More than 6,000 homes empty, one-third for more than six months

More than 600,000 homes across England are currently vacant, with a third empty for six months or more, government figures show.

Official figures obtained by Attic Self Storage revealed the number of vacant properties has increased over the last few years to a 605,891 high. At the same time, homelessness has also increased with the latest government figures showing more than 4,700 people are sleeping rough on any given night in England. …”

https://www.housebeautiful.com/uk/lifestyle/property/a25261859/vacant-homes-england/

Just managing? Need affordable housing? Tough – you might have to wait 170 years!

“Construction of homes for social rent drops 80% in a decade:

The number of new homes built for social rent has fallen by almost four-fifths in a decade, according to official figures that come as more than 1 million families are stuck on waiting lists for council housing in England.

Figures released by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government show just 6,463 homes were built in England for social rent in 2017-18, down from almost 30,000 a decade ago.

Condemning the lack of new social housing, Labour said that a the current rate of construction it would take at least 170 years to house the families on waiting lists.

John Healey, the shadow housing secretary, said: “These figures confirm the disastrous fall in the number of new affordable homes for social rent under the Conservatives.”

Despite the sharp decline, the overall number of properties constructed in England that were classified by the government as affordable rose by 12% last year to 47,355.

The bulk were built for so-called “affordable rent”, where rental costs are capped at 80% of local private sector rents. Affordable rent properties are typically favoured by the building industry because developers tend to make larger profits on them.

Unlike affordable rent, social rental properties also take into account local incomes as well as house prices. Campaigners have criticised the term affordable rental properties for “turning the English language on its head”, saying they are still unaffordable to many people in London and the south east.

The number of affordable rent properties has soared since they were introduced by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat government in 2011, as the number of social rent properties has declined. Almost 27,200 were built last year, up from about 24,300 in 2016-17.

About 57% of all new affordable homes built last year were for affordable rent, while just 14% were for social rent. The rest are intermediate affordable housing, which includes shared ownership properties and affordable home ownership schemes.

In England, about 1.25 million families were registered on the waiting list for social housing between 2016-17. About two-thirds have been waiting for more than a year. On average, an English local authority has more than 3,500 families on its books.

In her Conservative party conference speech last month, Theresa May said a cap on local authority borrowing for the construction of new homes would be scrapped, a step designed to increase the number of new homes built across Britain.

Patrick Gower, a residential research associate at the estate agency Knight Frank, said the prime minister would be encouraged by the 12% rise in the number of affordable housing completions.

He said the number of affordable homes starting to be built last year also increased by 11% to 53,572. “The number of homes likely to complete in the coming two to three years is also likely to increase,” he added.

Increasing the number of affordable homes has become a top priority amid a national housing shortage exacerbated by high house prices. High rental costs have added to the pressures facing households across the country.

Councils used to build more than 40% of affordable or social homes in the 1970s but there has been a shortage of properties since Margaret Thatcher introduced right to buy in the 1980s.

Mark Robinson, the chief executive of Scape Group, a public sector construction outsourcer, said: “Councils must be empowered to build social housing themselves, as they were in the 1970s.”

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/nov/22/construction-of-homes-for-social-rent-down-80-percent-on-a-decade-ago-england-families-waiting-lists

“At least 320,000 homeless people in Britain, says Shelter”

“At least 320,000 people are homeless in Britain, according to research by the housing charity Shelter.

This amounts to a year-on-year increase of 13,000, a 4% rise, despite government pledges to tackle the crisis. The estimate suggests that nationally one in 200 people are homeless.

Shelter says its figures, which include rough sleepers and people in temporary accommodation, are likely to be an underestimate of the problem as they do not capture people who experience “hidden” homelessness, such as sofa-surfers, and others living insecurely in sheds or cars, for example.

Newham in east London is ranked as England’s number one homelessness hotspot, with at least one in every 24 people in housing insecurity. More than 14,500 people were in temporary accommodation in the borough, and 76 were sleeping rough.

In the capital as a whole, 170,000 people – equivalent to one in 52 – have no home. Westminster had the most rough sleepers, 217, followed by Camden, with 127. In Kensington and Chelsea, the UK’s richest borough, there were over 5,000 homeless people – equivalent to one in every 29 residents.

