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Get in the zone with regen leases
At the Convention of the North in Manchester on 25 January, housing secretary Michael Gove announced the government’s recommitment to investment zones. The initiative will allow some local authorities to designate sites that will be earmarked for tax cuts, relaxed regulation and planning simplifications within that area.
Clock is ticking for consensus on planning policy
Although criticism of the government’s approach to housing is nothing new, recent news that four former housing ministers have spoken out against current policy should sound clear alarm bells for anyone involved in the development arena
Rates revaluation is a boost for retail
It is welcome news that M&S is planning a £480m investment across its UK stores, generating, as reported, more than 3,400 jobs and opening five new full-service stores: in Leeds White Rose, Liverpool One, the Bullring Birmingham, Manchester Trafford Centre and Lakeside Thurrock.
UK’s net zero plan must not overlook the obvious
MP Chris Skidmore’s Net Zero Review laudably focuses on making homes more energy efficient, but I join my property industry colleagues in calling for greater collaboration between the public and private sectors to truly tackle the UK’s energy efficiency challenge.
Retail faces sharp downturn in 2023
Marks & Spencer and Tesco are the latest in a list of major high-street stores that reported better-than-expected sales over the Christmas period. Bricks-and-mortar retailers had taken a bit of a battering in the months prior as inflation hit and rolling industrial strikes affected footfall, so a positive result over ...
Community Land Auctions not a practical solution
The levelling-up bill with all of its guises and amends has certainly kept the planning and residential sectors debating. Comments in the media are plentiful every time there’s a revision, and the Community Land Auctions amendment is no different, having been originally tabled in July last year and now back ...
In-use metric more valuable than EPCs
With rising energy costs and a recession expected throughout most of next year, we’re all too aware that energy efficiency will be top of the real estate agenda in 2023.
It’s up to us to lay foundations of economic recovery
There is no denying that the economic forecast for 2023 appears bleak for the built environment sector, with property values set to fall and construction rates to slow.
The planning system must be streamlined
There is a lot to unpack in Michael Gove’s latest announcements on planning reform. However, his general retreat from meaningful planning reform, his intention to penalise developers on buildout rates and his approach to diluting the ability to deliver housing will be to the detriment of those in desperate need ...
Shared ownership provides a solution for those priced out of the housing market
Guy Burnett’s piece on shared ownership highlights some of the reasons it is so important that we do everything we can to protect this support for first-time buyers.
Funding needed to regenerate high street heritage buildings
Visit any typical British high street these days, and there are empty and boarded-up shops that have been left behind as businesses move online or are forced to close stores.
Student housing needs more support
Student housing has been one of the most resilient residential property classes, so investors in this sector are well placed amid the turmoil of the wider market. However, as highlighted by your piece ‘Easing the university squeeze’, there are challenges ahead that need to be addressed.
