ao link
Twitter
Facebook
Linked In
Twitter
Facebook
Linked In

You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles

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

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

Linked InTwitterFacebookeCard
Sharelines

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

A round-up of the top stories this morning from @InsideHousing and elsewhere #ukhousing

Top story: Not one Starter Home built with £174m spent, says NAO

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY

The government’s spending watchdog has published a report on Starter Homes, a flagship policy of David Cameron.

Announced in 2014, 200,000 homes for first-time buyers at a 20% discount were promised through the programme, but the National Audit Office has said that not a single home has been built.

Instead, the land bought and prepared for development with £174m of funding has been used for other types of housing.

The government had planned to bring forward the necessary regulations on Starter Homes this year, but there is now no longer a budget for the policy.

Shadow secretary John Healey called it “a total failure”, but the government said it has “a great record” on housebuilding.

ACM found at housing association block missed in post-Grenfell checks

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY

Grenfell-style cladding has been found on a high-rise block of flats owned by housing association Catalyst.

Crossway Point in Reading was missed in checks for unsafe aluminium composite material (ACM) carried out after the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017, Catalyst has confirmed to Inside Housing.

The 32,000-home landlord has put interim safety measures in place at the block, while Reading Council approved a planning application to remove and replace cladding at Crossway Point on 25 October.

Since Grenfell, 158 blocks owned by social landlords have been found to have ACM cladding, with another 181 in the private sector.

Lunchtime long read

Lunchtime long read

Speak to someone who works in housing management and safety about what's on their mind and they will likely mention Advice Note 14.

This document, published by the government in December last year, was supposed to give building owners guidance over what to do about blocks with combustible cladding systems.

However, it has led to serious confusion, with thousands trapped in potentially unsafe homes which they are unable to sell. Here, Jack Simpson explains the advice note and its impact.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY

Quote of the day

Quote of the day

Picture: Jon Heal

Toby Lloyd (pictured), an advisor to Theresa May during her time as prime minister, said:

“RIP Starter Homes. The irony was that there was the kernel of a good idea in there: Community Land Trusts have been doing great things with a similar approach for years”

Mr Lloyd has also written a Twitter thread on the history of Starter Homes:

 

In the papers

In the papers
  • Sky News runs a story on a report by charity State of Hunger, which has found that people using foodbanks have an average weekly budget of £50 after paying rent.
  • The Guardian reports that major infrastructure projects such as HS2 have been put on hold over Brexit uncertainty, with construction work seeing its biggest fall since the financial crash.
  • The Daily Mirror has covered the anger sparked by comments from minister Jacob Rees-Mogg in an interview with LBC yesterday, where he appeared to suggest residents of Grenfell Tower who followed firefighter advice to stay in their homes during the fire lacked common sense.

Local news

Local news
  • Stoke-on-Trent City Council is set to wipe off £5.8m of debt including rent arrears which it has concluded to be irrecoverable, according to the Stoke Sentinel.
  • Berkshire Live reports that Reading Council is expected to give the green light to Berkeley Homes’ planning application for 1,300 new homes this week.
Linked InTwitterFacebookeCard
Add New Comment
You must be logged in to comment.