ConservativeHome: "Newly built neo-classical social housing in Islington"

Link to web site

"The picture above is of Union Square in Islington. It shows newly built social housing. As part of a redevelopment of Packington Estate, these houses, in sympathy with the rest of the square, replace the 1960s ugly slab blocks.

"The Hyde Group housing association who are responsible for the scheme says:

"The terrace of four and five bedroom traditional town houses on Union Square, are all for social rent. The 17 family homes on Union Square are designed to mirror the existing Edwardian street properties."

"Hyde is replacing 491 council homes, and adding 300 new homes which will be sold on the open market to finance the £130 million scheme (not completely - there is a £33 million "gap funding" subsidy from the Government.) There will also be new community spaces, a youth centre, retail units, and employment spaces." 

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Link to PDF file

"London is in the midst of a housing crisis, with demand having outpaced supply for too many years. London’s homes are also overcrowded. Building more, larger, family sized homes is one way in which we can begin to solve this crisis. We also need to build quality homes, designed to high environmental standards, in order that London plays its part in mitigating climate change.

"As this report will show, this needn’t occur at the expense of the public purse. In fact, the opposite is true: significant value can be created from designing and building homes to the highest environmental standards, as has been demonstrated at other sites across the country, such as the BedZED development in south London.

"The 8000+ homes to be built on the Olympic Park over the next two decades represent a generation-defining opportunity to build high-quality family homes and help regenerate this historically neglected part of the city. Done well, the project has the ability to re-define regeneration in London."

Daily Telegraph: " 'Garden tax' clampdown facing homeowners with large grounds"

Link to Daily Telegraph

"Those with more than 1.23 acres of land face having to pay a 28 per cent levy on gains on the sale of a home.

"The new stance by tax authorities, reviving the enforcement of rules on the statute book since the 1960s, threatens to upset the long-held assumptions of many that profits from the sale of one's main home are exempt from tax."

The Independent: "Planning minister: We need to build more homes in the countryside"

Link to web site

"The amount of land that is built on in Britain needs to be expanded by up to a third to tackle the nation’s housing shortage, the new Planning Minister will say [later today].

Nick Boles will reveal a controversial plan to build more homes in the countryside in order to give today’s younger generation their “basic moral right” to an affordable home. He will also attack many of the modern homes being built by developers as 'pig ugly'.

"... Before becoming an MP in 2010, Mr Boles advocated building in the Green Belt in a report for Policy Exchange, the think tank he headed, which has close links to Mr Cameron."

Daily Telegraph: "Swathes of green belt land sacrificed"

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"The Telegraph has established that more than 9,000 acres of land – an area the same size as the city of Gloucester – is set to be removed from the Green Belt by local authorities, following the Coalition’s controversial planning reforms.

"At least 40 per cent of councils with green belt land in their areas have already redrawn, or plan to alter, the boundaries of the protected areas, in an attempt to meet demand for housing and development." [Er. There isn't any great demand in the economy, is there?]

BBC: "Campaigners angry at Growth and Infrastructure Bill"

Link to BBC web site

"Campaigners have accused the government of creating a developers' charter with its Growth and Infrastructure Bill being debated in the Commons later.

"The government says the bill is needed to stimulate development.

"But critics say it betrays ministers' promises to leave planning decisions to be made at local level."

Evening Standard: "London house price boom ‘is over’ "

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"London house prices fell last month for the first time since February. The average value dipped 0.2 per cent to £363,802, according to official Land Registry figures.

"Prices are now just 5.5 per cent higher than a year ago, although this is still a far better performance than anywhere else in the country.

"The figures suggest that the mini-boom, that started in the spring of 2009 and has been fuelled by a wave of foreign buyers, may be finally running out of steam."

BBC: "Councils urge ministers to U-turn over extensions plans"

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"Councils across England are calling on the government to abandon its plan to allow larger home extensions without planning permission.

"The Local Government Association warned the proposals would 'give the green light to unsightly development' and cause 'friction between neighbours'.

"Last month Downing Street announced a consultation on easing the rules on home extensions of up to eight metres."

Evening Standard: "Recovery hopes dimmed by housebuilding ‘disaster’ "

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"A 'disastrous' month for Britain’s building industry today raised fresh fears about recovery in the UK, as business leaders warned of stagnant growth and house prices fell again.

