CLES / Newstart

New research from Goodlord has found that rents have climbed by over 6% compared to year-on-year figures.

Although change is something we’re all objectively weary of, an exception to this would be the continuing increases of rents across England. Unfortunately, new data from Goodlord, an award-winning lettings platform, demonstrates that individuals will be bearing the brunt of high rents for a little while longer. 

The firm’s latest rental index highlighted that rents are now 28% higher than in March 2020 – just before the country was put into lockdown as a result of Covid-19. During this period, the average rent for a property in England was £909, but by the end of March 2024 this figure has jumped to £1,160.

According to the findings, which were published towards the end of last week, rent rises particularly accelerated in 2022, with a 10% year-on-year rise. Though, the data does show that the pace of increases has since slowed, but warns rents continue to rise.

Data from Goodlord showing how much rents have increased in England.

William Reeve, Goodlord’s chief executive, said: ‘March was another strong performing month for the rental market, with rents and voids holding steady.

‘However, the truly eye-opening data can be found in the year-on-year figures, which show just how rapidly rents across England have shifted since 2020.

‘In this post-pandemic era, rent rises have consistently outstripped inflation; evidence of the needs of the growing tenant population colliding directly with a lack of stock and a complicated combination of pressures facing landlords.’

Goodlord has claimed that while February experienced a higher-than-expected climb in rents, there was a brief respite last month – the average rent remained nearly unchanged at £1,160 compared to February’s £1,162.

Certain areas in England also experienced worse rent increases than others. In Greater London some rents hit £1,954 last month, whereas in the North East some landlords were only charging £851.

In addition to showcasing the increasing rental costs, the data also found that voids were unchanged month-on-month, with the number of days a property is vacant in between tenancies holding at 18 days, mirroring the trend seen in March 2023.

Image: Mika Baumeister

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If it wasn’t already known to be ‘Good Friday’ it would be now, as last week the Department for Levelling Up finally published guidance for the second staircase rule.

The changes to the government’s building guidance covering fire safety, otherwise known as Approved Document B, make it crystal clear that a second staircase is required in a tall block of flats that reach 18 metres or taller.

It also confirmed the end date of the transition period for the rules as 30th September 2026 and revealed that evacuation lifts will not be a requirement.

The new guidelines follow Michael Gove’s announcement last year that the government will impose a requirement for second staircases on all new buildings that are 18 metres or taller. Initially, the requirement was set at 30 metres when the consultation on the policy was launched.

In addition, the guidance specified that interlocked stairs ‘do not constitute an alternative means of escape’ and should always be considered as a single escape route.

Through introducing these new requirements, the government have separated provisions for horizontal escape and vertical escape.

According to the Approved Document B amendments: ‘Where evacuation lifts are provided, these should be located within an evacuation shaft containing a protected stairway, evacuation lift and evacuation lift lobby. 

‘An evacuation lift lobby should provide a refuge area for those waiting for the evacuation lift, have direct access to a protected stairway and not be directly accessible from any flat, maisonette, storage room or electrical equipment room.’

Housing minister, Lee Rowley, said: ’The change in guidance to include two staircases for buildings over 18 metres provides clarity for developers and ensures both new and existing buildings provide safe and secure homes for all residents.’

Plans to install second staircases in huge residential buildings came after the tragic incident at Grenfell Tower. They help to ensure adequate access for both firefighters and a possible full evacuation of residents in the structures.

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Leicester City Council have agreed on plans to borrow over £40m to buy properties in a desperate attempt to ease the growing housing emergency.

As the cost-of-living continues to bite and interest rates are set to stick at 5.25% for the foreseeable, demands for affordable housing are increasing. Without action, Leicester City Council have said they would face extra costs of £23m in the coming financial year.

Against this backdrop, the local authority are set to borrow £45m so they can purchase more homes. Overall, 225 properties will be bought to use as temporary accommodation and a further 125 will be leased at affordable rent rates.

Previously, this idea was put to councillors in January although it was withdrawn after legal concerns were raised.

City Mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, said the matter was ‘legally complex’ and the council would be using the time to seek assurances from the government that its proposals were above board. In addition councillors were also concerned that the borrowing costs would come from the general budget rather than a pot of money specifically set aside for housing.

However, this time around councillors have been assured that other authorities have undertaken similarly funded purchases without problems. Although, Patrick Kitterick, a councillor for the Green Party, warned, just because legal action has not yet been taken on cases like this, it doesn’t mean it can be ruled out in future.

The most recent published housing waiting list figures for Leicester display just how much new affordable housing is needed. In January this year, 6,431 people were on the list and more than 5,0000 can expect to wait more than five years for a suitable home.

In addition, the number of people without a permanent place to call home is also increasing. In August 2022, there were 94 households in temporary accommodation across the city and by December 2023 the number had soared to 332.

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Michael Gove has launched legal action against the landlord of a Canary Wharf apartment complex to pay over £200m towards building safety works.

The Grenfell Tower disaster left thousands of people across England heartbroken and has since forced the UK government to evaluate the safety of buildings across the country. With this in mind, last week the Secretary of State served the landlord of an apartment complex in Canary Wharf with legal action to improve the safety of the building.

From this, the landlord will be required to pay £20.5m towards building safety works.

In addition, according to government officials, the housing department have also applied to a property tribunal in a bid to get John Christodoulou’s Yianis Holdings Ltd, a privately owned property organisation, to contribute to fixing safety problems at the Canary Riverside development.  

