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A report has called for £3bn of taxpayer funds to be allocated to developers through a ‘help to build’ scheme to prevent a collapse in the supply of new homes. Housebuilders should be handed grants of up to £25,000 for every new home to protect the industry amid a coronavirus collapse in demand, the Centre for Policy Studies think tank said. It comes amid evidence that families are shunning the property market because of fears about losing their job. Grants should only be issued for properties that have been sold and could go towards buyer discounts or part-exchange schemes, the CPS said, leading to 150,000 homes being built.
The Daily Telegraph (09/06/2020)
Homes England has agreed funding packages worth £309m to accelerate construction at three major London developments, in Brent Cross, Barking Riverside, and the Docklands. The Silvertown Quays project in east London will use £105m to accelerate the delivery of 3,000 new homes. The £1.2bn project is being delivered by the Silvertown Partnership, a joint venture of US property firm Starwood Capital Group and Lendlease. The development lies on a 62-acre brownfield site in the Royal Docks, Newham, and will also deliver office, retail and leisure space.
Construction News (03/06/2020)
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has refused plans for a 771-home scheme in Greenwich that would provide 40% affordable housing after concluding that the proposal fails "to take the opportunity to promote a high quality of design". Developer Rockwell had planned to build 11 blocks of flats, up to 10 storeys tall, at the Charlton Riverside scheme near Hope and Anchor Lane. The planning inspector acknowledged the differing character of the area to neighbouring sites at Greenwich peninsula, where a plethora of high-rise applications have been waved through and subsequently developed within eyesight. And while he accepted riverside areas of the Charlton Riverside Opportunity Area may accept taller buildings, promoting high-rise development across the area would compromise planning aims for the area.
Planning Resource (04/06/2020) The News Shopper (04/06/2020)
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has refused plans for a 771-home scheme in Greenwich that would provide 40% affordable housing after concluding that the proposal fails "to take the opportunity to promote a high quality of design". Developer Rockwell had planned to build 11 blocks of flats, up to 10 storeys tall, at the Charlton Riverside scheme near Hope and Anchor Lane. The planning inspector acknowledged the differing character of the area to neighbouring sites at Greenwich peninsula, where a plethora of high-rise applications have been waved through and subsequently developed within eyesight. And while he accepted riverside areas of the Charlton Riverside Opportunity Area may accept taller buildings, promoting high-rise development across the area would compromise planning aims for the area.
Planning Resource (04/06/2020) The News Shopper (04/06/2020
House prices fell 1.7% in May from the previous month to an average of £218,902, the largest monthly fall for 11 years, according to Nationwide. The annual growth rate slowed to 1.8%, down from 3.7% in April and the slowest since December. Recent Nationwide research indicated that one in eight people had put off moving because of the lockdown. The drop in Nationwide's house price index in May "is just the start of a protracted decline over the remainder of this year," said Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. Nationwide said potential buyers were now planning to wait six months on average before looking to enter the market, and 12% of the population had put off moving because of the lockdown.
The Times (02/06/2020) Daily Mail (02/06/2020) The Guardian (02/06/2020) City AM (02/06/2020)
The number of mortgage approvals fell to a record low in April, Bank of England figures show. Some 15,848 mortgage approvals for house purchase were recorded - 80% below February levels before coronavirus lockdown measures were imposed, around half the number of approvals during the 2008 financial crisis, and the lowest since figures started in 1993. Approvals for re-mortgaging also fell in April, the Bank said, to 34,400 – 34% lower than in February. The BoE report said: "Weakness in the housing market associated with COVID-19 was reflected in weak mortgage market activity in April."
City AM (02/06/2020) Evening Standard (02/06/2020) Daily Mail (02/06/2020)