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Genesis Homes partners with Homes England to deliver new homes in Brigham

Tuesday, 9th October 2018

Genesis Homes has secured a £4 million funding loan with Homes England to support the delivery of 37 new homes in Brigham, Cockermouth. Homes England will provide the finance through its £4.5 billion Home Building Fund – a scheme introduced to support small and medium sized (SME)... View Article

Construction industry takes lead on fire safety while waiting for Government clarification, research reveals

Tuesday, 9th October 2018

The first research to investigate what has changed in construction practice since the Grenfell Tower fire reveals a wide range of improvements being implemented by the industry itself, but a growing frustration with the slow response from Government – despite a... View Article

CIC hails creation of New Homes Ombudsman as a welcome champion for quality

Tuesday, 9th October 2018

The Construction Industry Council (CIC) has welcomed the government’s decision to set up a New Homes Ombudsman, calling it a much-needed driver for improving housing quality and providing better redress for consumers. The MHCLG Secretary of State, James Brokenshire made... View Article

Tenure blind on a big scale in Bexley

Tuesday, 9th October 2018

Work on a major regeneration scheme is drawing to a close in a deprived south east London suburb. Paul Nicholls of Wates Residential explains its community-driven approach to this ‘tenure blind’ project. Jack Wooler reports. Erith Park is a large-scale,... View Article

Skills time bomb ticks louder

Tuesday, 9th October 2018

Brian Berry of the FMB explains some of the reasons behind the construction skills crisis, and considers the negative impacts the recent government recommendations on immigration could have, post-Brexit. Few in this industry will be surprised to hear that the... View Article

Survey reveals barriers to shared ownership adoption

Tuesday, 9th October 2018

The Government and the housing sector are falling short of educating shared ownership buyers, according to research from YouGov. The survey of over 200 people that own homes through shared ownership schemes was commissioned by housing association Aster Group. It... View Article

Labour pledges to “fix the housing crisis” at party conference

Tuesday, 9th October 2018

The Labour Party has announced its plans to end the housing crisis at its party conference in Liverpool, with leader Jeremy Corbyn pledging to “embark on the biggest home building programme in half a century.” Shadow Secretary of State for... View Article

House price growth continues to outpace wages

Tuesday, 9th October 2018

The minimum income first-time buyers need in order to buy a home in the UK’s largest cities has risen by 18 per cent in the past three years, with house price growth continuing to outpace earnings in 16 out of... View Article

Community Housing Fund Phase 2 launched

Tuesday, 9th October 2018

£163m of affordable housing funding is now available to communities across England, after Phase Two of the Community Housing Fund was launched on 17 September. Phase One of the fund launched in July, and like Phase 2, it has been... View Article

Housing associations get £2bn

Tuesday, 9th October 2018

Housing associations are to receive £2bn from the Government to build low-cost homes. Theresa May told a National Housing Federation conference that the “most ambitious” providers will be able to bid for Government money that could last them until 2028-29,... View Article

May confirms removal of borrowing cap

Tuesday, 9th October 2018

The borrowing cap for local councils to build new housing is set to be scrapped, potentially opening up billions of pounds of funding for new council housebuilding schemes. In a move that has been long called for by many in... View Article

From the Editor

Tuesday, 9th October 2018

You have to admire ‘Dancing Queen’ Theresa May’s strength. While navigating a seemingly impossible course between shark-infested waters of extreme Brexiteers and the EU, she also managed to announce something universally welcomed in her conference speech. Finally, they have scrapped... View Article

Damp-proofing in social housing

Monday, 8th October 2018

By Richard Walker, National Technical and Development Manager at Peter Cox With leaves starting to fall and the daylight hours becoming noticeably shorter, we are starting to enter a period of colder mornings and evenings, or what we call in... View Article

Construction manufacturers expect strong final quarter of 2018

Monday, 8th October 2018

Construction products manufacturing returned to business as usual in Q3 after the weather-related pauses and subsequent catch-up in the first half of the year. Britain’s £56 billion industry is cautiously optimistic that the year will finish strong with sales anticipated... View Article

London’s commercial property transactions more than double in three years

Monday, 8th October 2018

The annual value of London’s commercial sales of property has soared by 166 per cent since 2014, up from £11.3 billion in 2014 to £30.1 billion in 2017, according to new analysis of HM Land Registry data for Greater London’s... View Article

£350m development at key South Bank site gets green light

Monday, 8th October 2018

The Section 106 legal planning agreement has now been signed with Leeds City Council, enabling CEG’s proposals for the six acre site off Globe Road and Water Lane, in the heart of the South Bank, to progress. In April 2018,... View Article

Hackitt calls for “root and branch” industry reform to create safer buildings

Friday, 5th October 2018

Dame Judith Hackitt, author of the independent report looking into Building Regulations and fire safety post-Grenfell, has called for a “root and branch reform” of the construction industry’s culture, alongside a tougher regulatory regime. Hackitt told the annual Chartered Association... View Article

Government inspectors support council plans for green belt housing protection in Leeds

Friday, 5th October 2018

Green belt areas of Leeds earmarked for possible future housing development are set to be fully protected following an initial view given by government planning inspectors. The Site Allocations Plan for Leeds which identifies locations for new housing to meet... View Article