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Morning Briefing: temporary housing spend soars in London
A BBC investigation shows rising temporary accommodation spend in London, and the rest of the morning’s housing news
In the news
In the BBC, an investigation shows that the cost of temporary accommodation has risen to £460m to £690m over the past four years in London, according to Freedom of Information responses from
31 boroughs.
The report quotes several people who have been in temporary accommodation for long periods, including Mariam Afshari-Nasr, a single mum of three who grew up in Westminster, who has been housed in temporary accommodation in Purfleet, Essex for the past six years.
“It’s very far from my kids’ schools, and they said you can change your kids’ schools. I told them I had to be a carer for my mother, they said you can travel the one hour 10 minutes’ distance, that’s fine,” she said.
Interest rates are set to rise today, the BBC reports. The Bank of England is set to raise the base rate from 0.5% to 0.75%. This will be only the second rise since 2009, and affects the repayment rate on many mortgages.
The HuffPost reports that control of Grenfell Tower will shift to central government, rather than the council, once police conclude their investigation – sparking relief from survivors.
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Natasha Elcock, a former Grenfell resident and member of survivor and bereaved group Grenfell United, said: “It’s a significant moment for survivors and bereaved families to hear that police investigations at the tower are about to be completed.
“We are relieved that the government has listened to us and stepped in to make sure that RBKC [Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea] will not be managing the site and will have no involvement in any decisions about the site.”
The Financial Times has a story about banks refusing to let Help to Buy buyers remortgage their properties.
In the local press, the Northampton Chronicle & Echo has a story about a woman’s anger after a mutual exchange on her house fell through. And in the North East, Teesside Live has a story about a housing association denying rumours that its planned tower block demolitions will not take place.
If a briefing on housing-related planning news gets your pulse racing these notes from planning firm Lichfields will probably be right up your street.
Elsehwere, Shelter blogs about the introduction of tenant ballots for estate regeneration in London, The Guardian has a story about links between welfare policy and food bank use and Landlord News carries a piece about the rising use of licensing schemes.
On social media
Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, believes her organisation has ‘closed the viability loophole’:
The “viability loophole” sounds techie and small. But it’s a big black hole swallowing genuinely affordable homes. And @Shelter has closed it. So proud - and this ace woman @rosegrayston has worked tirelessly for the win t.co/6zpTOJM3n4
— Polly Neate (@pollyn1) July 31, 2018
And planning expert Joe Sarling tweets about recent planning changes:
And finally....(!) given the important interaction between the NPPF and Neighbourhood Plans, it is important to understand who is engaging with the process and what they’re achieving #ukhousing
— Joe Sarling (@joesarling)
Report: t.co/OF6S7tY9r8
Thread: t.co/kWyKFW3IEBAnd finally....(!) given the important interaction between the NPPF and Neighbourhood Plans, it is important to understand who is engaging with the process and what they're achieving #ukhousing
— Joe Sarling (@joesarling) August 2, 2018
Report: https://t.co/OF6S7tY9r8
Thread: https://t.co/kWyKFW3IEB
The big issues that impact the regeneration and delivery of social housingSPONSORED ARTICLE
