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Millions of pounds handed over to councils for new homes in UK
Housing Zones around the UK are now receiving funding that the government says will kick start work to build tens of thousands of new homes. Nearly £6.3 million is being distributed to help revive brownfield sites across the country which comes on top of a £1.2 billion Starter Home Fund designed to prepare brownfield sites for at least 30,000 new homes. The funds will be used to speed up work, enabling homes to be delivered quickly and most of it will go to councils to help with work in 19 out of the 20 flagship Housing Zones, which are described as a new approach to getting new homes built easily and quickly. The 20 Housing Zones, spread across the country, will see councils working in partnership with private developers to deliver the new homes on brownfield land. Housing Minister Brandon Lewis also said that the government is also committing to work with an additional eight short listed potential Zones and together these have the potential to deliver 45,000 new homes. ‘Housing Zones offer enormous potential to use brownfield land for new homes which is why this government is determined to get them built out as soon as possible. This funding will play an important part in getting work underway which will lead to new homes and more security for aspiring home owners,’ he explained. ‘Britain is building again with the number of new homes up 25% in the past year and these zones will play an important part in giving an extra million people the chance to achieve their dream of home ownership,’ he added. The funding includes £600,000 in Guildford, £27,000 in Hertsmere, £700,000 in Thurrock, £150,000 in Gedling, £165,000 in Greater Gainsborough, £240,000 in Stoke city centre, £213,616 in Derby and £220,000 in Gateshead. There is also £365,000 in York, £261,000 in Wakefield, £165,000 in Preston, £700,000 in Weston-Super-Mare, £124,116 in East Hampshire, £300,000 in Gloucester, £313,000 in Bath and North East Somerset, £100,000 in Hinkley, £300,000 in Bristol, £330,000 in Tewkesbury and £30,000 in Poole. The remaining £740,000 from the fund will be used to provide specialist technical support to the Zones. There will be further new developments coming in 2016 as part of the Housing and Planning Bill including a new legal duty on councils to guarantee the delivery of Starter Homes on all reasonably sized new development sites, and to promote the delivery of Starter Homes in their area. Also there will be permission in principle for sites identified in plans and brownfield registers to give certainty around the sites that are suitable for housing, while protecting the green belt and planning reforms to support small builders requiring councils to ensure they have shovel ready plots to match the local demand for custom build. Continue reading
Call for owners of British estates to release land for new homes in the countryside
Local authorities should work with rural estate owners to create new affordable homes, according to a new report into issues affecting the UK’s land and countryside communities. Major estates should be encouraged to release land for eight or more affordable homes and the Government should extend its city devolution agenda to include rural market towns, says the report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). It is urging landowners behind England’s 5,000 largest rural estates to release land for affordable housing and the report sets out a number of recommendations as to how central and local Government could better manage rural land and support countryside communities. These include offering measures to encourage large landowners to release space on their estates for eight or more affordable houses and that this might include partial inheritance tax exemptions, allowing heirs to avoid paying taxes on any affordable properties within the estate. It points out that at the turn of the last century, owners of Britain’s largest estates took a more patriarchal approach to the provision of affordable housing. This wasn’t entirely philanthropic as there was a common sense business motive as it resulted in a settled and readily available workforce. But affordable rural housing is fast becoming a thing of the past, the report explains, pointing out that there is a reported 76% shortfall in rural affordable housing. It argues that if rural towns and villages are to thrive, there needs to be action to ensure that workers are available to drive local economies. ‘Without becoming rose tinted, there are elements to the philanthropic approach to estate management that could benefit future generations of workers and apprentices,’ the report says. It also points out that there are some countryside communities where the average cost of a house can outstrip average annual wages 11 times over and rural poverty is a serious issue that threatens to hamper regional growth. ‘We would like to see local authorities work sympathetically with estate owners to encourage the release of land for eight or more affordable houses, based on long leaseholds, which would allow estates to retain long term interests,’ said Jeremy Blackburn, RICS head of UK policy. He explained that a similar scheme has been pioneered this year in East Devon, where Lord Clinton, the largest private landowner in the county, worked with Cornerstone Housing Association to develop 19 affordable homes in the town of Budleigh Salterton, made up of both rental and shared ownership properties. ‘To provide affordable housing for local people is an important step towards building sustainable communities. From the outset we worked with the Exeter based housing association, Cornerstone to provide the right mix of affordable homes for rent and shared ownership to enable young families to stay in Budleigh Salterton and allow this seaside town to thrive for generations to come,’ said Leigh Rix, head of property and land for Clinton Devon Estates. Blackburn added that the report also calls for a further boost for… Continue reading
Over a quarter of sales fell through in the UK in last few months of 2015
The house sale fall through rate in the UK increased in the last quarter of 2015, with more than one in four house sales falling through, new research has found. There was a house sale fall through rate of 27.94% in the fourth quarter of 2015, a rise 8.32% from the previous quarter, according to the figures from independent home buyer Quick Move Now. However, the year to date fall through rate remained fairly constant throughout 2015, at around 29% and finished the year at 29.26%. According to Danny Luke, business manager at Quick Move Now, it was an interesting year for the UK property market, and the fall through rates reflect that. ‘Tougher lending criteria was introduced as a result of the Mortgage Market Review (MMR), which meant some prospective buyers found it challenging to secure a mortgage, or found they were able to borrow less than they had anticipated,’ he said. He pointed out that some 9% of sales that fell through did so as a result of not being able to secure a mortgage and the two biggest reasons for house sales falling through the last quarter were buyers changing their mind at 27.2% and problems identified at survey or failed renegotiation following a survey also at 27.2%. ‘A lack of properties coming to market has led to prospective buyers having to move very quickly in order to secure a property, and may mean they put an offer in on a less than ideal property through fear that they'll be unable to find anything else. Some inevitably get cold feet about such a large investment, or find that a survey confirms their fears, and pull out before the sale completes,’ explained Luke. The research also found that chain collapse still featured prominently with 22.7% of property sales falling through as a result of chain issues, and it's definitely an issue very much on sellers' minds. ‘We get calls every day from sellers keen to secure a guaranteed sale so they don't risk missing out on their onward purchase due to chain collapse,’ added Luke. Other reasons involved the seller pulling out for a higher offer, affecting 9% of cases and buyer health issues or personal problems accounted for 4.5%. Continue reading