The latest alarming figures from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply showed the nation’s construction industry still stuck in recession during September. Housebuilders endured their worst month since a snow-blighted December 2010, while commercial building work saw its biggest slump for more than two years.

"Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply chief executive David Noble said:

"September’s figures show the construction sector’s cupboard to be well and truly bare, rounding off a disastrous quarter. After the longest continual decline in new orders for three years, this is of no surprise.

Looking ahead, there is little to be positive about. Homebuilding continues to be hit hard, and the commercial sector, so long the star of the industry, has lost its sparkle."

BBC: "Tory council set to defy relaxed planning rules"

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"A Conservative council is set to defy the government over a relaxation of planning rules for building extensions.

"The proposals, covering England and intended to boost the economy, will allow larger home and business extensions without planning permission.

"But amid fears of a rash of ugly extensions, Richmond council officials in south-west London are considering ways to circumvent the policy."

Barnet Times: "Retired man campaigns to save trees at Old Camdenians Football Club in Mill Hill"

Link to web site

"George Maile of Burtonhole Close is calling for Barnet Council to prevent the killing of trees at the Old Camdenians Football Club, also in Burtonhole Close.

"Mr Maile, who is retired and lives next door to the club, claims that a number of trees in the “naturally beautiful tree line” have already been cleared and that more are in danger."

Daily Telegraph: "Green belt only safe 'for now', planning minister Nick Boles admits"

Link to web site

"... Shaun Spiers, the chief executive of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said:

"We would have hoped for much stronger defence of the green belt than the [new planning] minister gave in Parliament."

"Asked about Nick Boles' comments, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman denied there were plans to make it easier to build on the green belt. He said:

"There are flexibilities within the current planning regime – in some parts of the country, they are quite good at using those flexibilities.

We have a national planning framework which was finalised quite recently, and there isn’t any plan to change that."

The Economist: "The green belt is sacred. It should not be"

Link to The Economist

"CYCLING north through London, you experience the city’s history. Bloomsbury has grand 18th-century mansions. Farther out, in Camden, you pass pretty Victorian terraces. In Finchley, the houses are neat 1930s villas. And then the city simply stops.

"At the edge of the pre-war suburbs of Barnet there are fields.

"Traffic fumes give way to bird calls and the acrid smell of smoke from a bonfire on a nearby farm. This scraggy patch of land, part of London’s green belt, has been protected from the bulldozers for nearly 60 years. Some in the government would like to relax the belt a few notches."

The Guardian: "George Osborne plans deregulation of planning laws"

Link to web site

"George Osborne has signalled plans for a major deregulation of planning laws, raising the prospect of allowing more development of green belt land.

"In an interview on Sunday, the chancellor of the exchequer said he wanted to see more 'imaginative' thinking by planning authorities, which could allow building on previously protected land.

"His words will anger some ministers and members of the coalition who have campaigned for protected green belts around urban areas to remain free of development."

The Independent: "Dozens of developments pose threat to sanctity of green belt"

Link to The Independent

"The scale of the threat to the green belt is revealed today, with a report highlighting more than 35 proposed developments on protected land.

"Local authorities are under growing pressure to rip up countryside-planning rules by approving dozens of building projects including mines, industrial parks and 81,000 homes, according to the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE).

"Government policies requiring councils to allocate more than five years' worth of land for new housing is opening up large swaths of England's 1.6 million-hectare green belt to developers, the CPRE warns."

Daily Telegraph: "We need new houses built on fields, not these 'mixed-use’ Soviet estates"

Link to Daily Telegraph

"... The insistence on housing quotas of 'affordability' by governments has had a negative short-term impact.

"Sir Adrian Montague has been reviewing the rental market for the Coalition, and wants the quotas done away with altogether. His report this week suggests that such requirements have put developers off building (Keith’s opinion appears not to be unique), with the result that even the private rented sector is becoming less available to those waiting to get on to the ladder.

"Thus the law of unintended consequences: there aren’t enough houses in London, so the cost is too high. The government intervenes with affordability quotas, which will never be sufficient to deal with the root cause of the housing crisis.

"Those quotas put some buyers off, which in turn puts the developers off, which in turn leads to rents for those locked out of the market becoming inexorably higher."

Daily Mail: "Ministers ready for a battle over greenbelt grab as they plan to seize land for housing and new airport"

Link to web site

"Ministers are planning to seize chunks of the greenbelt to build housing developments and pave the way for a new hub airport, the Mail has learned.

