And still on the Budget – the £100 million announced by Alistair Darling to help councils start building houses has been described as a ‘drop in the ocean’ after it emerged that as few as 900 homes will be created. Last year just 310 properties were built by councils in England, and since 1995 no
The European parliament wants Spanish planning laws to be changed to stop developers being able to acquire private land below market rates and force homeowners from their properties. In some regions planning authorities have been redesignating private land for urban use and rubber-stamping applications from developers, who then offer well below the market rate for
The latest figures from the National House Building Council show the first quarter-on-quarter rise in applications to start new homes for almost two years. There was a rise in applications of 2 per cent in the final quarter on 2008. In March this year, the number of applications to start public sector homes exceeded the
Insurance giant Legal & General is in talks with the government about investing in the residential housing sector. It is looking into so-called ‘build to let’ opportunities to develop homes from scratch to take advantage of increasing rental returns.
Meanwhile figures out from the National House Building Council (NHBC) show that applications from housing associations to build new homes have outstripped those from private developers for the first time. Public sector applications numbered 3,011 in March compared with 2,943 from the private sector, which is reflected in the decline. Overall, applications for new home