The figures indicate how homelessness and housing insecurity is spreading beyond its traditional heartland of London into the wider south-east and Midlands, and the impact of high rents and welfare cuts ripples outwards.

Outside the capital, high homelessness rates were recorded in Birmingham, Luton, Brighton & Hove, Slough, Dartford, Milton Keynes, Harlow, Watford, Epsom, Reading, Broxbourne, Basildon, Peterborough and Coventry.”

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/nov/22/at-least-320000-homeless-people-in-britain-says-shelter

London unsold homes numbers jump – wrong homes in wrong places and Brexit uncertainty blamed

Domino effect?

“London’s stock of completed but unsold homes has surged by almost half this year as Brexit uncertainty and affordability issues dog the housing market.

The number in the capital jumped to 2,374 units as of Sept. 30, the most on record and up from 1,595 at the end of 2017, according to data compiled by Molior London. The borough with the biggest stockpile is Wandsworth, an area that borders the River Thames, followed by Croydon, an outer borough in the south of the city.

Some of this excess has built up because it’s the wrong product at the wrong pricing for what people want to, and can afford to buy,” said Tim Craine, founder of the property research firm. “For the rest, it’s a case of bad timing due to the lull in the market that’s come about due to Brexit.”

Britain’s housing market is slowing after a multi-year boom as the U.K.’s impending divorce from the European Union weighs on sentiment and prices remain out of reach for many potential buyers. It now takes the average Londoner 14.5 times their annual salary to purchase a home, the highest multiple ever, according to Hometrack.

Homebuilders fell on Tuesday, led by Barratt Developments Plc, which dropped 2.2 percent as of 10:59 a.m. in London, while Taylor Wimpey Plc slipped 2 percent. Both were among the 25 worst performers in the benchmark FTSE 100 Index. Crest Nicholson Holdings Plc fell 2.1 percent.

Overseas buyers from Asia to the Middle East piled into London property in recent years as a weak pound and price gains made the capital’s real estate an attractive investment. Developers began building higher-end homes to capitalize on that demand, and many have been left holding empty units as foreign investment dwindles amid a rise in property taxes.

Asking prices for U.K. homes fell for the first time since 2011 in October, data from Rightmove show, with prices declining the most in the center of London. Asking prices dropped 0.2 percent overall, while in Greater London, they declined 2.4 percent annually. Homes located within London’s Zone 1 area lost the most, with a 6.9 percent retreat on the year to an average of 1.3 million pounds ($1.7 million).”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-20/london-s-stockpile-of-unsold-homes-jumps-almost-50-to-a-record

Cranbrook – no more unaffordable affordable homes or even affordable affordable homes?

“To date 10% of all homes at Cranbrook have been ‘affordable by design’ properties, whose maximum floor spaces have been limited by the terms of the existing S106 agreement. These are properties whose floor spaces have been below that which would normally be seen for two or three bedroom properties and which therefore have a lower open market value; they do not fall under the definition of affordable housing.

With a drive to improve people’s health and wellbeing at the town and lenders being increasingly reluctant to lend on the current terms of the S106 agreement, Officers consider it appropriate to cease the requirement for these houses to be delivered. A deed of variation to the S106 agreement is being progressed to deal with this matter.”

Click to access 271118strategicplanningcombinedagenda.pdf

“No let-up in housing crisis: Developers slow house-building ahead of Brexit and government targets will be missed”

“Britain’s housing crisis is not set to improve in the near future as official figures today revealed developers have slashed the rate at which they are building new houses ahead of Brexit.

Government figures revealed a bit more than 222,000 new homes were delivered in 2017/18, up just 2 per cent on the previous year and well below the government’s promised target of 300,000.

The rate of growth for residential construction meanwhile has halved, from 11.9 per cent in 2016/17 to 6.4 per cent in 2017/18.

… ‘Housebuilders and would be-buyers alike are nervous about what the fall-out from Brexit could be and that’s hit the number of net additional dwellings hard.’

Grainne Gilmore, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, said warned that other data was already pointing to a further slowdown in housing completions to come.