Two other companies in the Yianis Group have been affected by the action, which marks the first move by Gove to use legal powers under the Building Safety Act. The legislation was passed in 2022 following the aftermath of Grenfell tower.

The department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, said: ‘Where developers and freeholders have profited from unsafe buildings, we will use powers in the landmark Building Safety Act to recover funds.

‘We will continue to take action against those who do not take responsibility for building safety issues.’

The Building Safety Act allows the government, regulators or other ‘interest persons’ such as leaseholders to apply for orders requiring building owners, developers, or others to fix building safety defects or make payments towards the costs.

Against this backdrop, Yianis Group said that property tribunals had uncovered that the two other companies were ‘accountable persons’ under the act for the four residential buildings within the Canary Riverside development.

According to the developments website, inspections of the buildings unmasked problems with cladding and insulation that needed to be remediated.

The fire at Grenfell Tower tragically killed 72 people when it spread through the external cladding. It triggered a building safety crisis that led to defects being identified in residential blocks across the country and has left some leaseholders unable to sell their properties and are now, as a result, facing huge bills.

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Adam Neumann has offered more than £350m in an attempt to regain ownership of the problematic shared office space organisation.

Back in November last year, WeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, suggesting the potential end of the company. However, last month it become known that the former co-founder of WeWork, Adam Neumann, was trying to meet with the company to negotiate a deal to buy it outright. Now, Neumann has made his offer.

Flow, Neumann’s property company – which is expected to launch this year, but details are yet to be released – claimed last week that it had submitted a bid with a ‘coalition of half a dozen financing partners.’ The Wall Street Journal, who were the first to report on the offer, said it was tabled at more than $500m, which equates to £350m.

In a statement shared with Reuters, WeWork said their organisation is ‘extraordinary’ and it’s ‘no surprise we receive expressions of interest from third parties on a regular basis.’

The company added: ‘Our board and our advertisers review those approaches in the ordinary course, to ensure we always act in the best long-term interests of the company.’

Neumann, who was once tipped to join the ranks of the world’s richest people, resigned as chief executive of WeWork in September 2019. Earlier that year, the company invested heavily in long-term leases for some of the world’s most expensive real estate markets, amassing almost 800 locations that spanned 39 countries.

However, investors were sceptical of the terms of the stock listing, including demands that each of Neumann’s shares should carry 20 times the votes of ordinary stock, and that his wife should have a say in selecting his successor should he die. As a result, the IPO was postponed, and Neumann later left the company altogether.

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The UK’s undershoot on heat pumps underlines the challenge of decarbonising the built world. Catriona Hyland, research analyst at A/O, presents six priorities we need to tackle urgently.

Once again, despite good intentions, targets and soundbites, yet another attempt at decarbonising our homes is on the ropes as it’s reported the uptake of heat pumps across the UK has sputtered and stalled.

If we’re to meet our climate change targets, the government wants to install 600,000 low-carbon heat pumps a year over the next four years. In 2022, total installations hit just 55,000. The blame has been placed on their price, low awareness among consumers and divisions within government itself. Wherever blame lies, we’re falling damagingly short of making this necessary change.

Decarbonising homes is a priority for the government because heating generates 18% of UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions contribute to the wider, large-scale emissions created by the built world as a whole. Data shows that of the 50 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases released each year, and counting, more than a third (37%) comes from the built world. Three quarters of buildings in the EU are classed as energy inefficient – a number that’s set to rise to as much as 90% by 2050 – and the world’s carbon dioxide emissions from energy rose yet again in 2023. All against a backdrop of another month of record-breaking global air, and sea surface temperatures in February.

Decarbonising the built world sector, therefore, is urgently required if we are to meet our global climate targets. Yet the scale of the problem, and in particular knowing what to prioritise, also presents the greatest challenge.

Building owners and investors are increasingly waking up to this challenge, as are policy makers. But as the National Audit Office’s report on decarbonising home heating demonstrates, change can not be driven in isolation. There must be a considered and joined up approach where we double down on the most impactful factors. Here are the most pressing.

1. Powering up the grid: There are systemic difficulties in making the switch to renewable energy. One of the biggest being how we power up the grid to be able to reliably and sustainably access the renewable energy we generate. If we’re to make the transition, we urgently need to create better energy storage, and smarter trading and grid tech solutions. Investors need to ramp up investments into companies building future-proofed grids, while real estate owners and property developers need to play their role, from fitting solar arrays and batteries, to investing in ways to monitor building efficiency and reducing the costs associated with clean energy.

2. Addressing the labour and skills shortage: The energy transition is creating huge demand for new skills in construction causing global, industry-wide transformations the likes of which haven’t been since the Industrial Revolution. This shift will require the workforce involved in the retrofitting and climate tech sector to quadruple by 2030. At the same time, there is an urgent need for plumbers, welders, joiners, fitters, electrical engineers and surveyors to upskill. Companies like Germany’s Enter are helping to address this talent shortage, but the private sector cannot meet this demand alone. There needs to be a public policy push towards training programmes, apprenticeships, and reskilling initiatives that make these skills a priority.

3. Building smarter with AI: There’s a huge, and relatively untapped, opportunity to solve many of the problems facing today’s inefficient and unsustainable built world sector using Generative AI and automation. These systems can optimise design, improve efficiency, and reduce errors in construction. Bricklaying robots in Europe, from firms like Monumental, work alongside humans to improve productivity and safety. Yet such advancements require deep collaboration between tech companies, construction firms and the investors backing these technologies to introduce tools that materially shift the dial.

