SUFFOLK could be the front runner in providing self build opportunities in the UK, a housing expert says.

Dayle Bayliss, Suffolk’s Young Business Person of the Year, said the county boasts enough redundant land and people with entrepreneurial spirit to lead the way in creating a cost-effective way of delivering housing - but it needs the backing of the local authorities to deliver.

Her comments come ahead of the first ever National Self Build Week and follow news that a shared ownership scheme has been launched by Ipswich-based Orwell Housing Association which is preparing to turn over an area of overgrown scrubland and allotments in Felixstowe into a plot for self-build projects.

Miss Bayliss, a chartered building surveyor who runs her own consultancy in Bentley, near Capel St Mary, said: “Hopefully other groups will follow this example and we will start using such innovative ways to work our way out of the current housing crisis.

“Self build developments offer people a way on to the property ladder without compromise.

“They can be involved in the design process, make choices on proportions and opt to source materials to suit their budget.

“There are so many pros to self building it is difficult to understand why there is not more of it being done.”