I agree, I do think it's important that he's on board and supportive of your choice, as you'll need and want his support during your birth. Would it be possible to help him be more supportive of the idea? Does he know much about home birth? You might try by just exposing him more to the idea and he might get more comfortable with it. I think everyone's first reaction (because it doesn't happen all that often so most people don't have much experience with it) is 'oh god, what if something went wrong?'. The reality is that the same midwives who will care for you in hospital will care for you at home and there are very few complications that can occur that a skilled midwife couldn't handle. In the rare scenario, where you did need a higher level of care, like you said, you're only 10 minutes from the hospital. The ambulance would likely be there, pick you up, and get you to the hospital before they'd even have a chance to prepare the theatre for an emergency c-section (for example). If you were in hospital, you'd still probably be sitting around waiting on them. But I think most people just don't know this and just assume there are so many things that could go wrong, that somehow it would be easier and quicker to deal with those things in a hospital (it isn't necessarily), and that there aren't so many benefits to a home birth compared to a hospital birth (like more success in breastfeeding, lower rates of induction or emergency c-section, etc.).
I grew up always knowing I'd want a home birth, so I pretty much started preparing my husband for this as soon as we got to the point in our relationship where we knew it was serious, before we were married or even engaged. I sat him down and made him watch the Business of Being Born. I have some small critiques of that film in general, but overall, I really do think it's an excellent way to start introducing someone to the idea that birthing at home is a normal, natural, safe thing. You might also think about seeing if you have a home birth group in your area. Being in Surrey, I imagine there must be one somewhere nearby, even if you have to drive a little bit. My husband and I have been to our local group meeting a few times and he's gotten to meet and talk to lots of other couples who had home births. He found it really empowering. Even though he's had enough years to get used to the idea of home birth in the abstract, he'd never met anyone who had one (lots of my friends have birthed at home, but they live far away and he's never really talked with them about it). Once he actually talked to people who'd done it, and compared there experiences to those of friends of his who had hospital births, he felt so much more comfortable. This is our first, so we obviously haven't done it yet, but he's read lots of books and birth stories and things, and is now such an advocate for home birth. I've even caught him telling his friends all about it on nights out!
Also, lastly, if you do decide you want to go for a home birth (or even if you don't, really), because your husband seems a bit uncertain still, you might think about hiring a doula. I think getting to know our doula has also really helped my husband feel confident that we know what we're doing and are making the best decision for us. She's had a hospital birth (very high intervention, kinda traumatic, with her first) and also a home birth (which was really empowering, pretty easy and chill, even with a nearly 11 lb baby!). She's been so helpful and positive and I think knowing he'll have someone there he trusts who's done this herself has made him feel a lot more comfortable. Doulas don't have to be expensive either. Our's is relatively new so she's only £200 for antenatal, birth and postnatal care. And if you hire one who is still training they are usually free.
The thought of birthing in hospital makes me anxious. We are a 10 minute drive from the hospital (by car) so, in my eyes, we aren't that far away.
