I have been looking for a forum, where I could post this in Google but at t he end of the day, I think that the sort of people that I have been trying to reach and who might be interested it this subject might well be on this, my favourite forum in any case.
For some years, I have had the thought of building my own house on an infil l site which would allow me to return to the village where I first bought a house in 1976, I think it was, and then, as I was being paid a lot to work for an oil company in the Middle East and the land came up for sale, I gra bbed at the chance of buying 22 acres of land, virtually the rest of the vi llage. My ex wife kept the house I had first bought and the lovely 5 bedroo med house I subsequently had to sell while I was abroad, to avoid a 6 figur e capital gains tax which my kids would have had to pay on my demise.
Since returning to UK I have spent the savings and the cash I had from the second house on trying to get permission for another in the village. I am left with the land and a tiny semi about three miles from the land.
Without fail all the applications to built on this infill next to my second house, have been turned down by the local District Council, from the time I came back to UK I have been trying to get permission, but they are consis tently negative as it is not scheduled for development in spite of the Nort hern Distributor Road being built and some three and a half thousand houses being built in their Growth Triangle some 300 metres across the main road, I was on the Parish Council in Rackheath for many years and because no one wanted the NDR or the Development that would come with it The council and I, having the duty to represent the Parishioners, were against the plan and said so. It may be that I am on their list of undesirables!
The new self build initiatives do not seem to contain any opportunities for potential builder to specify their own locations but must apply to the cou ncil waiting list for a site which is located only where the council desire s the self builders to go. Of course I want to build and live on my own la nd in my "own" village. I am afraid that the council may compulsorily purch ase some or all of my land which would be the exact opposite of what I am h oping for. I do not want to end up losing the land, but my idea is to try and build a community of self builders like me wanting to live in a small e state of like minded individuals who would like to be able to share ideas, facilities and the general company of people like themselves (and Me) If e nough people wanted to form a group and who - like me thought that living i n this very nice village on the route to the Broads and half way between No rwich and the heart of the Norfolk Broads of Wroxham, that the Planners at the local council would (or might) see the merits of allowing this extra de velopment to take place. I, - of course would be prepared to offer sites a t a very good discount which would enable me to recoup some of the funds I have lost trying to get permission for one house for my family and I. I cou ld sell up and move somewhere else but after 40 years I want to come home a nd this is it. The land is let to a local farmer but I am losing money on it now as the rent is the same as it was when I bought it.
If a reasonable number think this might work and fancies the idea, I think that the council would have to listen to a group. And The Government and s everal local MPs are pushing for this and I feel the time is right. I have always felt that those, with whom I have communicated in the group, would m ake very nice neighbours. Imagine it! There are about 20 other inhabitants and a very nice Pub and that is more or less it, we are on the local bus ro ute and there is a railway station about half a mile away.
Anyone interested can reply to my email or via the group. It could be the o pportunity of a lifetime.
Regards George.