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Tag: planning

Budget provides a shot in the arm for housing work, but there’s a sting in the detail

Budget provides a shot in the arm for housing work, but there’s a sting in the detail

A shot in the arm, said the Home Builders Federation release sent out after Chancellor George Osborne sat down. And the Budget certainly lifted the already rising share prices of the quoted builders quite nicely. It must be said that comment came as no shock, as this was yet another ask or two or three by house builders that have been favourably answered by the incumbent Government. Putting in a presumption in favour of sustainable development in the planning law…

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Did the letter from the Communities Secretary to local authorities throw planning into a pickle?

Did the letter from the Communities Secretary to local authorities throw planning into a pickle?

There has been a lot of screaming about housing projects being abandoned after a letter was sent in late May from the Communities Secretary Eric Pickles to local authorities saying regional targets were, in effect, dead. The National Housing Federation recently claimed that 85,000 planned homes have been scrapped as a result. So as I was doing research for the forthcoming Housing Market Intelligence report analysing planning data produced by Barbour ABI, it seemed wise to see what the data suggested….

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Good news on the planning front – rejections fall and applications for new homes rise

Good news on the planning front – rejections fall and applications for new homes rise

The data published today on planning applications on the face of it should provide house builders and their suppliers with some comfort. The figures show that in the final quarter of last year the number of planning decisions for major residential developments – those with 10 or more homes – rose for the second quarter in a row. Admittedly the number, 1,300 in the quarter, is about half that of the average during the boom years between 2003 and 2008, but…

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Open Source Planning: naive, stupid or cynical?

Open Source Planning: naive, stupid or cynical?

If you think that the economy is posing a problem for house builders, you might want to consider the planning proposals put forward by the Conservatives. “Jaw dropping” was one phrase that an expert on planning matters put to me. “Concerning” was the more sedate and political word chosen by the Home Builders Federation, who politely suggested it was a high risk strategy with potential unintended consequences. I found the phrase “barking” coming readily to hand when I spoke to…

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Residential planning activity bounces back

Residential planning activity bounces back

The latest Government planning data on the face of it supports the view that there has been a bounce in activity within the house building sector. The topline data, released today, for residential planning decision show a fall in the September quarter compared with both the previous quarter and on the same quarter last year.