"The Treasury is prepared to ‘have a fight’ with green campaigners by pushing through rules which would let ministers redesignate areas of greenbelt as available for development.

"Chancellor George Osborne plans to let ministers rather than local councils decide where to build hundreds of thousands of houses by reclassifying them as projects of national importance."

London house prices rise: Capital bucks the trend as the rest of the country suffers

Link to Evening Standard

"Official figures showed today that London house prices rose overall by 6.5 per cent last year.

The surge in the capital drove an England-wide increase of 2.3 per cent for the year to June, according to the Office for National Statistics.

But analysts predicted that house prices could edge downwards into next year, amid the uncertain economy and 'fragile' consumer confidence.

"... Howard Archer, of IHS Global Insight, said:

"We continue to suspect that house prices are headed lower over the rest of 2012, and very possibly beyond."

Barnet Times video: "Hidden cameraman exposes Barnet Council binmen disposing of industrial waste in Mill Hill"

Link to web site and video

"Embarrassment reigns at Barnet Council following the release of a video which appears to show binmen disposing of industrial waste. 

"The video, which appears to have been filmed in secret, was posted on YouTube on July 29. 

"It seems to show Barnet Council binmen in Page Road, Mill Hill, allowing two men to throw items including bags of cement and mattresses into the back of a refuse truck."

WhatHouse: "Developers to build new homes in Mill Hill East"

Link to WhatHouse web site

"Housebuilders Linden Homes and Taylor Wimpey have purchased two parcels of land at the Inglis Consortium's 33-hectare Millbrook Park* development in Mill Hill East, with a view to developing a selection of new homes as part of a new community at the heart of the London Borough of Barnet.

"Taylor Wimpey North Thames will develop 58, three- and four-bedroom houses on land adjacent to the popular Ridgemont development bordering Frith Lane with views over Finchley Golf course.

"Meanwhile, Linden Homes have purchased a package of land to the west of the site to build 113 new homes comprising one- and two-bedroom apartments as well as three-, four- and five-bedroom houses. They will also refurbish the former Inglis Barracks Officers Mess which has been preserved as an important part of local history. This will be renovated to provide ten apartments as well as a GP's surgery."

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* A combination of three rustic-sounding phrases,
in one new location name.
Congratulations.

Evening Standard: "London has lost equivalent of seven Hyde Parks as front gardens are paved over"

Link to web site

"So many of London’s front gardens have been paved over to create car parking spaces that the city has lost the equivalent of seven Hyde Parks.

"According to new figures from the RAC Foundation, about 600,000 homes in the capital have lost 85 per cent or more of their front gardens, as homeowners seek to avoid parking restrictions introduced by borough councils.

"The foundation estimates that the number of front gardens being turned into hard-standing areas for cars has doubled over the past 15 years.

"It urged London councils to draw up plans to combat the loss of green space which, it said, spoiled London’s 'green' look."

Daily Telegraph: "Celebrity gardeners blamed for making floods worse by encouraging decking and patios"

Link to web site

"New satellite pictures show the proportion of gardens in towns and cities in England that have been paved over increased from 28 per cent to 48 per cent between 2001 and 2011.

"Lord Krebs, the Government’s top adviser on climate change and flooding, suggested celebrity gardeners were to blame:

"Rather than allowing water to soak into the soil, like a traditional lawn, hard surfaces cause water to run-off and build up in valleys and roads."

Daily Telegraph: "If you want to keep England green and pleasant you're going to have to pay for it says Motion"

Link to web site

"Andrew Motion, new President of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, has admitted that energy bills will have to go up, if we want to stop destruction of the countryside.

"The former poet laureate said that climate change is the greatest risk the planet faces. Therefore, conservationists must support plans to reduce carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels, by switching to renewables.

"However, renewables also have an impact on the countryside, because of the aesthetic impact of technologies like wind turbines and solar panels. Also, wind and solar often have to be far away from the population, meaning more more power lines and pylons are required."

Daily Telegraph: "Recession hitting middle-income families the most"

Link to web site

"The middle fifth of households saw disposable incomes drop by £1,100 to £24,400 in the year to April, quadruple the average fall of £200 to £30,300 across all households, the report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed.

"The figures, which track family incomes after tax and benefits, showed that the poorest members of society have borne the brunt of tax and duty rises under Chancellor George Osborne’s austerity measures."