‘Net additions are still around 26 per cent lower than the government’s 300,000 annual target while separate housing starts data, which captures information on new homes being started on site, shows a moderation in activity that could weigh on housing completions in 2020/21,’ she said.

Meanwhile a trading statement from Bovis Homes released this morning blamed ‘uncertainty surrounding Brexit’ for a fall in buyer interest.

It said: ‘Our sales rate per outlet per week for the year to date is 0.51, with pricing in line with our expectations. Whilst we have maintained our rate of sale, the uncertainty surrounding Brexit has impacted discretionary buyers.’

Taylor Wimpey has also said it expects flat sales growth next year due to Brexit uncertainty, but claimed there is potential for ‘significant growth’ after 2020.

It comes amid a slew of data pointing to a gloomy outlook for Britain’s housing market.

Earlier this week UK Finance, the trade body representing British banks, confirmed that mortgage lending in September was down on a year ago as people sit on their hands to see what happens with Brexit.

First-time buyer numbers have dropped 4.5 per cent since September 2017, households moving home fell 8.4 per cent over the same period and landlords purchasing properties slumped 18.8 per cent.

… Gilmore said today’s construction figures presented ‘a headache for policymakers’ in London particularly, with the net number of new dwellings in the capital falling by 20 per cent over the year.

‘Only 12 of the 33 boroughs in the capital reported a rise in the number of new homes provided in the year to March,’ she said. “

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-6393103/Housing-crisis-set-continue-developers-slow-housebuilding-ahead-Brexit.html

“Rule changes ‘risk new social housing black hole’ in England”

“A proposal designed to speed up the creation of new homes in England risks “supercharging” a get-out clause allowing developers to build properties without providing social housing, the charity Shelter has said.

The government has proposed new rules that would allow builders to buy and demolish commercial buildings and create new homes without planning permission.

The plan would extend permitted development rights, which allow the conversion of office buildings to homes.

The rules have also allowed developers to build tiny homes, some as small as 13 sq metres.

Almost one in 10 new homes created last year were created this way, but councils do not get the chance to see plans before the homes are built and miss out on planning fees, as well as contributions towards affordable homes.

Shelter said extending the right could create a new “social housing black hole” if they allowed more developers to avoid building affordable homes as part of their project.

The charity said in a handful of local authorities more than half of new homes had been delivered like this, despite the need for social housing in those areas.

In Stevenage, for example, 73% of new homes built last year came through permitted development rights, while in Nottingham 60% of its 975 new homes were created this way.

At the same time, 159 affordable homes were delivered in Stevenage, and its waiting list for social housing stood at 1,862 households. In Nottingham, 5,188 households were waiting for social housing, and 143 affordable homes were built.

Under the proposal in the consultation paper delivered on budget day, the government says the current system “may encourage an owner to change use rather than seek to redevelop the site, which is likely to allow for a higher density development”.

It also raises the question of contributions for affordable homes, asking for input on how this money could be secured for projects that do not need planning permission.

Polly Neate, the CEO of Shelter, said: “Anyone can see it’s wrong to give developers a licence to dodge social housing when hundreds of thousands of people are homeless.

“We need to raise the alarm so the government halt these plans and instead look to bring down the cost of land to build the social homes we need.”

The Town and Country Planning Association recently voiced its concerns about the plan to extend the permitted development rules, warning that it could deprive local authorities of essential funding and risked “creating poor living conditions for vulnerable people”.

“Under the existing system of permitted development, 1,000 new flats can be built in an old 1970s office building or industrial estate, and the local council can’t require a single square foot of play space for the children who live there – and the communities have effectively no say,” said its interim chief executive, Hugh Ellis. “This cannot become the norm.”

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, said: “No one benefits from delays in planning applications. We expect these proposals to provide flexibility, reduce bureaucracy and make the most effective use of existing buildings.

“We are committed to delivering more affordable housing and we are investing £9bn.”

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/nov/13/government-rules-risk-black-hole-in-social-housing-affordable-homes

“Westminster council to ban ‘super-size’ new homes”

And lawyers will already be planning to find loopholes! In fact, one has already been “designed in” – any big home currently split into flats will be allowed to return to one dwelling. Watch the oligarchs use that one!