4. Electrifying industry: Industrial heat generation releases massive carbon emissions which need to be tackled. One solution would be to mandate the electrification of industrial processes. Industrial heatpumps and electrical heating solutions will target industrial energy consumption at the lower temperature range, where there is substantial demand. For higher temperature applications that are today predominantly supported by natural gas, coal and biomass, there are emerging thermal storage solutions that can make use of green energy to charge and discharge high temperature heat from companies like Kraftblock.

5. Greener banks: Banks already play a critical and trusted role in financing the built environment and they can help drive the energy transition by acting as a key bridge between public and private capital. Whether that’s through their own partnerships with installers, connecting solution providers to utilities and real estate funds, or instilling trust among consumers. Governments also play a role, through regulations, policies and incentives, that can encourage banks to ‘green’ their loan portfolios. This will not only help boost investments in energy-efficient real estate and green technologies but will help the banks mitigate the energy risk of having property or loan portfolios.

6. Energy for all: Investing into the technologies and policies needed to decarbonise the built world can also have a substantial impact on society. Not just in terms of fuelling economic growth through employment and returns, but in levelling the playing field. A staggering 41 million Europeans were unable to keep their homes warm in 2022. Making energy-efficient housing more accessible and affordable is therefore key, especially for low-income communities. Leaning on tech to retrofit buildings, promote smart meter usage and expanding access to renewable energy will also significant societal gains. Gains that require governments, solution providers, and property developers to be on the same page.

Heat pumps are only the tip of a very large iceberg when it comes to decarbonising our built world. Technology will be essential to address the problems caused by the built world. But long-term changes – that cut across political parties – are needed to accelerate change and to maximise the value of public and private investment in this area.

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Westminster have announced plans to become the UK’s first net zero city and although this will be good for the planet, it’s not good news for future developments.

Foster & Partners, a global studio for architecture, engineering, urban and landscape design, have submitted plans to demolish and rebuild an eight-storey building in Mayfair, however they are set to be refused by Westminster council next week as the borough targets its goal to become a ‘retrofit-first’ city.

The proposal details plans to demolish 18-19 Saville Row and replace it with a new build office of roughly the same size, aiming to address issues with the existing building which developer The Pollen Estate believes are ‘increasingly rendering [it] obsolete’.

However, Westminster’s planning officers have said the redevelopment of the site is ‘not considered to be justified in sustainability or circular economy terms.’

Against this backdrop, Foster & Partners’ proposals for a retrofit of a former Fenwick department store, which is also located in Mayfair and closed last month, have been recommended for approval ahead of the same planning committee meeting.

The two recommendations come as the council is running a public consultation on its plans to significantly strengthen its planning policies on retrofit aiming to discourage developers from pursuing new build schemes.

If these plans are approved, developers could face carbon offsetting payments up to nine time higher than current levels and would be required to prioritise re-use options on existing buildings before considering demolishing them.

The local authority’s planning officers said the Savile Row scheme ‘fails to adhere to circular economy principles and principles of sustainable design, both of which prioritise the retention, refitting and refurbishment of existing buildings’.

The officers’ report added it would ‘fail to help transition London to a low carbon circular economy through generating unjustified waste and carbon emissions’.

The planning committee are set to meet on 2nd April, when they will make a decision on the two applications.

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The leading UK construction company has held a topping out ceremony to mark a key stage in the project to deliver new facilities at Beacon Barracks.

Henry Brothers have been building a new, two-storey facility for the Squadron – the only British Army unit permanently assigned to NATO – which is set to move from Dorset to Beacon Barracks near Stafford.

The facility in question will include new offices, conference rooms, a reception area, workshops, garaging, storage rooms, welfare facilities and mechanical and electrical plant rooms. In addition, to ensure the new development meets sustainability requirements, it will also feature solar panels on the roof.

As well as constructing this new development, Henry Brothers are also working to create a single-storey satellite communications building, which, as a Deployable Communication Module, has a role to install and control strategic communication and information systems supporting a deployed NATO headquarters.

Personnel at the topping out ceremony for the new facilities, which cost around £22m included representatives from NATO, 280 (NATO) Signal Squadron, the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), Beacon Barracks, contractor Henry Brothers Construction, project manager Mott MacDonald and multi-disciplinary design consultants Pick Everard.

Ian Taylor, MD of Henry Brothers Construction, said: ‘We are very pleased to see this significant milestone being reached on the new facility that Henry Brothers Construction is delivering at Beacon Barracks for 280 (NATO) Signal Squadron. The squadron plays an important role in NATO, and we are proud to support our armed forces.

‘Henry Brothers has worked in partnership with the Ministry of Defence and the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) to deliver many improvements and new developments over the years. It’s great to see one of our current projects proceeding well and on track for completion next year, providing 280 (NATO) Signal Squadron with a new base to relocate to from Dorset.’

Steve Cummings, operations director at Pick Everard, who also helped design the project, said: ‘This is an exciting project to help deliver, supporting our troops as well as NATO. We’re delighted to be working collaboratively with Henry Brothers as well as the Ministry of Defence, to design facilities that operate with efficiency and security front of mind, utilising the latest techniques to assist the 280 (NATO) Signal Squadron’s aims.

‘It’s been a great pleasure to help reach this important milestone collectively, combining expertise across the construction supply chain and build on our strong reputation in the defence sector. We look forward to playing an active role as the project progresses through its development stages.’

Image: Henry Brothers 

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The Scottish government have announced plans to introduce longer-term rent controls for the private sector.

