The government has committed more than £250 million to tackle crime, stimulate educational achievement and boost job opportunities in England’s most deprived communities. The bulk of the money (£186 million) will be invested in 39 new deal for communities programmes during this financial year, with the balance of £70 million available the following year. The
An independent affordability review in Northern Ireland has called for an extra 10,000 social rented homes to be built and 9,500 empty homes to be brought back into use over the next five years. The Semple report [downloads PDF] also called for fast-tracking of planning applications for new homes. For current advice in Northern Ireland,
Several newspapers have been looking at yesterday’s Court of Appeal ruling where an ex-wife who received a share in her marital home after her divorce 20 years ago now faces being evicted from her home as her former husband faces bankruptcy. The judge ruled that regardless of the terms of the couple’s divorce agreement, the
The government’s Better Regulation Commission is urging the DCLG to delay the introduction of energy performance certificates because they will impose ‘additional administrative burdens without adequate justification’, reports the Financial Times. Only 100 people have bought in the first five months of open market homebuy, reports the Telegraph. Families of people caught with guns will
At yesterday’s Local Government Association launch of the report into the impact of migrants on public services, Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, called for an inquiry to examine the claim that white families face discrimination when applying for council housing. He said there was little evidence to support the
According to research by the Times more than one in five homes have been put on the market because their owners cannot afford the mortgage repayments. A survey by the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) for the Times said that at least 5,000 properties a week are being put up for sale by ‘forced
A survey of 200 councils in England indicates that regeneration is the sector likely to be hit hardest in the economic downturn. 86 per cent of councils report delays or cancellations to regeneration projects, while 61 per cent said they had experienced delays to housing developments. The worst hit region was the North, where 91
IT MAY ONLY BE 20 HOUSES but the impact of a new housing scheme called Carran Crescent is likely to be felt across Northern Ireland. Opened yesterday by Northern Ireland secretary Peter Hain, the development in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh is the province’s first mixed housing scheme, where Catholic and Protestant families have signed a charter
Homeowners paid a record amount off their mortgages in the first three months of 2009 according to statistics from the Bank of England. An estimated £8.1 billion was repaid – the highest sum repaid since records began in 1970 – taking the total for the year to the end of March to £76 billion. From
TODAY’s INTEREST rate rise has taken just about everyone by surprise. A 0.25% rise had been expected, but not until February, and analysts including the CML are now predicting another increase to 5.5% later this year. Each 0.25% rise adds about £15 a month to the cost of a £100,000 repayment mortgage, adding to the