But, imagine if EDDC (or even Greater Exeter) had a new development plan to build only houses put up for sale at no more than 5 times the average annual local salary …..!

“Westminster city council is to ban new “super-size properties” built for oligarchs and other members of the global ultra-rich elite in order to free up space for more affordable homes.

The council, which includes Mayfair, Knightsbridge and Belgravia, said it would restrict new homes larger than 150 sq metres (1,615sq ft) because “Westminster’s position in the global housing market can create demand for super-size properties which underoptimise development of Westminster’s scarce land resource”.

Westminster said banning “Monopoly board-style” homes would help free up more space for affordable homes for Londoners. The new size ban is part of Westminster’s 2019-40 development plan released on Monday night, which also included a commitment to build more than 10,000 affordable units by 2040.

The council said 150 sq metres was 50% larger than the average private home in the borough and would “still enable generously sized homes to be developed to meet development from the prime market, but balances that against the other, more strategic housing need of the city”.

The size of the average home in the UK has been shrinking in recent years. Homes from the most recent decade have about 67.8 square metres of living space, according to LABC Warranty, which is not much more than both decks of a London bus, at 55 sq metres. The figure factors in living areas, kitchens and bathrooms, but does not include hallways or staircases.

The mega-mansion ban is the latest move in Westminster’s efforts to tackle growing inequality in the borough, where very few people can afford to buy or rent a home on the open market.

Earlier this year the council blocked a plan to create a 1,580 sq metre £40m home in Grade I-listed terrace overlooking Regent’s Park, telling the developer to “wake up” to the housing crisis. “Our city’s golden postcodes must not be used for Monopoly board-style investments to cater only for oligarchs and the most wealthy,” councillor Richard Beddoe, Westminster’s chairman of planning, said.

He wrote in the city plan: “As we set out to create our city of the future, there is one question that should be at the forefront of our minds in every development we undertake: Will this be an asset to people’s lives?”.

The proposals are subject to six weeks’ consultation. The ban would not apply to homes that had been split up into flats and were being converted back into a single family house.

Westminster has already introduced tight restrictions on homeowners digging large basements to create so-called “iceberg homes” with several underground storeys used for gyms, cinemas, swimming pools and car garages. …”

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/nov/13/westminster-council-to-ban-super-size-new-homes?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Windfalls for greedy property developers

An article which needs to be read in full.

“… Osborne played his get-out-of-jail card: he chucked money at the British housing market. He launched the help-to-buy scheme, billed as aid to first-time buyers, giving them government equity loans of up to 20% of the purchase price of any new-build. The likely consequences were obvious from the outset. Osborne’s plan would chuck a canister of petrol on to house prices. The chancellor who slashed billions from social security for the working poor had no problem whatsoever with handing billions to property developers.

It was cynical, it was costly; it was Osborne all over. And for the property sector – the mortgage lenders, the estate agents and most of all the housebuilders – it was what industry expert Henry Pryor calls “crack cocaine”. It kept the market bubbling over, underpinned prices and brought in massive profits. And like the addicts of cliche, the property industry kept demanding more. Housebuilders have repeatedly lobbied for the scheme to be extended and expanded. Again and again, Osborne and Hammond have obliged. What began as a three-year programme worth £3.5bn will now run until 2023 and suck in more than £29bn of taxpayer money.

In Austerity Britain, this may be the single biggest giveaway to one small group of businesspeople – and it gets barely any attention. The scheme may have helped some first-time buyers on to the ladder, but by inflating prices, it has kept many others off. Add to it quantitative easing and the erosion of stamp duty, and the British state has looked after housebuilders like no other. …”

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/09/housebuilders-tax-jeff-fairburn-bonus-windfalls

Housing minister threatens councils on housing numbers – NOT developers!

The Express headline is:

‘Make their EYES water!’ Housing minister WARNING to councils who FAIL to meet targets

and the article goes on to blame councils for low housing numbers rather than developers who are hoarding hundreds of thousands of planning permissions, trickling out completions to keep house prices artificially high.

Message to Minister: stop shooting own foot, stop shooting councils, start squeezing developers till THEIR pips squeak!

