Housing Focus
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FeaturesMore than a masterplan: the people power behind Earls Court’s next chapter
Mary Richardson went to meet the team of local people helping to shape the Earls Court redevelopment in west London as part of a wider programme of inclusive community engagement
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FeaturesIt’s deja vu all over again: Can the Ox-Cam Arc work second time around?
The chancellor has given her backing to an expansion plan for the corridor connecting Oxford, Milton Keynes and Cambridge, including thousands of homes, which the previous government dropped. Joey Gardiner asks what hope the industry can have
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FeaturesThe 1.5 million-home question: Does the government’s planning reform programme add up?
Ministers unleashed a barrage of planning reforms in the dying days of 2024. Joey Gardiner asks if these can give the industry the boost it needs to get anywhere close to the government’s ambitious housebuilding target?
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FeaturesA tale of two mergers: What do the completion of Barratt-Redrow and the collapse of Bellway-Crest Nicholson mean for Labour’s housebuilding plans?
Is the ground-breaking tie-up likely to help or hinder the government’s chances of hitting its sky-high 1.5 million housebuilding target?
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FeaturesKey takeaways from the Building the Future Conference and Housing Today Live
Church House in Westminster yesterday played host to two back-to-back conferences on construction and housing attended by hundreds of professionals from the built environment. Here is a round-up of the key talking points from the event, run by Building and Housing Today.
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FeaturesInvestigation: how are councils assessing the risks of uPVC cladding in low-rise housing after the Barnet fire?
When a fire in 2023 destroyed four terraced houses Barnet Council brought the housing sector’s attention to an overlooked fire safety issue: the use of uPVC cladding in low-rise homes. Have other councils heeded its warning? Olivia Barber launched a Freedom of Information investigation to find out
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FeaturesA boost for housebuilding or an ill-defined gimmick? - Labour’s ‘grey belt’ plans explained
Labour hopes its rebrand of ‘ugly’ green belt land will help. But will it work?
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FeaturesHome Truths podcast: In conversation with Darren Rodwell
Episode 4: Bricks and mortar, hearts and minds - Darren Rodwell, Labour’s candidate for Barking and council leader for the east London borough, on how he expects the Labour leadership to reveal more housing policy detail now the election has been called
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Features‘Good, but not perfect’ – What next for Homes England?
A year after the launch of its five-year strategic plan, an independent review of Homes England has set out recommendations for improving the body. But with an election coming soon, what might the future actually hold for the agency? Daniel Gayne reports.
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FeaturesA vision for 150,000 homes but no water to supply them. Does Gove’s Cambridge plan stand a chance?
The housing secretary wants to build nearly three times as many homes as the target set by Cambridge’s own planners. Is there something he knows that they don’t? Daniel Gayne reports
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FeaturesRise of housebuilding ‘superleague’ predicted in wake of Barratt’s deal for Redrow as analysts brush off regulatory worries
Yesterday’s £2.5bn move has analysts wondering who might be next to join forces – and reduce risk of being picked off themselves
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Features‘The figures on starts are terrifying’. What’s really happening to the £11bn Affordable Homes Programme
The government has admitted that it will not hit its development targets. Joey Gardiner asks what’s really going on and looks at how the situation can turn around
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FeaturesGove and Khan’s row over London’s housing delivery numbers explained
How the mayor’s spatial development strategy become the centre of a spat in this year of multiple elections
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FeaturesHow and why Stewart Milne collapsed: analysing the numbers
The collapse of the well-known Scottish housebuilder has shocked many within the housing sector. As Daniel Gayne finds out, the firm’s balance sheets over the past few years provide some clues as to what went wrong
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FeaturesWill biodiversity rules prove a net gain for the housebuilding sector?
From this month, all developments will have to show how they increase biodiversity by 10%. Joey Gardiner examines what the policy means
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FeaturesTop 50 Housebuilders 2023: The calm before the storm
Despite a year of turbulence in the housing sector, the year’s Top 50 rankings largely record the growth period seen before Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini Budget imploded the market last year. Joey Gardiner sees what the numbers say about who’s up and who’s down
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FeaturesWhat happens to development plans when a council goes ‘bankrupt’?
When a section 114 ‘bankruptcy’ notice is put in place, a council’s non-statutory services are restricted and housebuilding ‘goes to the back of the queue’. Yet the growing number of councils in this situation are finding ways to carry on building
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FeaturesRevealed: average salaries for leadership roles at largest 50 housebuilders
A new survey reveals the locations and job titles within the industry that command the most impressive wages and bonuses. Matilda Battersby reports.
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FeaturesUK housebuilding recession: How much worse is it going to get?
With little prospect of a rapid reduction in interest rates to spur a recovery, many in the industry are now just looking to “survive until ’25”. Joey Gardiner looks at the prospects for residential developers doing so.
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FeaturesCan the 16th housing minister in 13 years make a difference before the election?
The past nine housing ministers have come and gone in the time it takes to get a large project to site, says Joey Gardiner. So what are the chances that the latest incumbent in the role can do what is required to pick the industry up off the floor?