#RuralHousingWeek2023: Supporting Young Self Builders on Exmoor

This week marks Rural Housing Week, and for years, Exmoor Young Voices has campaigned for more affordable rural housing for young residents and workers on the moor. We have some of the highest housing prices in the country, and, with comparatively low wages, most young people can't afford to remain living in the place they've long called home. An alarming number are moving away, taking vital rural skills, knowledge and experience away from the moor. You don't need us to tell you that without the next generation, the future of Exmoor looks bleak.

Exmoor Young Voices exists to engage young people across Exmoor, listen to their issues, offer dedicated support, report their experiences and propose strategies to key policy decision-makers. It's a challenging task, but we are making a difference, and people care what we have to say.

Key achievements include:

• Hosting 2 Summits that brought together Exmoor National Park Authority, local housing associations, and all of the major authorities that administer Exmoor, along with young adults living and working on the moor
• ​Partnerships with every public authority, charity and foundation serving Exmoor, and funding from most
• Addressing every primary authority, forum, consultative group, conference, farming and business network concerned with Exmoor about the issues that young resident workers face in sustaining their part in Exmoor life
• ​​Delivering self-build tours, seminars, parliamentary, and media presentations
• Setting up a Self Build scheme to support young people wanting to build affordable homes on the moor (more on this later)

​Just recently, we secured a role in the new Local Community Network for Exmoor. Representatives of Exmoor Young Voices will also participate in a Next Generation workshop, sharing their views and helping to inform the Exmoor National Park Partnership Plan.

News of Exmoor Young Voices is spreading far and wide, and your voices are getting louder by the minute.

Rural Housing on Exmoor - Self Build Homes
​At the beginning of 2023, we conducted a survey titled ‘Young People on Exmoor’, and a report of our findings will be available in the coming weeks. Our aim with the survey was to build a clearer picture of young people on Exmoor, listen to their current needs and assess how we can support them better. As an organisation, we were also keen to gather more ‘evidence’ of the difficulties young Exmoor residents and workers face and reach new young people who want to get involved with EYV.

The survey allowed young people to share their issues and experiences of living on Exmoor and suggest what could be improved. In terms of rural housing, young people were crystal clear in that they wanted to see:

• More affordable houses specifically targeted for local young people of appropriate design for local work​
• More land for self builds
• Support for finding affordable land, housing and funding

Exmoor Young Voices has identified ‘Self Build’ and ‘Custom Build’ homes as one of the only ways for young people on Exmoor to own a home. It is a common misconception that you can’t build on a National Park like Exmoor. Policies in the Exmoor National Park Local Plan allow self build homes for local people who cannot buy a property to meet their needs on the open market. For years, we have worked closely with Exmoor National Park to raise awareness of self-building and find ways to make it a more feasible option for young people wanting to continue living on the moor.

While a possible solution to the rural housing crisis, self-building is no easy feat. Hence, we have set up the Exmoor Young Voices Self Build Project led by Justin Tyers to offer extensive support to young people interested in building their own homes on Exmoor. From helping to find a plot of land to designing architectural plans and securing self build funding - we aim to offer expert advice every step of the way, along with the encouragement you need to make your dream affordable home on Exmoor a reality. Visit our Self Build Project page to find out more.

Exmoor Self Build Project - We need your help
For our Self Build Project to be a resounding success, we need support from the local community. The biggest hurdle our self-builders face is finding affordable land suitable for building. You’ve likely seen our requests for land on social media. We’ve been on local radio too! Essentially, we’re looking for landowners on Exmoor willing to sell a parcel of land to a local family. We encourage you to show your generosity and do your bit to support the next generation on the moor.
Selling land isn’t the only way you can support Exmoor Young Voices’ Self Build Project. We’d also love to hear from anyone who can:

• Contribute building materials or offer a discount to Exmoor self builders
• Share skills - either helping out with a build or offering to teach our self builders tricks of the trade
• Loan heavy equipment and tools
• Help fund individual builds if they hit a financial barrier

If you are interested in getting involved, please contact our Coordinator, Megan:
[email protected]

How to Self Build your Dream Home for £99,000 - or less!

This Rural Housing Week, we’re delighted to share the exciting release of Justin Tyers' game-changing book, ‘How To Self Build your Dream Home for £99,000 - or less!’ Yes, our Self Build Project Leader has written a book, supported by Exmoor Young Voices and the British Humane Association, explaining how first-time self builders with a limited budget can build a dream home they will be proud to call home.

Forget all your preconceptions of affordable housing. The house you build will be better quality than developer-built housing because it’s not driven by profit. Use ‘How To Build your Dream Home for £99,000 - or less!’ as a step-by-step manual, with helpful information throughout the self build process, from finding land, DIY house design and making a planning application, right through to every ‘trade’ and moving in.

Building a better future for Exmoor
We are aware that self build homes aren’t for everyone. However, they are of interest to many of the young people who have come to our meetings, filled in our surveys, sent us email enquiries and participated in our self build tours, and have, therefore, become a key focus for Exmoor Young Voices.
In addition to this, Exmoor Young Voices continue to campaign for easier access to social housing on Exmoor, more affordable rent for young people, and local houses for local people. We work closely with Exmoor housing associations and charities, of which you can find details on Our Partners page.

If you have any questions, require support, want to share your ideas or get in touch, please email [email protected]

Useful Links:

• ‘How to Self Build your Dream Home for £99,000 - or Less!’ on Amazon
• Exmoor Young Voices Self Build Project
• Exmoor National Park’s Self Build Leaflet