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Short on time? Thursday’s housing news in five minutes
A round-up of the top stories this morning from Inside Housing and elsewhere
Top story: Buildings with Grenfell-style cladding may still be unsafe to occupy despite government reassurance, says inquiry expert
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One of the key Grenfell Inquiry expert witnesses has delivered a stinging assessment of the government’s response to improve the safety of buildings clad in aluminium composite material (ACM).
Dr Barbara Lane in her recommendations to the inquiry criticised the government’s “starting position” which assumes that the buildings are safe to occupy.
She said she had struggled to ascertain whether there was a minimum safety standard requirement – fuelling concerns that residents are being put at risk.
Dr Lane added that there has also been no evidence to demonstrate that fire services have the necessary equipment and strategies to evacuate or fight a fire in an ACM-clad building.
London councillors call on chancellor to reverse PWLB rate hike over regeneration fears
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Senior council figures from 20 London boroughs have called on the chancellor to reverse a hike in the interest rates for the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB), claiming the changes will result in fewer homes being built.
A group of 36 councillors and mayors have put their names to a letter which urges Sajid Javid to reverse his decision or scrap the increase for money borrowed to fund housebuilding or regeneration projects.
Their voices add to a growing number of local authority figures which have asked the government to reconsider its move, with many fearing it could severely impact housebuilding plans.
Lunchtime long read
The Grenfell Inquiry has recommended that landlords have evacuation plans for all tall buildings but putting those in place might be easier said than done.
Gavriel Hollander asks housing providers how they have changed their approach since Grenfell and how they are meeting the extra costs of implementing safety measures.
Quote of the day
“It’s precisely because of Brexit, and the massive uncertainty and economic fragility it will inevitably bring, that this election should be a time for us to redouble our efforts to get affordable homes higher up the agenda and to fight for the longer-term funding we know is needed to deliver those homes.”
Sebert Cox, chair of Karbon Homes, has urged the sector to use the upcoming election to secure long-term funding for housing.
In the papers
Picture: Getty
It has emerged that London mayor Sadiq Khan has banned Rydon, the main contractor for the Grenfell Tower refurbishment, from carrying out housing works through a capital-wide procurement agreement until the public inquiry rules on whether it contributed to the fire. The Guardian has more.
The Independent has a shocking report which claims tens of thousands of vulnerable people across the UK are being forced to live in unregulated housing that subject tenants to filthy conditions, rat infestations and even murders, as part of a system that allows landlords to exploit them.
City AM has the story that Bovis Homes has completed its deal to snap up Galliford Try’s housing businesses for almost £1.1bn.
Local news
Picture: Getty
Plans for 500 homes on green belt land in Burley in Wharfedale have been refused by the housing secretary, the Ilkley Gazette reports.
Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council is planning to team up with social landlord Aspire Housing to drive forward the development of for sale homes on land owned by the authority. The homes will be delivered through Aspire’s recently launched sales arm, Incana. Stoke-on-Trent Live has the full story.
A new report based on research carried out by Lichfields for the Home Builders Federation found that housebuilding in Cumbria has jumped 63% in five years, with 1,777 new homes provided in the region in the 2017/18 financial year.
