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Short on time? Tuesday’s housing news in five minutes
A round-up of the top stories this morning from Inside Housing and elsewhere
Top story: Councils named as Hackitt early adopters
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Last month, as part of the Queen’s Speech, the government agreed to bring in new laws to improve building safety across the UK’s housing stock.
The new law confirmed the government’s intention to implement all 53 recommendations made by Dame Judith Hackitt in her major review on building and fire safety in the country.
Last year, a handful of housing associations and construction companies including Salix Homes, L&Q and Kier were revealed as ‘early adopters’ of the recommendations, and used as a test bed for the changes put forward.
This morning, Inside Housing reports on the newly chosen early adopters in the local authority sector, with Birmingham and Wandsworth revealed as two of the four councils.
The choice of Birmingham is especially significant as it is not only the largest council house builder in the country but it is also the local authority that owns more tower blocks than any other, with 200.
Floods force housing association to evacuate staff and close office
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Unprecedented floods in the North of England have badly hit a number of towns, cities and villages, particularly in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire.
And social landlords have not been immune. While some have seen their housing stock impacted by the high water levels, others have also seen their own offices hit.
Yorkshire Housing Association had to evacuate its Sheffield office last week after its office in the city was hit by the severe floods.
The association stressed that it was “business as usual” despite the closure, but it did say that the office had suffered flood damage and that staff members could return only after a risk assessment had taken place.
Lunchtime long read
Every week, Inside Housing digs out archive issues of the magazine. Ten years ago this week, we reported that new regulator the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) had laid out plans to track down the poorest-performing housing associations across the sector.
The plan by the TSA also said that it would get rid of more than 50 diktats and good practice notes in what it called a bonfire of red tape.
Quote of the day
“It is unacceptable that – despite promises made in the Armed Forces Covenant – there are still homeless veterans in housing need who are not receiving the right help”
In the wake of Remembrance Day, Ed Tytherleigh, co-chair of the Confederation of Service Charities Housing Cluster and chief executive of Stoll, highlights the major role associations can play in ensuring that veterans have a safe and warm home to live in after they serve the country.
In the papers
Picture: Getty
Scottish Housing News reports on a commitment by a committee in Holyrood that has called on the government to introduce compulsory sales orders to tackle the blight of empty homes. It comes after recent figures showed that 3% of 2.62 million houses are empty.
Construction has dodged a technical recession in the last quarter between July and September as activity grew by 0.6%, Construction Enquirer reports. The latest construction ouput data found that the overall rise in construction output was offset partially by a fall in repairs and maintenance work.
Local news
Picture: Getty
The Isle of Wight County Press reports on the local authority’s plans to tackle homelessness after new figures revealed that rough sleeping had increased by 500% since 2015.
Plans to build 450 homes in Somerset have been given the government green light after the local council originally failed to reach a decision on the planning application, the Bristol Post reports. A government planning inspector has now put through the planning application despite, North Somerset Council saying it would have originally rejected the bid for the 24-hectre site.
