The final version of the National Planning Policy Framework has been published today and takes effect immediately. In a statement to the House of Commons, Planning Minister, Greg Clarke, told MPs that the reforms make planning much simpler and more accessible, having reduced over a thousand pages of guidance to around 50 pages. In particular, [...]
DCLG News
New planning policy framework takes effect
The final version of the National Planning Policy Framework has been published today and takes effect immediately. In a statement to the House of Commons, Planning Minister, Greg Clarke, told MPs that the reforms make planning much simpler and more accessible, having reduced over a thousand pages of guidance to around 50 pages. In particular, [...]
New housing strategy full of promise
The Government has set out a new strategy to tackle England’s housing shortage by breaking the current cycle in which lenders won’t lend, builders can’t build and buyers can’t buy. At the heart of the strategy is a new-build indemnity scheme that should give a helping hand to up to 100,000 prospective buyers frozen out [...]
House prices down 1.4% on the year
Latest figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) show UK house prices falling 1.4% over the year to September (August -1.3%). During the month, the value of the typical home slipped 0.7% to £207,326, with the figure 6.2% below the market’s April 2008 peak and 9.1% above its April 2009 trough. Over [...]
Council tax freeze extended to 2012-13
The Government is encouraging councils in England to freeze Council Tax for another year. With every council having signed up to the current freeze, details of a new scheme have been published showing how councils can benefit if they commit to holding or reducing local tax for average band B and D homes. Ministers have [...]
Communities gain right to reclaim land
Rapid progress is being made in releasing public land for new homes, according to Housing Minister, Grant Shapps. The minister recently ordered an audit of government departments’ land banks with the aim of providing plots to build 50,000 new homes. Various government departments and agencies have since got to work and a new system has [...]
New government strike on empty homes
Community groups will soon be able to apply for Government cash to bring empty homes back into use. Communities Minister, Andrew Stunell, has announced that community and voluntary organisations can bid for a share of a £100 million funding pot aimed at pioneering schemes that transform empty properties into affordable housing. With an estimated 700,000 [...]
Minister backs house boat expansion
Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, wants local authorities to make it easier for people to live on house boats by readily granting planning permission for new residential moorings. According to the minister, such moorings could be eligible for the New Homes Bonus, a cash incentive for councils and communities in England prepared to allow housing development. [...]
Government publishes Planning Policy Framework
The Government has published a National Planning Policy Framework which aims to safeguard the environment, while meeting the need for sustainable growth. According to Planning Minister, Greg Clark, current national planning policy is lengthy and complex, whereas the new Framework sets out government policy in just 52 pages. Despite the brevity, it maintains the Government’s [...]
House price gloom confirmed
Latest figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government show that in May, UK house prices registered a year-on-year fall of 1.6%, having decreased by 0.5% since April. On an annual basis, house prices were down 1.3% in England; 6.1% in Wales; 2.5% in Scotland and 13.2% in Northern Ireland, with the value of [...]
House price gloom confirmed
Latest figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government show that in May, UK house prices registered a year-on-year fall of 1.6%, having decreased by 0.5% since April. On an annual basis, house prices were down 1.3% in England; 6.1% in Wales; 2.5% in Scotland and 13.2% in Northern Ireland, with the value of [...]
Steady improvement in housing stock energy efficiency
The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has published a series of facts and figures in the form of the English Housing Survey Housing Stock Report 2009. Key findings of the survey are as follows: Some 8.8 million (38%) of the 22.3 million dwellings in England in 2009 were built before 1945, 4.8 million [...]
Official: April house prices down 0.3% on the year
UK house prices fell by 0.3% on average in the year to April, having declined 1.1% during the month. According to the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), the value of the typical home is now 5.8% below its recent peak of April 2008, and 9.7% above the recent trough of April 2009. Average [...]
Surplus public land to provide 100,000 new homes
Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, has announced Government plans to release enough public land to build up to 100,000 new homes, by 2015. According to Mr Shapps, the amount of previously-developed publicly-owned land available is more than twice the size of Leicester and by the Autumn, every Government department with significant landbanks will publish plans to [...]
Government launches empty homes toolkits
The Government has this week launched two online toolkits to help local councils and communities identify empty homes in their area and bring them back into use. The Geographical Information System Empty Homes Mapping Toolkit plots the location of long-term empty homes and should allow councils to pinpoint empty homes “hot spots”. It includes information [...]
New advice scheme for neighbourhood planners
The Government is funding advice for neighbourhoods that engage with the new planning measures that form part of its Localism Bill. Planning minister, Greg Clark, has announced a £3.2 million scheme to enable communities keen to take charge of development in their area to receive support from The Prince’s Foundation, Locality, The Royal Town Planning [...]
3.4m private rental households across England
The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has published the findings of its latest English Housing Survey, which show a 1.3 million rise in the number of households renting privately since 2001, to 3.4 million in 2009-10, when social renters paid an average £75 per week in rent and private renters £153.
Around 62% of [...]
Affordable Rent scheme update
The Government has announced further details of a new scheme that will allow housing associations and councils to offer flexible tenancies.
From 2011, social landlords will have an “Affordable Rent” option, through which they can offer fixed-term tenancies to new tenants at up to 80% of local rent levels.
However, the new tenancies can only be offered [...]