Oh, and that bit about “developers starting on site” within two years. Legally, all they have to do is put in minimal foundations then they can leave the site unbuilt for as long as they want.

“Kit Malthouse MP was speaking to Nick Ferrari on national radio this morning to explain how the Tories are intending to “up the ante” for both developers and council planning teams so as to roll out new housing.

Mr Malthouse cited the introduction of a new scheme, the ‘Housing Delivery Test’, as one way in which the government’s building objectives might be more effectively met.

He said councils “have to hit a certain percentage of the forecast housing in their plan, and if they don’t we essentially take it out of their hands.

“If they drop below 85 percent of delivery they have to use an action plan, but if they drop below 25 percent delivery the government takes it out of their hands and they lose the ability to control a certain amount of housing in their area.”

“We want them to issue two year planning permissions, not three or five years, and if the developer doesn’t start on site within the two years that they’re able to say ‘your site’s out now’.

“You only have to do it once or twice for the development community to realise that we’re serious about this.”

The Minister explained that the Tories would give developers “big tools” to compel them to develop.

He concluded: “We’re putting big pressure on local authorities, big pressure on developers to come together.

“I do feel sometimes a bit like a marriage guidance councillor between the two because they do all shout at each other and point across the table at events that I’m at.”

Ministers say they will build 300,000 new homes a year, considerably up on the current build rate and more than in any year since the 1960s.

But a survey for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) found that only 12 percent of members expressed any confidence in that number of new homes being delivered.”

“Theresa May’s flagship policy to solve housing crisis will deliver no new homes in half of England”

“Theresa May’s flagship policy for sparking a revival in council housebuilding will not deliver a single new home in more than half of the local authorities in England, The Independent can reveal.

Some of the most deprived towns and cities with the greatest need for new homes, including Liverpool, Bolton and Wakefield, are among areas that will miss out as a result of changes that will only benefit some councils.

The prime minister used her speech to the Conservatives’ annual conference last month to announce a major change that will see the government scrap restrictions on how much councils can borrow to fund housing.

She said: “Solving the housing crisis is the biggest domestic policy challenge of our generation. It doesn’t make sense to stop councils from playing their part in solving it.”

No 10 said the move would allow councils to build up to 10,000 new homes a year for low-income families, as councils scale up borrowing by £4.6bn.

However, ministers have admitted that less than half of councils have the type of account that will allow them to increase their borrowing.

Only 160 of the 326 councils in England with responsibility for housing have housing revenue accounts (HRAs), the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said.

The revelation will prompt fears that people in areas with a desperate need for new homes will lose out, while those in neighbouring areas could benefit from a boom in housebuilding.

Councils set to miss out on the potential funding boost include several with some of the longest housing waiting lists in the country.

Authorities that will be unable to borrow more include Bolton, where 25,600 households are on the council waiting list – the third highest in England – and Wakefield, the sixth highest with 20,600 families waiting for a home.

Liverpool, which has the 11th longest waiting list, totalling 16,500 households, will also miss out.

The Independent has revealed that the government spending watchdog believes the lifting of the HRA cap will deliver far fewer new homes than Downing Street claimed.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said the move would result in fewer than 9,000 new homes over the next five and a half years – a fraction of the 10,000 per year predicted by ministers.

While it will allow councils to build 20,000 new homes – around 3,600 a year – the OBR said this would be offset by fewer homes being built by housing associations, meaning the net total is just 9,000.

Many councils have already transferred their housing stock to a housing association and closed their housing accounts, meaning they will miss out on the ability to use their increased borrowing powers to fund thousands of new homes.

In response to a parliamentary question from Labour, housing secretary James Brokenshire said: “There are 160 local housing authorities without a housing revenue account, as they have transferred their housing stock to a housing association.”

Governments have long encouraged councils to close their housing accounts and transfer their homes to a private body because, unlike council borrowing, housing association debt has traditionally not been included in national debt figures.

Under current rules, councils must own 200 homes before they are allowed to open a housing revenue account, creating an obstacle for many that might now wish to do so. Authorities are also likely to have lost their housing expertise when they transferred their properties to a housing association. …”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/theresa-may-housing-policy-local-councils-rents-revenue-borrowing-half-england-a8617201.html

Developers get another easy ride budget

“In a boost for U.K. homebuilders, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond will introduce a new Help to Buy program that will run from 2021 until 2023.

