Housing Focus – Page 5
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FeaturesHousing Project of the Year shortlist
A Victorian chapel, rooftop houses, and a playground in the sky are just some of the innovations that feature in this year’s Building Awards housing shortlist, showcasing the country’s best residential projects
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FeaturesTop 150 contractors: Whatever the weather
This year’s contractors and housebuilders Top 150 shows the sector enjoying reasonably benign market conditions but remaining fearful of the uncertainties of Brexit and volatile domestic politics
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FeaturesBattersea: ‘The toughest project in the world'
Battersea Power Station’s redevelopment has not had an easy time of it lately, with profit margins plummeting and costs soaring. The development company behind the scheme speaks exclusively to Building about the scale of the problems
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FeaturesSpencer McCarthy: All in the family
Churchill boss Spencer McCarthy explains why his business model works and why the firm – one of the UK’s biggest providers of private housing for the elderly – will be sticking with traditional designs for its homes
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FeaturesQatar: ‘This dispute has escalated beyond any reasonably sane level’
With tensions between Qatar and Saudi Arabia and its allies rising by the week, many are fearful of the impact this row could have on construction companies working in the Gulf state, the World Cup 2022 preparations, and Qatari investment in UK projects
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FeaturesIn Grenfell’s shadow
After the immediate shock of the Grenfell Tower fire, local authorities and housing associations are trying to work out what it all means for the social housing sector. Joey Gardiner reports
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FeaturesGrenfell Tower: Heated debate
The Grenfell Tower fire has led to calls for fire safety regulations to be examined. But this was not the first warning sign that the current rules are not fit for purpose. What can be done to make sure a tragedy on this scale doesn’t happen again?
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FeaturesGrenfell Tower: Construction facts
Building’s technical editor considers what is known about the building and the recent upgrade
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FeaturesHousebuilders' ground rent "scandal"
Government has now said it will crack down on ‘doubling’ leasehold ground rents, earlier in the year Building investigated this controversial industry practice
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FeaturesHousing: The forgotten crisis
Already it has been dubbed the ‘Brexit election’, so will this single issue overshadow all others, including how to tackle the housing crisis?
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FeaturesBovis: Here’s the snag …
Bovis Homes recently set aside £7m to deal with its torrent of snagging complaints from buyers of its properties - and it’s not the only housebuilder criticised for selling unfinished and faulty homes
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FeaturesWhat next for Bovis?
Galliford Try’s all-share tilt at Bovis is more likely to succeed than Redrow’s part-cash/part-share offer
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FeaturesAutumn Statement: Hit and miss
Last week’s Autumn Statement trumpeted an extra £1.4bn for 40,000 affordable homes, but is the government set to miss its own target?
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FeaturesHousebuilders' salary survey 2016: Business as usual
The Brexit vote has ushered in a time of widespread uncertainty, but activity in the housebuilding sector has so far held up well. Joey Gardiner looks at what we can learn from this year’s salary survey and and asks how long trading can remain strong
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FeaturesState of play: London
Sadiq Khan has proved himself a pragmatist - a quality he’ll need to address the capital’s major built environment challenges
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FeaturesState of play: Housing
The government wants to see one million homes built in England by 2020, but while some housing experts think a little tinkering will get us there, others countenance a far more radical plan
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FeaturesParty conferences preview
The political backdrop to the approaching party conference season looks nothing like it did this time last year. The Brexit vote, which swept Theresa May to power and plunged Jeremy Corbyn into another leadership contest, has many policy implications. So what do the two main parties have to say about ...
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FeaturesTop 150 contractors: The rough & tumble
This year’s contractors and housebuilders Top 150 shows the sector pulling out of recession, but economic danger remains
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FeaturesTop 20 housebuilders 2016
Find out who’s in this year’s league of top housebuilders by housebuilding turnover
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FeaturesHow Theresa May can avoid a construction recession
In these days of lightning fast political changes, and possibly dire economic prospects, prime minister Theresa May has to hit the ground running if she is to prevent construction slipping into another recession