What impact has COVID-19 had on Self Build Events in the UK.

Self Build Industry cancellations amid the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

As the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) continue to increase throughout Europe and the UK, most countries have now put in place strict social distancing measures, and some have now progressed to a total lockdown, in a bid to contain the virus. This has affected every area of our lives and has also placed our whole economic system at risk. Within every industry, many events have been cancelled or postponed, and the Construction industry is no exception.

The focus of both the Self Build and Custom Build sector has been on educating people who want to build their dream homes. This is achieved through various events held throughout the year, with Spring being the peak at which these events take place. Obviously, due to the coronavirus pandemic, all of these events have now been postponed.

This article provides information on changes to all the upcoming events within the construction and Self Build industry; helping you plan your future visits to the shows once the situation improves.

Homebuilding shows in the UK

In March, amidst the coronavirus outbreak, the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson advised against mass gathering in the UK. However, the situation has evolved and changed dramatically over the past weeks, with new measures now in place that advise that everyone only leave their home for essentials. Following these new restrictions, many organisers have now postponed the forthcoming shows to ensure the health and safety of both employees and visitors. Below you will find a list of the postponed events and where available new dates:

National Homebuilding & Renovating Show

The National Homebuilding & Renovating Show held at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham was initially planned for March. The new dates have now been agreed, and self-builders will be hopefully attend the biggest homebuilding show from the 9th-12th of July. You can find our preview article on the show here. Please note that the schedule for the show may now differ. We will update the article with these changes when the venue has confirmed this.

Alongside the National Homebuilding & Renovating Show, the first ever Custom Build Summit has also been moved to the 9th of July. The aim of this conference is to unite land promoters, landowners, housebuilders and architects to explore the opportunities available to improve housing and increase the number of high-quality homes delivered in the UK. This will also take place at the NEC Birmingham.

The next HBR show is the Scottish Homebuilding & Renovating Show in Glasgow (30th-31st of May). This has also been postponed and is likely to be schedule later this year.

Homebuilding & Renovating Home School

The team of the Homebuilding & Renovating Magazine is working hard to adapt to the current circumstances so that they can continue to help self-builders and renovators pursue their projects.  To do this, they have launched the Homebuilding & Renovating Home School.

This is a Home School – like any good school, it is a life-changing mix of education, advice, interaction and experience. In the upcoming days the HBR team will launch a series of online initiatives:

• Online tutorials: videos of experts providing advice on everything from finding land to kitchen design – and everything in between. All backed up with additional project guides.
• An Emergency Industry Advisory Panel: providing the latest information, news and market.
• Publicising consultations: they will liaise with the exhibitors who are providing video consultations with self-builders.
• Many more products and initiatives – including a live virtual event.

The Homebuilding & Renovating Home School should be launched soon. Stay tuned to their website and our social media channels where this will be announced.

The HBR team is back with their #homebuildinghour on their Twitter. The #homebuilding hour was very popular and aimed to support and connect self-builders with specialists who can help them with their projects. The first session will be held next Tuesday (21.04) at 11 am, with subsequent events to be held every 2 weeks.

Home School will be covering five main topics. Click on your chosen topic in the list below for more information.

National Self Build & Renovation Show

The upcoming shows at The National Self Build & Renovation Centre will now take place on the 25th-26th of July.

Until the start of this week, The National Self Build & Renovation Centre had remained opened; offering pre-arranged appointments only. However, it has now confirmed that the venue will remain closed until further notice.

The NSBRC also launched a new ‘virtual enquiry’ offering. All you have to do is to simply provide a few details, choose the companies you want to hear from, and your enquiry will be passed directly to the exhibiting partners. You can do it here.

FREE Self Build Course Webinars

NSBRC have partnered with NaCSBA to deliver a series of free webinars that will help you understand the various stages, and key decisions, involved in a Self Build project.

These one-hour sessions are delivered by Mike Hardwick and will be hosted on Zoom. The first wave will start on Wednesday 15th April and will be at 11 am each Wednesday. The session will be packed with helpful information, along with the chance to ask questions to Mike and the NSBRC team.

Session 1: Budgeting, Finding Land and Design – Wednesday 15th April

Session 2: Planning & Building Regulations – Wednesday 22nd April

Session 3:  Trades & Materials  – Wednesday 29th April

Build It Live Show

The South Central edition of the Build It Live show in Bicester was due to take place on the 6th-7th of June. This has now been moved to the 19th-20th of September.

The show takes place in association with Graven Hill – the UK’s first large-scale Custom Build project with over 1000 Self Build plots. The show provides visitors with an interest in Custom Build, the opportunity to visit the Graven Hill Zone and find out more about the scheme. You can read more about Graven Hill here.

Grand Designs Live

Grand Designs Live is hosted by design guru and TV presenter Kevin McCloud. This was due to take place on the 2nd-10th of May. The new dates have now been confirmed as the 22nd-31st of August. This will take place at London ExCeL. If you have already purchased your tickets, they will remain valid for the new date.

Ideal Home Show

The Ideal Home Show takes place across 18 days and never fails to provide all its visitors with inspiration and ideas. The show was scheduled for the 27th of March – 13th of April in London. This has been confirmed for 25 July – 9 August at Olympia in London.

Scotland’s edition of the Ideal Home Show is taking place at the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow. It was scheduled to go ahead on the 11th-14th of June, this has now been postponed to 15th – 18th October.

Other Homebuilding Shows

Other Construction industry events that are scheduled for the last quarter of the year include the UK Construction Week (6th-8th of October in Birmingham), and the Self Build and Design Show (7th-8th of September in Exeter) will go ahead as planned.

There are still several HBR shows left this year (Glasgow – postponed, Surrey 27th-28th June (likely to be postponed), London 25th-27th September, Edinburgh 17th-18th October, Harrogate 6th-8th November and Somerset 21st-22nd November). However, it is difficult to predict the situation in the forthcoming months, and it is likely that more events will be postponed.

The current situation is unprecedented and will affect the whole Self Build, Custom Build and Construction industry. If you are planning to build your dream home, visit our website for regular updates. We are currently developing a series of articles that will provide information and advice to help you complete your project in the current difficult circumstances.