020 7538 0102
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has revealed that he is considering introducing a new “fast track for beauty” in the planning system – allowing homeowners or developers to more quickly secure planning permission if they are seeking to build a type of structure that a community has already deemed acceptable. The proposal is included in a report from the Government’s Building Better, Building Beautiful commission. “Instead of an unpredictable, bureaucratic planning system, which shuts out smaller developers and self-builders,” he writes, “we should have a freer process where it is easier to progress planning applications for well-designed places.” He also adds that he wants to see tree-lined streets become “the norm,” and that zero carbon homes should be “being built as standard within five years.”
The Sunday Telegraph (26/01/20)
Rockwell has begun work on its £151m, 30-storey mixed-use development at 82 West India Dock Road, adjacent to Westferry DLR station. Designed by architects SimpsonHaugh to act as a gateway to Canary Wharf’s central cluster, the scheme includes 66 new residential properties, 18 of which will be affordable, and London’s largest and tallest Premier Inn hotel. It also includes a restaurant, café, gym facilities and a landscaped pocket park, as well as communal gardens for new residents. Completion is scheduled for early 2022.
Property Investor Today (19/01/2020)
The latest HM Revenue and Customs data shows that UK property transactions soared at the end of last year. Residential property transactions increased 6.8% year-on-year in December to 104,670, up 6.2% on November’s number, while the total number of non-residential UK property transactions hit 10,690 during the month - up 13.4% higher on the month prior. Private Finance director Shaun Church said: "This increase in activity looks set to continue into early 2020. The decisive outcome of the General Election has generated a surge in interest from buyers and sellers."
City AM (21/01/20)
A number of banks have started to reintroduce bonus-friendly mortgages, making it easier for wealthy homebuyers with variable incomes to secure larger home loans. While some deals in recent years have allowed borrowers to declare 50% of a bonus to be factored into calculations determining how much they could borrow, Nationwide, Skipton Building Society and Metro Bank are taking whole bonuses into account, while Santander, Halifax and Scottish Widows will take into account up to 65% of a borrower’s bonus. Mark Harris, chief executive of the mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, says lenders allowing a loan applicant to declare 100% of a bonus will look at the average over the past two years, while those letting a person declare 60% tend to look at that year’s bonus alone.
The Times (17/01/2020)
A growing number of retired people are using their property wealth to top up their pension incomes. Baby Boomer homeowners withdrew almost £9.5m in housing wealth every single day through equity release in 2019, or £75,631 on average, according to over-55s specialist Key. Many use some or all of the cash to clear debts, with one in five clearing mortgages. However AJ Bell senior analyst Tom Selby warned that younger people are finding it difficult to get on the housing ladder and then face longer mortgage terms than their parents and grandparents: "In all likelihood, their house will not be their pension."
Daily Express (21/01/20)
Media tycoon Richard Desmond has been given the green light to build a huge £1bn regeneration project on the Isle of Dogs after Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick intervened. Mr Jenrick has overruled a planning inspector and granted permission for a revamp of the sprawling 15-acre Docklands site, commenting that the housing and employment benefits from the scheme outweighed the potential harm done to the significance of nearby heritage sites such as views of the Old Royal Naval College. The Westferry Printworks development next to Millwall Harbour will consist of more than 1,500 flats as well as restaurants and flexible workspaces.
The Daily Telegraph (15/01/20) The Times (15/01/20