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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: Grenfell cladding manufacturer aware panels were ‘dangerous’ and below standard, inquiry hears
It was a day of huge revelations at the Grenfell Inquiry yesterday. The top story covered allegations by Rydon’s lawyers that the manufacturer of the cladding panels that surrounded Grenfell Tower had been aware that the product had a low fire rating which made them “dangerous” for use on tall buildings.
On 30 June 2011, Claude Wehrle, a senior member of staff at the firm, emailed its sales and marketing director saying: “The classification obtained for the Reynobond PE cassettes is the same as that of competitors, ie ‘F’, and therefore not suitable for use on building facades.”
Rydon also claimed that in an email dated November 2013, Celotex, the manufacturers of the tower’s insulation, had considered that its insulation was simply not safe for cladding systems, especially in aluminium composite material systems.
Click here to read the full story
Community land trusts left in limbo as Homes England funding unexpectedly stopped
Inside Housing reveals today that a number of proposed community land trust (CLT) projects have been plunged into difficulties after promised funding for their schemes from Homes England was unexpectedly halted.
Some CLT projects have said they have been left owing several companies money after being promised funding from the government’s housing delivery agency and then being told there was no money left in the fund just weeks later.
Lunchtime long read
Every week, Inside Housing speaks to people working on the frontline of the housing sector to find out what a day in their life is like.
This week Graham Dean, income services officer at Muir Group, talks to us about how he got into housing and the best and worst parts of his job, and shares his secret fascination with Egypt.
Quote of the day
“There clearly lies a huge challenge with our existing stock, and the same focus will be testing asset managers across the sector.
“What do we do with different types of homes to attain zero carbon, and is that even practically possible for some existing homes?”
Gareth Davies, development director at Coastal Housing Group, explains what his association is doing to address the climate emergency.
In the papers
Picture: Getty
The papers are full of reaction to the explosive first day at the Grenfell Inquiry, with The Guardian, The Telegraph and The Independent all running accounts of the day.
The Times has news of a potential overhaul of the planning system that could see councils lose their powers to veto housing applications in the future.
According to the paper, the government is weighing up a move to reform the 70-year-old planning rules in England that is designed to accelerate planning processes and will take away council’s ability to halt buildings being developed in the local area or prevent shops being converted to new homes.
Local news
Picture: Getty
Swindon Borough Council is facing a staggering £20m hole in its housing maintenance budget as a direct result of the government’s rent cut. The council has seen its deficit increase over the past four years, the Swindon Advertiser reports.
The revelations came as the council confirmed it would be looking to increase its rents by 2.7% from next year as the rent cut is removed.
Somerset’s County Gazette has news that Somerset West and Taunton Council is to build 1,000 new council homes across the district over the next 30 years.
The pledge was made as part of a review of how the council manages existing social homes and pays for the construction of new ones. The new homes will be funded through new borrowing powers brought about by the scrapping of the Housing Revenue Account borrowing cap in 2018.
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