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Short on time? Wednesday’s housing news in five minutes

A round-up of the top stories this morning from Inside Housing and elsewhere

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Short on time? Wednesday’s housing news in five minutes #ukhousing

Top story: Residents locked out from balconies at London block with ‘potentially combustible insulation’

A London council is taking action to stop residents accessing their balconies at a housing block that is currently being decanted over fears of combustible insulation.

Hackney Council said it will be “securing” balcony doors at Bridport House to “prevent access”, as residents have ignored warnings from the authority that they are unsafe.

The council warned tenants in March after a piece of one of the balconies reportedly fell off from the second floor. Protective netting was installed by the local authority as a precautionary measure.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY

Scottish government urges MHCLG to intervene after cladding issues lead to unsellable flats

The Scottish government has pleaded with the UK housing secretary to find a solution to the problem that has left thousands of leaseholders unable to sell or remortgage their homes due to questions over cladding.

In a letter seen by Inside Housing, Scottish housing minister Kevin Stewart said the requirements homeowners are being asked to meet what “appear to be near impossible” conditions and said lenders’ requests “appear to have been introduced unannounced and without due consideration to the impact on those trying to sell property”.

He wrote: “I understand that you believe that the solution for this must come from industry. However, this appears to be a slow process and I would urge you to push for a swift response and resolution from the mortgage industry.”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY

Lunchtime long read

Lunchtime long read

James Walsh, Carole Wildman and Sue Spicer have all been appointed to boards at The Pioneer Group

Inside Housing’s monthly round-up of top-level housing appointments runs through the main senior changes in the sector in November 2019, including roles at The Pioneer Group, Accord Housing Association and Metropolitan Thames Valley.

READ THE FULL PIECE HERE

Quote of the day

Claire Dickinson, senior community investment officer at Taff Housing Association, tweets about teaching the next generation about a potential future in housing.

In the papers

In the papers

Picture: Getty

Britain’s regions have failed to keep pace with the rest of Europe since the 2008 financial crash, according to figures that show the number of areas among the EU’s poorest has more than doubled, The Guardian reports.

The Financial Times explains why voters in tomorrow’s general election face a stark choice to fix the UK's housing crisis.

The Guardian's Today in Focus podcast looks at the UK's homelessness crisis. A record number of homeless people died in 2018 and charities are warning this year could be worse. Journalists Simon Hattenstone and Daniel Lavelle have been delving behind the statistics into the lives of those sleeping rough as part of a longer series run by the paper over the past few months.

Local news

Local news

Picture: Getty

A decrepit housing estate dubbed “Scotland's Chernobyl” may be bulldozed next year, the Daily Record reports. The Clune Park Estate, in Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, was once a thriving community of shipyard workers in the 1920s. But it is now home to only around 20 people living in a handful of the 430 flats.

In Southampton, residents are up in arms after their housing association, Radian, banned them from hanging Christmas wreaths. Radian, which provides 2,800 homes in the city, said the decoration could “continue the spread of fire”, the Southern Daily Echo reports.

The Doncaster Free Press has a story about the number of people being housed in emergency B&B accommodation in the area, which has fallen dramatically.

Meanwhile, Halton Council is pressing ahead with its plans for the borough’s development over the next two decades, despite receiving more than 1,000 objections to its proposals. Many residents fear the plan, which the council is set to submit to the government next week, will mean the loss of green belt land and an increase in traffic, the Liverpool Echo reports.

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