CLG decides where the axe will fall

Chink of light

Planning first target for new housing minister

The new shadow housing minister has slammed the government’s handling of planning reform in his first week in the job.

Strategic move

Affordable housing figures reveal the scale of the challenge the housing strategy must address, says Stuart Macdonald

Public sector told to make better use of assets

The government has called on councils to make better use of the assets they hold, as it published details of buildings and land owned by public sector bodies.

Building a better future

The government is making housing the cornerstone of economic recovery, says Grant Shapps

The other side of the story

Dale Farm has dominated the headlines in recent months. But as Alex Turner finds, there are plenty of examples of landlords and Travellers working together successfully

Get your Act together

With a host of legal acts coming into effect this year and next, Caroline Thorpe helps you to learn your lines so you can take to the housing stage with confidence

Not a sticking plaster

Efforts to tackle anti-social behaviour can seem like fire fighting. It’s expensive to take a more comprehensive and long-term approach by working with a single family to get to the root of their problems. But, as Tony Powell, executive director of neighbourhoods at New Charter Housing Trust, explains, the effect can be transformative.

The stamp of approval

Councils are expected to allow development wherever possible

Stuck in the mud

Despite the Localism Act being passed, the role LEPs can play in housing remains uncertain, says Liz Jenkins, partner, and Laura Coates, trainee, at Clyde & Co