Local authorities in Scotland have been declaring a housing emergency – much like councils in England – which has prompted the Scottish government to introduce the Housing Bill. It will place a duty on local councils to undertake assessments on the state of private accommodation in their area.

However, despite the announcement being welcomed by tenants’ right groups, the Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) have expressed concerns.

Speaking to the BBC, the SAL claimed the Bill fails to detail particular restrictions that could be placed on landlords, though it does say that rises would be capped during and in-between tenancies.

If the Bill is brought into law, it will also allow for tenants to keep pets and decorate their properties.

Patrick Harvie, Tenants’ Rights Minister, said: ‘Tenants benefit from improved conditions and security, while good responsible landlords will thrive when their good practice is recognised by regulation.

‘Scotland has led the way across the UK in improving the experience of people who rent their homes and this reform has been at the same time as significant growth in the size of the private rented sector.

‘Progressive reform can lead to better conditions and a healthy rented sector overall. I want to keep working with both tenants and landlords to achieve that goal.’

New figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) have shown that this Bill couldn’t have come at a better time.

The data has revealed that Scotland has experienced the highest rent increases of any UK nation. The data showed that average private rents increased in by 10.9% in Scotland, 8.8% in England and 9% in Wales.

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New research has found that the UK has just 412 heat pumps per 1000,000 people, with industry experts claiming limited job prospects are hindering progress.

In an attempt to decarbonise UK housing, the government have set out to install 600,000 heat pumps by 2028. However, this target seems to be becoming more out of reach by the day, as new research from Heatpumps London has revealed that the government have installed 412 per 100,000 people.

Despite being three to four times more efficient than other heating options, such as oil, electricity and gas boilers, there is significant concern over the lack of engineers able to fit them in homes. This problem leads to high installation costs and long wait times.  

Previously, it was believed that the increasing rate of heat pump adoption in the UK could create over 50,000 new jobs, but according to research, there are only around 2,000 jobs available in the industry.

Fix Radio, the only UK broadcaster aimed at builders, discovered that 56% of builders say they lack sufficient knowledge on alternatives to traditional gas boilers, with 44% admitting they would not recommend heat pumps due to the awareness of their benefits.

In addition, the broadcaster highlighted that 11% of builders are unaware of available grants like the government’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which was introduced on 1st April 2022, which is leaving households to believe that having a heat pump would be more expensive than sticking with their gas boiler.

These statistics have become apparent after the radio station held a debate on the rollout of heat pumps with heating engineers, John Cruickshank and Simon Poskett.

‘Many tradespeople are put off by going down the road to MSC because doors just seem to be closing at every chance because nobody knows what’s going on. I say tradespeople should go down the route of renewables as it will be a big part of our heating and hot water,’ John Cruickshank said. ‘It’s not the silver bullet that we’re all looking for, but with the energy crisis and living standards, it’s very difficult.’

John added: ‘I don’t know how the government will get 150,000 heat pump engineers trained in time to fit the 600,000 they want because there is no direction. The government initially said if you have a level two in plumbing and water rigs, you could go for a heat pump, yet it took me 18 months to two years to train in heat pumps.’

‘These are issues we should have been talking about 20 years ago, but we’ve now come to a point where we’re approaching deadlines which keep getting pushed back. The government never seem to consider the people who are actually on the ground who carry out this work.’

In addition, Simon Poskett also remarked that the government need to provide clearer guidelines to ensure as many heat pumps can be installed as possible.

Simon said: ‘The legislation and policy needs a clear direction which we still don’t have. Companies aren’t investing, mainly because of the greener policy being kicked into the long grass.

‘There is a very large workforce out there that is currently doing gas, but the training is needed for heat pumps because they’re a very different beast. We’ve got over 15000 heat geek installers now, we’re right at the start of the journey.’

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The million-dollar scheme, which was undertaken by Pick Everard, has converted Shepshed’s Market Place into a versatile and pedestrian-friendly space.

Today, Tuesday 26th March 2024, Pick Everard – an award winning independent property, construction, and infrastructure consultancy – announced the completion of a £2.5m regeneration project in Leicester. 

Shepshed’s Market Place has been upgraded to include various improvements which are set to boost trade and increase footfall in the region. The developments include new car parking spaces, seating, bicycle parking facilities and an array of trees and plantings.

Pavements in Market Place and along nearby Brook Street have also been upgraded and expanded to include soft landscaping elements that will help increase accessibility in the town centre.

Matt Hall, director at Pick Everard, said: ‘It’s fantastic to see the transformation of Shepshed’s Market Place complete, which will generate increased footfall for local businesses. Improving our high streets and public spaces is vital to ensure they suit the way we live our lives today.

‘The scheme has placed accessibility and flexibility at the fore to ensure the space can be used for a variety of purposes, including town centre events that will turn Shepshed into a destination offering.’

‘The work undertaken was both challenging and rewarding, with collaboration and engagement with project partners and the community ensuring any disruption was kept to a minimum in a live working environment,’ Hall said. ‘We look forward to watching the space evolve as a modern town centre that benefits residents and visitors alike.’

The plans to help better Market Place, which took several years to complete, were part of a wider set of public realm works by Charnwood Borough Council, that will enable the town centre to host new events and market stalls.

Cllr Jewel Miah, leader of Charnwood Borough Council, said: ‘It is so pleasing to see this project completed and it has made the area a much more attractive place for people.

‘We have worked closely with the town council and the town team in consultation with local businesses and residents throughout the process and I hope these improvements will have a positive impact on the town.

‘The area is now better for residents and is much more accessible and safer.’