Barnet Times: "Cosmetics firm Barry M threatens to abandon borough if Barnet Council denies expansion"

Link to Barnet Times

"A leading cosmetics firm employing 80 people is threatening to leave the borough if Barnet Council refuses to sell a piece of land next to its Mill Hill East factory.

"Barry M Cosmetics, based in Bittacy Hill, says it desperately needs to expand and is looking to buy part of the adjacent Mill Hill depot to create another 100 jobs."

The Guardian: "London housing crisis: should we build on the green belt?"

Link to The Guardian

"... Environmentalists, free-enterprise evangelists and even mainstream political parties tend to agree that car-dependent suburban sprawl is bad stuff, both environmentally and economically. It's an  interesting debate.

"Given London's expected population surge and the already high densities of much of inner London, it could be that rather than building new suburbs, we need to turn our existing ones into Compact Cities, if Greater London is to adapt and thrive. But would those suburbs agree?"

The Guardian: "Government 'failing to get enough homes built'"

Link to web site

"Ministers are failing to tackle the housing crisis and not enough new homes are being built, leading to rising rental levels and growing homelessness and overcrowding, according to a report by leading housing experts.

"The report by the National Housing Federation, Shelter and the Chartered Institute of Housing highlights areas where the coalition is in charge of deteriorating housing conditions. It points out that while there has been a small increase in new builds, the 109,020 completed homes in 2011 is almost 40% below the 2007 peak of 175,560 – and less than half the number the government admits would be required annually to meet demand."

Evening Standard: "Has the green belt had its day?"

Link to Evening Standard

"Nobody wants to see environmental degradation, but is the London green belt a yoke around Britain's neck? With population levels spiralling, house prices increasing and discretionary incomes plunging, could one of the single most effective steps to boosting the UK economy be to start opening up the green belt for development, creating jobs in the process?

"... Relaxing green belt restrictions need not be equivalent to junking the whole concept - this doesn't need to be 'baby and bathwater' territory. Similarly, not all green belt land is of equal beauty; surely some of it could go?"

BBC: "Showing paintings of British suburban houses to Saudis"

Link to BBC web site

"From LS Lowry's matchstick factory workers, to a haunting depiction of Stonehenge in winter - dozens of works of art have gone on show in Riyadh to try to depict the UK's landscape and people to Saudis.

"The art in the exhibition 'Out of Britain' is dominated by landscapes and abstract compositions - rather than works displaying human form. Selections were made by five Saudi curators, with help from the British Council. Take a look with the council's visual arts director, Andrea Rose."

IEA: "Only liberalisation of land use planning system can address affordability crisis"

Link to IEA web site

"... In summary, there is overwhelming empirical evidence that planning restrictions have a substantial impact on housing costs. It is also fully plausible, albeit not (yet) definitely confirmed, that planning restrictions play a much more important role than scarcity of developable land, be it due to topographic obstacles or past development.

Even in very densely populated and built-up places, regulatory restrictions have been found to be important determinants of housing costs. If such evidence can be found for Manhattan and Hong Kong, then there is hardly any place in Britain where housing shortages could be blamed on scarcity of space. High housing costs are a self-inflicted problem.

"...  Opinion surveys show strong resistance to development, which allows the anti-development lobby to present their views as fully in accordance with the public mood. But this is not the least surprising given that these surveys bear no resemblance to real-world decision-making processes, which involve opportunity costs and trade-offs. They are no more meaningful than asking ‘would you prefer to get up two hours later in the morning’ or ‘would you prefer to work closer to home’: other things equal, how could the answer be in the negative? 

What matters is the choice people make when faced with real-world opportunities, facing the benefit and (opportunity) cost of each, and making trade-offs. Unless the planning system moves a lot closer to a decision-making process of this type, there will be no lasting solution to the housing affordability crisis."

Sunday Telegraph: "Middle England goes to war as the National Trust fights planning reforms"

Link to Sunday Telegraph

"Dame Fiona Reynolds has given the Prime Minister a bloody nose. She wouldn’t put it like that, being a woman who likes to win her battles with cream teas and a smile, but the fact is that the director general of the National Trust and her allies have just forced the Government to rewrite the rules on planning development, preserving swathes of the countryside.

"'They listened and we thank them for it,' says Dame Fiona, sitting in the ultra-modern, environmentally-friendly offices of the National Trust in Swindon. The fight is not over yet. 'We won’t leave it alone now. We will be watching what happens next, and playing our part'."