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NSBRC October Show Review

On Friday 15th & Saturday 16th October, we held the autumn edition of our National Self Build & Renovation Show.

On Friday 15th & Saturday 16th October, we held the autumn edition of our National Self Build & Renovation Show.

Across the two days, we welcomed 1,251 adults (plus 85 mini self-builders!) and the Saturday was the third busiest day at the NSBRC in the last three years, proving the demand for well-designed, bespoke homes is as high as ever.

We were delighted to welcome so many people, after a ‘challenging’ eighteen months or so, and we loved seeing our visitors enjoying the programme of seminars, 1:2:1’s and engaging with our exhibitors and experts.

Particularly popular were our guided educational tours (around our unique life-size exhibits) and the ‘Battle of the Building Systems’ question time sessions.

We tackled some of the key topics that self-builders and renovators need to know about, including funding, design, planning and the new, Government backed, ‘Help to Build’ scheme.

We introduced some brand new features including a ‘Finding Land Surgery’, hosted by Potton and a ‘Heating Systems Surgery’ hosted by NSBRC expert David Hilton. All of these sessions were standing room only!

"The NSBRC at Swindon is (a) wealth of information if you are doing home renovation or planning to construct a new Self-Build home. I have been here many times, yet every visit I find something new and useful. Their events are very well run… You can get lots of free/impartial advice, which is hard to get these days. Highly recommended."

Rajesh V (18/10/21)

"Thank you to everyone at the NSBRC for making our visit over the 15/16th so enjoyable. Everyone was so helpful and answered our questions even when they may have seemed trivial. It was especially nice to see the real examples of foundations etc. and the tour guides were very knowledgeable. Being able to have the space and time to talk to people without feeling 'herded' was the icing on the cake!"

Linda D (19/10/21)

It was encouraging to see so much interest in energy efficient homes and we have a number of workshops coming up over the next two months, which expand on these topics:

Eco Workshop – Retrofit Solutions: 13th November

Passivhaus Workshop: 27th & 28th November

Building Systems: 10th & 11th December

Our next National Self Build & Renovation Show is our winter edition – Friday 28th to Sunday 30th January 2022.

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We received this blog from longstanding exhibitor, Fleming Homes and found the piece inspiring, and wanted to share this with you. We hope this offers encouragement as you embark on your homebuilding project.

"Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect." Alan Cohen*

Alan Cohen's quote captures a powerful truth that’s particularly relevant to self-building. When the housing market feels uncertain, when interest rates continue to feel elevated in comparison with the record lows of 2020-2021, or when material prices fluctuate, it’s tempting to put the brakes on our plans - to hold off until things calm down.

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Since 2014, our award-winning visitor centre (The National Self Build & Renovation Centre / NSBRC) has been owned and operated by ‘The Homebuilding Centre Limited’, an employee-owned business. We welcomed our first visitors to the NSBRC in 2007 and, eighteen years on, we remain the UK’s only permanent exhibition centre designed specifically to meet the needs of individual self-builders, renovators and home improvers.

The National Self Build & Renovation Show: Friday 31st Jan - Sunday 2nd Feb 2025


Create your perfect home at The National Self Build & Renovation Show! Join us for three days of an unrivalled line up of exhibitors and experts on hand to share their advice, this is an unmissable event for anyone thinking of self building or renovating their home.

The National Self Build & Renovation Show