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Living in the English countryside could become a temporary luxury as the costs of buying a property have forced thousands into renting, a new report has found.  

Last week, the County Councils Network (CNN) published their new report which found a 19% increase in rural renting has outpaced rises in London and other English cities.

In addition, experts also discovered that house prices in rural counties are the most unaffordable outside London at an average of £309,000. The news comes as the government are currently working towards creating a fair, affordable housing system.

Launched in 2020, the government created the Affordable Housing Scheme, which, according to statistics that were reported last month, has already supported the delivery of over 6,000 affordable homes. However, the news that more than half a million people in the countryside have had to resort to renting question whether this scheme is doing enough.

The new report from CNN highlighted that the number of households in private and social rented properties in rural areas has increased by 550,000 between 2011 and 2021.

Against this backdrop, researchers discovered that rented properties – both social and private – now make up almost one third of all housing in England’s county council regions.

Breaking this statistic down, the report found that in private renting there had been a 31% increase – higher than London’s rise of 25%. Moreover, experts also discovered that rural homelessness had climbed by 18% within the last three years.

Richard Clewer, housing and planning spokesperson for CNN, said: ‘It is widely accepted that the housing crisis is one that is worsening, with rising unaffordability locking hundreds of thousands out of getting onto the property ladder.’

‘This report does not suggest that we alleviate these issues by concreting over our countryside,’ Clewer adds. ‘Instead it sets out a number of important yet easily deliverable recommendations that, taken together, could accelerate the delivery of new homes of all tenures where there is most need.’

As a result of these findings, the CCN is calling on the government to lay out a new plan for rural housing, with greater focus on social housing and a review of the right-to-buy policy that has seen affordable rental properties taken off the market.

The right-to-buy policy is a government scheme that allows for most council tenants to buy their council home at a discount.

Commenting on the news, a spokeswoman from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, said: ‘We are committed to creating a fair housing system that works for everyone in both urban and rural areas, including increasing first-time buyer numbers in all regions and boosting availability of new, genuinely affordable housing.’

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According to John Mason, associate at Carter Jonas Cambridge, artificial intelligence (AI) has the ability to improve the housing and planning sector, but more people need to be on board with the idea. 

Imagine a future where masterplans and house type packs can be reviewed and tweaked at the click of a button. Where you can talk to a chatbot about whether your fence requires planning permission. Where consultation on local plans or individual planning applications is targeted, tailored to your interests, and timely. Where local authority processes are streamlined and efficient, decisions are made on time, and officers have plenty of availability to discuss your proposals.

Sounds too good to be true? Perhaps it is. But AI has the potential to revolutionise any industry it touches, and the planning profession is no exception.

Over 3.5 million planning applications are submitted every year in the UK. Over one third of planning applications contain basic errors, and 250,000 hours are spent by council officers running validation checks. The Alan Turing Institute has already run pilots on how application validation could be automated through the use of machine learning, training computers to ‘read’ plans and documentation to check for errors. It found great potential to automate parts of the process, but the systems they trained were unable to differentiate between (for instance) existing and proposed plans, something a human could tell at a glance.

It is almost cliché to bemoan the length of time it takes to produce a new local plan – up to five years in some cases, by which point they could be hopelessly out of date. From the effects of the pandemic to the adoption of new technology to addressing the climate crisis, plan makers must be able to adapt quickly to fast moving changes, but are currently unable to do so due to labyrinthine bureaucracy and the sheer amount of evidence that must be processed. AI could greatly improve efficiency and decrease cost: generating and analysing housing or employment projections, reviewing and categorising site submissions, managing consultation and even auto-generating reports and analyses.

The DLHUC’s PropTech engagement fund is being used by 13 local authorities across the country to pilot the use of AI to manage public consultation on local plans. Authorities have adopted technology in a variety of ways: for instance, Greater Cambridge analysed social media feedback that wasn’t being captured on the consultation portal, whilst Southampton used 3D models to show how new proposals would look. AI is able to review consultation responses and automatically categorise them, pick out key themes and identify trends. This promises significant improvements in the ability to run local plan consultations, which can attract tens of thousands of comments which currently take an enormous amount of time to process.

At the other end of the scale, could artificial intelligence be used to review minor planning applications? Householder applications, Certificates of Lawfulness or conditions discharge take a significant amount of officer time to process but are for the most part relatively simple, requiring objective decisions on whether the submission accords with specific legislation. As with the validation process, this could in theory be done by a computer programme, with a planning professional required to review the final recommendation. Similarly, simple pre-application enquiries for small scale development could be automated with a chat bot: you could interact with your planning department in the same way you would with your bank or mobile phone provider.

Are we then heading to a future where a development proposal can be managed, submitted, and determined by a computer?

I don’t think so. AI has no intrinsic agency (it must be told what to do) and no accountability (its output must be evaluated by an accountable human). Have the consultation responses been summarised correctly? Do the auto-generated parts of a report make sense? Where have the data used in models or reports come from? Are there inaccuracies? Is it replicating unintended biases?

Planning in the UK is not a ‘tick-box’ exercise and I do not believe should it be. Planning relies on the exercise of judgement and the weighing up of the planning balance. Considerations of design or the impact of a proposal on heritage assets is subjective. Applicants and officers need the room for discussion on where trade-offs or improvements can be made, and where departures from planning policies can be justified. And of course, decisions must have some kind of democratic oversight to ensure public good is balanced against private interest.

