A belated Happy New Year to you all! We hope you've had a positive and productive start to 2022. Below you will find our New Year Update so you can read what's been going on at Exmoor Young Voices and the exciting plans we have for the months ahead…
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Self Build Scheme News
Last year EYV secured the funding and advisors to launch our innovative 'Supported Self Build' scheme. The scheme aims to help people with a local tie, who are in housing need, build themselves a beautiful home of their own design, on an affordable plot, at a price they can afford to pay.

Right now, two of our eight self builders are beginning the practical steps of building themselves a home by clearing the site on which they will build in the spring!

One family is working on their house design, and the other has planning permission already in place. Amongst our other self builders, two have sought pre-planning advice to discover whether a planning application would be supported on land they already own.

Pre-planning advice is a really useful, free service offered by the Exmoor National Park's Planning Department. It allows potential self builders to get some feedback and certainty about their plans to build without using up precious initial finance. Of course, they won't always get 'good news' - but even disappointing news regarding one plot allows them to 'move on', choose another, and try again. Achieving your own home, like achieving anything worthwhile, involves setbacks. However, success always comes to those who refuse to give in!

By the way, we are looking for potential building plots on the West side of the moor. So, please get in touch if you know anyone who has land suitable for self-building who may wish to help the next generation live and stay on Exmoor (by selling a plot at an affordable price). We know some families whose lives would be changed completely by your support!

Also, if you or someone you know is interested in building yourself/themselves a home as a solution to their housing need, our scheme is continuous. Get in touch. We look forward to offering help and support as you build your forever home.

Summit Recall Plans
We are currently in the process of planning our Summit Recall for June 2022. The purpose of the Summit Recall is to coordinate the promises authorities and organisations are making to sustain a young population in Exmoor National Park. If you are taking part in the Summit Recall, expect to hear from us soon. We're keen to find out what your organisation is doing to sustain young residents on Exmoor

EYV Meeting
An in-person EYV meeting is well overdue, but we've been waiting until it's safe for all of our members. All being well, we hope to plan one in the next few months, so please keep an eye on our social media pages and make sure you subscribe to our mailing list for further details.

Introducing our New Coordinators 
Finally, we are pleased to announce that Vicki Norman is joining Exmoor Young Voices as our new Young Coordinator.

Vicki has lived and worked in the area all of her life and currently resides in Wiveliscombe. In a previous role, Vicki worked as a Breeding Advisor for Genus. She now has several roles, including taking care of sheep, milking and rearing calves and designing bespoke homeware for her business, Nortot Country Homeware. If that wasn't enough, Vicki is also in the early planning stages of building a log cabin! Vicki is a hardworking and motivated individual with extensive rural experience and knowledge of Exmoor. We are delighted to be working with her and feel she will be of huge value to EYV and our partner organisations.

In addition, Megan Hunt is re-joining the EYV team as Media Coordinator. Megan began her copywriting business, Megan Jane Copywriting, in 2012 after graduating from Nottingham Trent University with a degree in Broadcast Journalism. Over the years, she has had the opportunity to work with a wide range of clients from all industries, providing website, blog and social media content. Megan is currently undertaking a self build project on the moor with her partner Josh to build a forever home for their family.

Both coordinators look forward to engaging and working closely with EYV members and partners. Please feel free to reach out if there is anything they can help you with.

Vicki Norman's email: vcnorman23@gmail.com
Megan Hunt's email: megan@mjcopywriting.com​

Exmoor Young Voices has set up a new scheme offering on-going support for self builders on the moor. Young people on Exmoor wanting to build their own home can now benefit from:

‣ Help finding an inexpensive plot of land where Exmoor National Park are willing to consider planning permission for a S106 (local tie) build.

‣ Free support from self-builder Justin Tyers to create architectural plans for your self build. If you attended our Self Build Tour and workshops, you'll have already paid a visit to Justin's house. It's also been featured in the press.

‣ Weald & Downland training on working with natural materials & gaining practical skills.

‣ Help with securing a self build mortgage. We will advise you on the most likely sources & help you make your case.

‣ Support sourcing building materials (with a corporate buying mentality) from not-so-obvious sources.

‣ Mentoring from Justin Tyers to provide you with on-going support through the entire process.

If you would like to find out more about our Self Build Support scheme please email: exmooryoungvoices@hotmail.com

BBC Radio Somerset recently featured EYV and housing on Exmoor on the Breakfast Show. Listen here: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p08wk5zp

The feature runs throughout the programme but starts at 1:16:00. Interviews include:

• EYV Chairperson Will Lock at 1:16:54 covering affordability, Homefinder, and appropriate housing for local occupations.
• EYV Committee member, Sam Camp, at 2:16:25 covering digital exclusion, isolation, and suitability.
• Followed by Francesca Smith, Chair of Planning and Housing at Somerset West and Taunton Council, modelling a listening and supportive Council.