Tag Archives: crisis
British govt releases enough unused land for over 100,000 new homes
Enough unused public sector land has been released in England to build over 103,000 new homes, it has been announced. Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said that the amount of land sold by the government surpasses the original commitment set by the Prime Minister, and is expected to rise again by the end of March this year. Now, the government is calling on councils and developers to help turn it into housing as soon as possible, and is urging local authorities up and down the country to follow this example and sell their redundant sites and buildings. ‘House building is at the heart of the government’s long term economic plan. That’s why, rather than leaving surplus public sector land idle, we are putting it to good use by releasing it to build new homes across the country,’ said Pickles. ‘I now want to see councils following Whitehall’s example and explore what they can do to release land and deliver new homes and savings for local taxpayers,’ he added. Housing Minister Brandon Lewis pointed out that housing starts are at their highest annual total since 2007, but acknowledged that more homes are needed. ‘That’s why for the last four years we’ve pulled out all the stops to release formerly used surplus public sector land for house building meaning we have now exceeded our own target,’ he added. On top of this, there are plans to release land with capacity for 150,000 homes between 2015 and 2020. Lewis also pointed out that the government has already taken major steps to boost house building and get more people into a home of their own by simplifying the planning system, making it easier to convert empty buildings into new homes and prioritising development on brownfield land. ‘The results are clear as house building starts are now at their highest since 2007, empty homes are at their lowest level since records began and government backed schemes have helped nearly 192,000 people buy or reserve a property since 2010,’ he added. The land released to date comprises of 899 sites across England, and includes Ministry of Defence land at Aldershot in Hampshire where planning permission has been granted for up to 3,850 homes as well as road improvements, two new primary schools, extensions to two secondary schools, two new pre-schools and day care centres and 110 hectares of new managed green space, play areas, sports and community facilities. At Norton Barracks, site of the former Army archives in Worcestershire, sold by the Ministry of Defence to Rooftop Housing Group in partnership with Wychavon district council, is now the site for 10 new affordable homes for returning services personnel and those who have retired from the Armed Forces. Bexhill former galley sidings, a derelict former oil storage depot with railway sidings site sold by the British Railways Board, now has permission for 64 properties on the site, a mixture of two three and four bedroom properties, including affordable homes. At Stratford City former railway land, sold… Continue reading
Prime property prices in central London rise for first time in five months
Prices in prime central London rose for the first time in five months in February, boosted by price growth in markets with a higher proportion of properties that would not be subject to a proposed mansion tax. It saw a marginal increase of 0.1%, the first since September 2014 but annual growth slowed to 4%, which is half of the 2014 average of 8.1%, according to the latest report from Knight Frank. The firm says that it is a market where activity has been kept in check by the potential of a mansion tax on properties worth more than £2 million after May’s general election. Stronger performing markets included Islington and the City and Fringe in the eastern area of prime central London, where prices grew by 1.3% and 1% respectively in February. Both recorded annual growth of 9.1%. The Riverside market, which was included in the index six months ago to reflect the high quality of developments in areas like Battersea and Vauxhall, has also risen 0.4% this year. Elsewhere, there were declines in more traditional prime markets with higher value properties, including a fall of 0.8% in Chelsea, a drop of 0.2% in Notting Hill and a fall of 0.2% in South Kensington. The existence of a two speed market was underlined by the fact values for properties worth in excess of £5 million and £10 million declined by 0.1% in February. Meanwhile, prices in the £1 million to £2 million price bracket grew 0.4% in February, up 6.8% in the last year. ‘We estimate that 46% of £2 million-plus properties are located in the prime central London boroughs of Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea. However, eight out of 10 properties on the £2 million mansion tax threshold would be located outside the two boroughs in areas of suburban London and the Home Counties,’ said Tom Bill, head of London research at Knight Frank. ‘Though any tax would be lower in value and there is more clarity on the potential levy for properties worth between £2 million and £3 million, it underlines the mistaken belief the mansion tax would start to bite in prime central London,’ he added. Continue reading
Thousands sign up for new property alert service in England and Wales
In its first year, over 19,000 people have signed up to the UK Land Registry’s free Property Alert service which provides an early warning of possible suspicious activity on someone’s property. The aim of Property Alert is to help people protect their home from fraudsters. ‘There are many people who have no idea that someone could steal their home from under them, but unfortunately it can and does happen,’ said Tracey Salvin, Property Alert service manager. ‘For example, someone may pretend to be you using forged documents and sell or mortgage your home. While this is not common, when it does happen it can have devastating consequences for the victim. Imagine finding out that someone else has sold or mortgaged your property without your knowledge and disappeared with the money, leaving you to pick up the pieces,’ she explained. A case study involved a Ms Anderson (names have been changed) who signed up for the Property Alert service and placed an alert on her property. She received an email alert the very next day saying that an application to transfer her property had been made. Ms Anderson knew nothing about this and contacted Land Registry’s property fraud reporting line. On investigation, they found that the application had been made by Ms Anderson’s father and contained evidence claiming to show that Ms Anderson’s identity had been checked by a solicitor. Ms Anderson claimed she had never been to see this solicitor and denied signing any transfer of her property. She also alleged that her father was intercepting her mail and at one time had taken her passport. When the Land Registry contacted the solicitor concerned, he confirmed he had met someone claiming to be Ms Anderson but who, it turned out, must have been an imposter. ‘As a result of Ms Anderson contacting Land Registry, we formally notified Ms Anderson’s father of her objection to his application. As we didn’t receive any response from him, we cancelled his application. This allowed Ms Anderson to proceed with selling her property as she had planned to do,’ said Salvin. Property fraud can happen in many ways. For example, fraudsters may steal someone’s identity and attempt to gain ownership of a property by using forged documents. The fraudsters may then raise money by mortgaging the property without the owner’s knowledge before disappearing with the money, leaving the owner to deal with the consequences. Land Registry has stopped fraud on properties worth more than £70 million since 2009. Those wishing to join will need to set up an online account with Land Registry which is free They will then be able to monitor up to 10 registered properties in England and Wales. Email alerts will be sent when there is certain activity on the property and people can then judge whether or not the activity is suspicious and if they should seek further advice. People who are not online can also sign up for Property Alert by calling… Continue reading