And we must be mindful of potential downsides. Automation could enable the targeting of more specific groups on a Local Plan or application consultation, aiding public engagement. On the other hand, the tailoring of consultation to what a computer perceives your interests to be could lead to an artificial narrowing of options, or reinforcement of filter bubbles.

Also, whilst developers working across different authorities could benefit from the standardisation of validation requirements, automation could do away with the creativity and “colour” of individually prepared Local Plans or officer reports. Standardisation of masterplans to ensure they can be read by computers could also lead to further homogenisation of new developments at the expense of innovation and the ability to tailor a layout to site-specific circumstances.

Artificial intelligence is coming whether we like it or not. Local authorities, companies and individuals need to be able to be able to adopt, use and understand these tools, requiring time and investment. It’s no secret that many planning departments and consultancies are struggling with resourcing at the moment, which could lead to a future of winners and losers.

Nevertheless, artificial intelligence has enormous potential to speed up the development process for applicants and authorities. AI will transform the way we undertake data-driven and administrative tasks, easing workloads and allowing us to spend more time ‘planning’. Negotiating good planning outcomes will continue to require human actors to exercise nuance, common sense, creativity and critical judgement, all things that cannot – and should not – be automated.

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The new chief executive of Legal and General (L&G) is drawing up plans to sell Cala Group – one of Britain’s biggest housebuilders.  

Last week, Sky News reported that L&G, a leading UK financial advisory group, are in contact with bankers at Rothschild to oversee the sale of Cala Group. Experts have claimed that the company will likely be valued at up to £750m.

The news comes just weeks after Antonio Simoes, former HSBC and Santander executive, replaced Sir Nigel Wilson as L&G’s chief executive. The decision has come as a bit of a shock because Cala, which has a headquarters based in Edinburgh, has been owned by L&G for the past six years.

According to Sky News, Simoes described Cala as ‘a very strong business’ during an earnings call which took place last month where he was ‘quizzed about the housebuilder’s future ownership’.

Back in 2013 L&G purchased a major stake of Cala, before taking over the business completely in 2018.

Although the reason for selling the company remains unclear, rumours have surfaced about the organisation struggling to keep up with climbing interest rates – a problem the majority of property companies are currently facing.

However, as the news has recently surfaced that inflation rates are coming down and the Bank of England have hinted that interest rates could be lowered within the next few months, housing organisations across the UK have voiced their optimism about the future.

A spokesperson from L&G said: ‘Legal & General regularly review and conduct conversations about the future of all our various investments and subsidiary businesses as we seek to maximise value for our shareholders.’

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New government data shows households in the North East are set to pay £420 more for an average band D property than those in Greater London.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) have released new figures that illustrate that the average band D council tax set by councils in England for 2024/25 will be £2,171, which is an increase of £106 (5.1%) compared to the figure from the previous financial year.

In addition, the research also unveiled that the council tax requirement will be £41.2bn, of which £609m will be raised through the adult social care precept flexibility, and £783m will be gathered from parish precepts.

Currently in England, the cap on council tax is set at 4.99%, though this varies depending on the powers of the local authority.

Against this backdrop, data that was compiled by the County Councils Network (CNN) and published last month found that out of 136 county and unitary local authorities in England who have so far published their budget proposals, 128 plan on raising council tax by the maximum permitted – 4.99%.

However, the bad news doesn’t end there. The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) have completed some research of their own, which shows that households based in the North East will fork out £420m more for an average band D property in 2024/25 than those living in Greater London.  

CIPFA said this is a ‘worrisome picture’, where poorer areas of the country pay more council tax than wealthier regions. Its survey of 215 local authorities found that the average band D council tax in Greater London will be £1,894 while in the Northeast it will be £2,315.

Commenting on the news, Rob Whiteman, CEO of CIPFA, said: ‘In the absence of long-term funding, the rise in council tax is an example of the government’s presiding over a failing funding system.

‘With central government prioritising cuts in taxes and consequent spending cuts, this places more burden on councils to increase the level of council tax by the maximum allowed at a time and many residents will see a reduction in the level of service provided.’

Within its survey, CIPA reported, with the exception of Greater London, that band D council tax for all areas of England now exceeds £2,000.

Echoing a similar tone to Whiteman, Iain Murray, director of public financial management at CIPFA, has also expressed his frustration: ‘It is concerning that in some places, the funds raised from a rise in council tax will still not ensure proper maintenance of public services. The continuous council tax gap between London and the rest of the country further reflects the profound regional inequalities that exist.

‘With the public sector model crying out for systematic reform, CIPFA’s council tax survey leaves us asking: What is the role of local government? What do we want our public services to provide for us? And how do we fund this?’

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The latest statistics from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) show that repairs have not started on 58% of dangerous structures.

As of December 2023, the government data revealed that 3,839 buildings had been identified with unsafe cladding. Of those, 1,608 had started or finished remediation works with 2,231 yet to start work.

In addition, the figures include remediation progress on high-rise (18 metres plus) buildings in height, as well as those identified with dangerous cladding of mid-rise (11-18 metres) height.

Government figures show that as of 31st January 2024, work had begun on a mere 42%, or 624, of the 1,500, 11 metre-plus buildings developers have committed to remediate themselves or pay to fix, while work has been completed on just 307 buildings.  

According to the figures, at the end of February, over 4,000 residential buildings 11 metres or taller had been found as having unsafe cladding – up by 120 since January.

However, on a more positive note, the overall number of buildings where remediation work is said to have started or is already completed, has more than doubled since the end of February 2023.