The scheme extends the original program, which has drawn criticism for boosting prices. It will be limited to first-time buyers and regional price caps will be introduced, limiting the value of the home to 1.5 times the price for an average debut home purchaser.

The government gives home buyers an interest-free loan of 20 percent to 40 percent of the purchase price under the program. The announcement was made alongside the publication of an independent, government-commissioned review of the original program. Some had feared the review might result in the policy being scrapped, but it confirmed the policy has boosted house building.

Persimmon plc, the U.K.’s largest home builder, has gained about 107 percent since the introduction of Help to Buy in April 2013. About 60 percent of the company’s home sales are through the Help to Buy program, according to research by analysts at Liberum. The policy, which has already been extended once, was due to expire in 2021.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-29/u-k-to-start-new-help-to-buy-program-for-first-time-buyers

Homeless sent from London to cheaper far away areas

“The number of households being moved out of London by councils has increased dramatically, rising by almost 50% in the first half of this year as town hall leaders blame rising homelessness, tightening public finances and a chronic lack of new cheap homes in the capital.

Councils have sent homeless households as far away as Glasgow, Newcastle and Cardiff in the last year, according to figures collected by local authorities and seen by the Guardian. Seven hundred and 40 households have been relocated to Kent, 574 to Essex, 30 to the West Midlands and 69 to Surrey.

More than 1,200 households were sent out of the capital in the first six months of this year – a 46% rise in the number of out-of-London placements. Six hundred and eighty-eight households were sent away between April and June alone, the highest rate in at least six years, up from 113 households in the first quarter of 2012-13. …”

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/oct/29/number-of-homeless-households-moved-out-of-london-soars

“Developers hog land for record 130,000 homes, analysis reveals”

“Developers are sitting on land for more than 130,000 homes in England that have never been built – the worst gap on record, according to new analysis.

The record gap between planning permissions granted and new homes being built has led to calls for tough new penalties to be enforced against developers that sit on land rather than build.

… The analysis of housing ministry (MCHLG) figures showed that in 2016-17, planning permission for 313,700 new homes was given, but only 183,570 homes built, meaning a notional annual gap of more than 130,000 homes, the biggest divergence since records began in 2006.

The percentage of homes built versus permission granted was just 58%, a rate that has been roughly steady since 2012.

… Landowners sell at a price that factors in a significant increase in value after obtaining planning consent, meaning a hectare of agricultural land worth £20,000 can sell for closer to £2m if it is zoned for housing. Developers regularly deny using land to speculate, arguing more profit can usually be made from building.

Labour is considering a policy to give the Land Trust powers to buy sites at closer to the lower price, by changing the 1961 Land Compensation Act so the state could compulsorily purchase land at a price that excluded the potential for future planning consent. …”

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/oct/25/developers-hog-land-for-record-130000-homes-analysis-reveals

“New houses must be more than Noddy dwellings in the middle of nowhere”

“….. A report by the campaign group Transport for New Homes reveals a landscape pockmarked with new developments cut off from public transport, forcing people on low and middle incomes into car ownership – often two per household – for the sake of a cheaper house. Researchers visited 20 new housing developments around the country, many of which, in the report’s words, didn’t “connect to anything other than the road network”.

Central government assigns housebuilding targets to councils, which they must deliver purely on the basis of numbers. Local planners ask meekly for funding to integrate new developments into public transport networks and are told to get lost, because properly planned and integrated transport takes time, money and, above all, political will.

Planning incentives ‘lead to housing estates centred on car use’

The net result is that “we are building car parks as much as new homes”, according to the report. Compare this with the Netherlands, where any new development has to have integration into walking, cycling and public transport as a primary priority, and where a nationwide smartcard can be used anywhere in the country on any mode of public transport. (This fact alone makes me want to move there.)

Britain right after the war was better served by public transport than it is now. Until the late 1950s most towns and cities had extensive and cheap tram and trolleybus networks to complement buses. Rural and semi-rural areas were served by an extensive branch railway network until the 1963 Beeching report cut thousands of miles from the national network and closed more than 2,000 stations.

