principal residence

Part 1 registration process requires information relating to the local eligibility conditions that have been set by the council. Our local eligibility criteria relate to your connection(s) with the borough and are as follows:

• You currently live in Warrington and have done so for at least two years
• You currently work in the Warrington
• You have a close family connection (close relative – parent/child/grandparent) living in Warrington, and they have done so for at least two years
• You're currently serving in the Armed Forces of the Crown or have left the service less than two years ago

An association/group is eligible for entry on the register if each member of the association/group meets all of the eligibility requirements for an individual. Suppose you (or a member of the group of people that you're representing) meet the three legal criteria. However, you do not satisfy the local eligibility criteria. In that case, we will include the group on Part 2 of the Register.

When applying as a group, you must appoint a member or officer to act as the lead contact for correspondence between the group and ourselves.

Before registering your interest, please note:

• We do not match applicants to specific plots of land or planning permissions
• Completion of this form does not guarantee a suitable plot will be available for you

Currently, there's no charge for individuals or groups to apply to be placed on the self-build and custom housebuilding register. However, this will be re-considered regularly as part of the review process.

To register, first read our Privacy Notice and then register below:

In respect of your application, we will keep your details on the register for a maximum period of 5 years. However, we will contact you on an annual basis, if you have not been allocated a plot of land, to ask if wish to remain on our register.

If you advise us that you do not wish to remain on the register, or do not reply within an appropriate time period, we will remove your details from the register.

There are several ways you can obtain information about land available for sale in the Warrington. For example, property search websites such as My Plot, Rightmove and Zoopla are useful tools to help you research the cost and availability of land for sale.

You can also use our annual housing land monitoring and Local Plan monitoring information to identify specific permissions granted. Particularly ones that include self-build plots and planning permissions approved for one and two dwellings that might be suitable for self-build plots/purposes.  

You can view a downloadable list of these current small scale residential planning permissions.

Alternatively, input the planning application reference on our Planning Application Search Tool - this will provide you with further details about individual permissions. Where sites are granted planning permission and specifically include the provision of self-build plots, we will publish this information alongside the planning permission data.