News of such slow progress being made has come as a shock, as the government began cracking down on fixing unsafe buildings following the tragic Grenfell fire incident. In November 2022, the Medium Rise Scheme (MRS) was announced – which is now known as the Cladding Safety Scheme – in a bid to financially support applications for buildings where the applicant is unable to afford to carry out the work themselves or feels that it is not their responsibility to do so.

Only one person or organisation can be legally held accountable for a building’s external repair.

Those who can be responsible include:

• The building’s freeholder or head leaseholder
• A registered provider of social housing
• A management company
• A right to manage company – these organisations are formed by qualifying leaseholders who manage the building or self-contained part of a building in line with the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002

Speaking in April 2022, when over 30 housebuilders signed a cladding pledge, housing secretary Michael Gove said developers have ‘nowhere to hide’ when it came to paying to fix cladding on buildings they built or owned.

Against this backdrop, the industry is also expected to pay around £3bn over the next 10 years through an expansion to the Building Safety Levy, on top of pledging to fix their own buildings.

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Charities across the UK have accused the government of failing as it has emerged that 300,000 children fell into poverty at the height of the crisis.

Data that was published yesterday by the Department for Work and Pensions highlighted that at the height of the cost-of-living, amid soaring levels of hunger and food bank use, hundreds of thousands of children were forced into poverty in a single year.

Against this backdrop, the research also found that during 2022/23 – when inflation was at its 10% peak – 600,000 more people found themselves without any money.

Overall, during this time period, 12 million people were classed as being in absolute poverty. This is equivalent to 18% of the population, including 3.6 million children.

During this traumatising period, various charities were urging the government to provide better support for vulnerable people. Part of this included asking ministers to axe the two-child benefit limit which is seen as a driver of family hardship.

The research that was published yesterday, which can be found in full here, unfortunately shows the reality of what happens when the government fail to listen to campaigners who were trying to help. In addition to exposing harrowing poverty statistics, the data also showcases more extreme forms of hardship that families faced, including destitution. This is where individuals are unable to afford basic living essentials such as food, energy, bedding and clothing. Almost four million people experienced destitution in 2022.

Likewise, the research also outlined:

• More than two-thirds (69%) of UK children in poverty lived in families where at least one parent works, while 44% of children in lone-parent families were in poverty
• An estimated 2.9 million children were in deep poverty, meaning their income was at least 50% below the poverty line. Nearly half (46%) of all families with three or more children were in poverty
• Nearly one in 10 (8%) of pensioners struggled to eat regularly, pay essential bills or keep their home warm, up 2 percentage points year on year, and the first increase in material hardship measures among the over-65s since 2014

Alison Garnham, chief executive of the Child Poverty Action Group, said: ‘In a general election year, nothing should be more important to our political leaders than making things better the country’s poorest kids. But child poverty has reached a record high, with 4.3 million kids now facing cold homes and empty tummies.’

However, central government have claimed that their cost-of-living support packages, which were offered to struggling families and included one-off cash payments and support with energy bills for low-income households, had helped alleviate pressure on poorer families and prevented more than one million people falling into poverty.

The work and pensions secretary, Mel Stride, said that the ‘last few years have been tough’ but claimed falling inflation coupled with a range of tax and benefit measures would provide support to people on low incomes.

He said: ‘The plan is working, and we need to stick to it to deliver a brighter future and economic security for everyone.’

Nevertheless, Peter Matejic, chief analyst at JRF, said: ‘The annual poverty figures published today confirm that the government failed to protect the most vulnerable from the cost-of-living crisis. Absolute poverty, the Government’s preferred measure of poverty, has risen for the second year in a row. This is as big as we have seen for 40 years.

‘At the same time, there is little to celebrate in the slight fall in overall relative poverty levels. This is largely due to the incomes of middle-income households falling, rather than people on the lowest incomes being better off. This is also likely to reverse now that earnings are growing faster than inflation.’

‘The government’s short-term interventions to date haven’t stopped the incomes of poorer households from being swallowed up by the soaring cost of essentials,’ Peter said. ‘This is despite Jeremy Hunt speaking of his commitment to protect the most vulnerable in his Autumn Statement in 2022. These results show just how far away our social security system is from adequately supporting people who have fallen on hard times.’

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The Bank of England have decided to keep interest rates at 5.25% and have claimed cuts are ‘in play’. Housing experts have gathered to share their opinions on the news.

Yesterday, 21st March 2024, the Bank of England revealed they will be keeping interest rates at 5.25% despite the ONS revealing that earlier in the week inflation had dropped more than expected.

In a statement, governor Andrew Bailey, said: ‘In recent weeks we’ve seen further encouraging signs that inflation is coming down. We’ve held rates at 5.25% because we need to be sure inflation will fall back to our 2% target and stay there.  

‘We’re not yet at the point where we can cut interest rates, but things are moving in the right direction.’

Financial markets are estimating that the first quarter-point cut in June will be when rates begin reducing. In addition experts are also forecasting that two more reductions will occur before the end of the year to around 4.5% amid a sharp fall in inflation over recent months.

Commenting on the news, Guy Gittins, CEO of Foxtons, said: ‘Homebuyers have been waiting patiently for an interest rate reduction and while it is largely expected to come this year, it seems as though they will have to wait a little longer still. The positive to take is that an air of stability has returned to the UK property market since rates were held at 5.25% last September and this has helped revitalise buyer activity levels in recent months.

‘In fact, it’s fair to say that the market has picked up the pace considerably and not only have we seen a 23% increase in sales enquiries versus this time last year, but there’s also been a 19% increase in viewings activity, and we reported on 5 March 2024 that we’d seen a 31% increase in the number of offers being accepted.’