Only in the late 1970s did some councils, facing increasing congestion and pollution, try to redress the imbalance by offering super-cheap bus fares on their municipal services.

While car ownership appears to have peaked, the number of car journeys has risen since the 2008 crash, suggesting more pressured lives, longer and more frequent commutes, and the legacy of public transport cuts. Younger people are increasingly drawn to cities, where public transport tends to be better, and are less likely than ever to own cars. Yet those who live outside cities are increasingly forced towards car use, purely because planners can’t force developers to do anything other than build houses. …”

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/oct/25/new-houses-housing-targets-residents-car

Rogue landlords – the latest scandal

A Liverpool tower block that had more housing prosecutions in 2017 than any other building was 80% owned by international investors, some of whom were banking publicly funded rents while subjecting tenants to potential danger from hazardously low temperatures.

Mill View tower, a 16-storey former council-owned high rise in Toxteth, attracted 13 prosecutions last year for Elite Property Management and Lettings Ltd, a local firm that was managing 13 of the flats. The flats had cost around £60,000 each in 2013 and were all rented to residents claiming housing benefit. The company was prosecuted for licensing offences.

The discovery of the building’s story – described as “shocking” by two local MPs – has prompted calls for some landlords to have their properties seized and housing benefit rental payments withheld.

When environmental health officers inspected the block in April 2016, 11 out of the 13 flats that were later the focus of the prosecutions were owned by overseas investors – based as far away as Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Malaysia.

In total, about 80% of the block was owned by international investors, with only 12 of the tower’s 64 flats UK-owned, when the inspectors called. …

[A pictorial breakdown of non-UK owners follows]

“The worst thing about it is that while the money is being ploughed in, it is not in any way productive. Investors’ money is not being used to build more affordable homes, it is just being used to buy existing assets. It just increases the competition for homes and increases the cost of homes, with the people of the UK ending up with more expensive houses and no increase in the supply of houses.”

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/oct/24/freezing-uk-tower-block-was-cash-cow-for-foreign-investors

Empty secret database of “rogue landlords” to be kept secret!

More than one MP destined to be in it, perhaps?

“The government’s new rogue landlord database was billed as a key tool for local councils to target the country’s worst landlords, but, more than six months after the system started, not a single name has been added – and even when some are added, the public will not be able to find out.

A freedom of information request filed by the Guardian and ITV News revealed that by the end of August the database was empty. When details of rogue landlords are eventually entered they will only be accessible to central and local government, unless the rules are changed.

When the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) was asked via another freedom of information request to spell out why the public would be denied access to the database, it said the reasons behind keeping the database’s contents secret were also secret. …”

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/oct/23/governments-rogue-landlord-list-empty-after-six-months

First they changed offices to homes, now it’s shops

Will they be affordable ……….

… Experts believe that turning unused shops into houses could stop the decline of town centres – as well as bringing down sky-high property prices.

Mr Hammond is also under pressure to freeze business rates which are blamed by retailers for helping to hollow out the high street.

A spokesman for the Treasury said: “We don’t comment on Budget speculation.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/7556955/empty-shops-could-be-turned-into-homes-to-solve-britains-housing-crisis-and-make-property-cheaper/

“Landowners to be forced to sacrifice profits for more affordable houses, under plans expected to be unveiled in budget”

Owl says: Oh, the poor, poor darlings! We must set up a charity or a crowdfunding page for them. We could make the aim of the charity “To unite Tory developer donors to pressurise government to create other ways of making obscene profits”.

“Councils would be able to strip landowners of large portions of profits from the sale of their land, under proposals expected to be unveiled in the Budget, The Sunday Telegraph can disclose.

An official review commissioned by Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, is to endorse controversial calls for the state to “capture” more of the increase in value of sites when they are granted planning permission.

Sir Oliver Letwin, the former minister carrying out the review, is expected to recommend that local authorities should be able to seize greater amounts of landowners’ profits in order to fund the construction of local infrastructure such as roads and affordable homes. …”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/10/20/landowners-forced-sacrifice-profits-affordable-houses-plans/