Newsletter

A new cross sector Future Homes Task Force has announced that a multi-million pound Delivery Hub will be set up to manage the housebuilding industry’s drive to meet the environmental targets set out by government. The Task Force, comprising of representatives from across all the sectors that shape new homes including government, housebuilding, utility provision, material suppliers and environmental groups met yesterday with wider industry leaders at the second Housing and Environment Summit. The challenge includes the construction and fabric efficiency of tomorrow’s new homes, how they are powered and how they take account of and impact on the environment within which they sit. Meeting these high-level ambitions, in a realistic and deliverable way will require the coordination of numerous issues and […]

Premier Modular has been awarded the contract to provide modular housing for homeless families in Barking who are in urgent need of accommodation. The new homes are developed by Be First, the regeneration arm of Barking and Dagenham Council. The £1.5m contract was awarded to Premier by main contractor Jerram Falkus and will provide 20 two-bedroom apartments in two blocks, all manufactured offsite. Marcia Kirlew, Development Manager at Be First, said: “Modular construction allows us to halve the construction time, with obvious benefits to residents in the neighbouring areas. But, more importantly, it allows us to respond to the rapidly developing needs of our local community much faster than we would otherwise, by providing value-for-money, high quality housing for local people.” The use of

The Scottish housebuilding industry have called on the Scottish Government to issue a clear statement of intent on the need to deliver 25,000 new homes of all tenures each year and to mandate public agencies to work in partnership with developers across sectors to achieve this. According to trade body Homes for Scotland (HFS), this would generate greater investment confidence, helping to boost the wider economy as well as providing much needed homes across the country. The call is part of a package of measures submitted to the Scottish Government to ensure the longer-term sustainability of the home building sector as it strives to recover from the impact of the Coronavirus. HFS Chief Executive Nicola Barclay said: “As the First Minister acknowledged

Last month, the government wielded an axe to the current planning system, publishing proposals which will require local authorities to introduce their own local design codes. Now the Housing Secretary, Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP, has announced that he has appointed Nicholas Boys Smith to establish a new design body, tasked with driving up design standards and supporting local communities to produce design codes defining beautiful design in each community. Nicholas will chair a new steering group that will advise government on how best to help communities set these local rules for local developments and ensure that for the first time in history beauty, design and high environmental standards are fundamental to every planning application. The new design body will support communities

Property transactions bounced back in August but are still far short of the levels seen last year, according to the latest government data. The provisional seasonally adjusted estimate of UK residential transactions in August 2020 is 81,280, 16.3% lower than August 2019 and 15.6% higher than July 2020. The provisional non-seasonally adjusted estimate of UK residential transactions in August 2020 is 84,910, 23.9% lower than August 2019 and 6.1% higher than July 2020. Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, said: “Despite only being introduced the previous month, the stamp duty holiday was already filtering through to transaction numbers in August as buyers rushed to take advantage of the saving. Despite the recovery in number of transactions compared with the previous