In addition, Jason Ferrando, CEO of easyMoney, claimed that although the news has come as a bit of a blow, it was always to be expected.

‘Despite another surprise dip in inflation this week the Bank of England was always likely to maintain its slow but steady approach to managing the economy by keeping the base rate held at 5.25% for a fifth consecutive decision,’ Ferrando said. ‘While this will no doubt disappoint the nation’s homebuyers who have been eagerly anticipating a reduction in the cost of borrowing in 2024, it will add further stability to the property market, whilst also allowing those attempting to form a nest egg a further period of stronger returns on their savings.’

Directing the focus slightly away from homebuyers, Sam Reynolds, CEO of Zero Deposit, said landlords could also benefit from a decrease in high interest rates.

Reynolds said: ‘It’s not just homebuyers who were hoping to see rates come down today, landlords were also in need of some property market positivity to help revitalise their appetite for buy-to-let investment.

‘Not only have many been suffering at the hands of expensive variable rate products, but all too often they will have been doing so while only repaying the interest on their loan. As a result, they will have seen the cost of their mortgage increase by a far greater margin in the long run compared to those making full monthly repayment.’

However, CEO of Open Property Group, Jason Harris-Cohen, has claimed that although the Bank of England is working to ensure inflation rates keep coming down, ‘a rate cut’ is what the property market needs ‘to really move forward at pace.’

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Today, the public body have published their first-of-its-kind research which discovered the overall wellbeing value for people’s encounters of heritage is estimated to be worth £29bn.

The research, which can be found in the Heritage Capital and Wellbeing: Examining the Relationship Between Heritage Density and Life Satisfaction report, shows that like green spaces, historic areas within the UK can also benefit locals quality of life.

Heritage at Risk 2018.
All Saints Church, Leek Road, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.
Interior, general view of the heated glazed enclosure in the north aisle.

Experts found that on average, life satisfaction improves to the value of £515 a year from living near heritage. This has been calculated using guidance from the Treasury on measuring and quantifying in economic terms the effect of policies on people’s lives.

In addition, the research also investigated the impacts of different types of heritage including listed buildings, scheduled monuments, protected wrecks, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, and world heritage sites.  

The analysis illustrated that Grade II listed buildings, which represent 92% of England’s historic places on the National Heritage List for England, are the main drivers of life satisfaction increases. This implies that its being closer to a wealth of everyday heritage rather than experiencing rare, exceptional historic places, that is responsible for increasing higher life satisfaction. 

Lord Neil Mendoza, chairman of Historic England, said: ‘For the first time we have robust economic evidence that heritage makes a significant contribution to people’s quality of life. We all value the role that green spaces play in ensuring wellbeing; this new ground-breaking research shows us that the everyday local heritage found in towns and cities across England plays a comparable and valuable role.’

‘This is the first research to quantify the wellbeing value of the very existence of heritage, whether or not people participate in heritage activities,’ Lord Mendoza said. For example, the value of £515 a year whether someone interacts with the small civic museum or village church, or not.’

The research has been launched today at The Wellbeing and Heritage Conference which is being held in Northampton. It was funded by the Department for Culture Media and Sport’s Culture and Heritage Capital Programme.

Adala Leeson, head of social and economic research at Historic England, said: ‘People often experience emotional connections with their local heritage, yet the link between heritage and wellbeing is frequently overlooked in economics. This innovative research uses economic techniques to demonstrate that heritage is not just a nice to have; it has significant, measurable impacts on our overall wellbeing. 

‘As the first in a series of economic research projects produced by Historic England, funded by the DCMS Culture and Heritage Capital Programme and guided by HM Treasury’s Green Book, this research provides compelling economic evidence that demonstrates the value of heritage, and reinforces the importance of the advocacy and conservation efforts made by volunteers, community groups and the heritage sector to protect historic places.’

Image: Historic England 

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Consultants based in the city have been invited to apply for a £1m contract by Liverpool’s City Region Combined Authority (CA).  

The CA are looking to development a masterplan that will help address rail capacity issues and a regeneration vision to make the establishment and surrounding areas more appealing to the public.

Created 150 years ago, the underground station, which is classed as one of the busiest outside of London, acts as a huge gateway between the retail core of the city centre and the fast-growing Knowledge Quarter. This is why both the CA and Liverpool City Council are so keen to kickstart regeneration plans.

Once the contract, which is worth £1m, has been awarded, the CA will task the consultants with creating a strategy for the area surrounding the central station and identifying the ‘most appropriate’ delivery and funding models for upgrading the station.

Currently, Liverpool Central station is owned and operated by Network Rail, however in 2023 Metro Mayor, Steve Rotheram, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the government. This set in motion a process that he hopes will lead to the CA taking control of the network, offering huge potential for regeneration projects. 

Although this isn’t an essential aspect to ensure the central station regeneration project goes ahead, it is thought that it will be the decision-making and logistics more straightforward.

The tender brief for the project reads: ‘The rail network and land regeneration of Liverpool Central station and the surrounding area is a once-in-a-generation opportunity.

‘Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) is excited to be approaching the market to help it deliver an ambitious transport-led programme which will create multi-faced regeneration opportunities.

‘LCRCA and its partners Liverpool City Council are seeking to deliver transformational place-based regeneration using the redevelopment of Liverpool Central station as a foundational catalyst.’

The deadline for submissions for the latest tender is 18th April 2024.

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