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Tim has been well connected with industry throughout his career and still maintains strong links through his continued working association with Build It magazine, his friends and former colleagues at the National Self Build & Renovation Centre (NSBRC) and the National Custom & Self Build Housing Association (NaCSBA). Have a look at further details on each below.
Build It magazine is one of the most successful and relevant support tools for anyone wishing to build or renovate their own house. 35 years old in 2024, the magazine’s standing is stronger than ever with three annual exhibitions in Kent, Oxfordshire and Exeter. Tim first joined forces with Build It magazine when, under its original ownership, it launched its exhibition programme in the mid 1990s; Tim was one of the primary presenters across all subjects from acquiring land and securing planning permission through to procurement and project management expertise.
Having taken a 10-year break, Tim re-joined the team in 2012 as one of Build It’s Industry Experts, attending nearly all the shows as a member of an expert surgery panel dealing with all matters relating to house building and renovation and contributing monthly magazine articles until 2021. Tim remains a member of the judging panel for the annual Build It Awards. Each month, the magazine is packed full of case studies, useful articles, hints and tips and provides all round inspiration and support for those with a yearning to build. The magazine can be bought at most large newsstands but is best delivered as part of a monthly subscription. Click below for further details.
Tim was given a fantastic opportunity by BuildStore, the country’s largest dedicated self-build mortgage broker, to procure, build, launch and run the National Self Build & Renovation Centre. Based in Swindon, this is a 67,000 ft² warehouse with dedicated parking and, crucially, a 10m eaves height. The centre contains three completed two storey dwellings, six life size building exhibit zones demonstrating specification options from foundations through to walls, roofs, services, finishes and construction plant. Half of the centre contains 250 exhibition stands from relevant supply chain manufacturers and there are two theatres and a central concourse for practical demonstrations.
The centre welds enthusiastic consumers with manufacturers and suppliers in a non-competitive environment where training, education and house building best practice can all be enjoyed in an informal marketplace. Launch timing was brutal in the midst of the 2008-10 financial recession but the centre has grown in strength and relevance and is now considered to be one of the best and certainly most unique educational resources for people wanting to build their own homes. Click below for further details.
In direct response to the 2008 recession, the NSBRC, under Tim’s leadership, joined forces with four other industry partners to form a new association to lobby government. The financial crisis had exposed fundamental weaknesses in English and Welsh new housing supply which had become (and largely still remains) wholly dependent on a handful of enormous housebuilders; when they stop building there is precious little else to take their place!
NaCSBA argued that other countries have mature self-build options where it is commonplace for consumers to choose between buying an older property, a newly built home or to actually build (or commission) one themselves. With active participation at ministerial level, NaCSBA has now spent over 10 years supporting five governments (Brown, Coalition, Cameron, May and now Johnson) making slow but steady progress in bolstering policy. In both 2015 and 2016 primary legislation was passed for the very first time to obligate local authorities to support self-build in their boroughs with the resultant new schemes now beginning to surface countrywide.
Tim stepped down from the NaCSBA board in 2015 but still remains an enthusiastic supporter. Today, NaCSBA has hundreds of supply chain members from large corporates to medium sized professional firms and sole traders. Click below for further details.
