Posted 23.01.18
Larkfleet Homes: Article link
Larkfleet Homes has set up a new organisation to help tackle the housing crisis by providing affordable homes to rent.
The Lincolnshire-based builder and developer has established Swift, a 'registered provider' of affordable housing. It will take homes on Larkfleet sites that are allocated for social housing and manage them directly, finding tenants, collecting rents and maintaining the properties.
Karl Hick, CEO of Larkfleet Homes, said:
"On many new housing developments we provide social housing. This is usually provided through a housing association which buys the properties from us and then rents or sells them."
"Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly difficult for housing associations to obtain the funds they need to buy new homes. We have therefore set up Swift which has access to private sector funding to take on this role directly."
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Posted 19.01.18
Local Government Association (LGA): Article link
New analysis by the LGA reveals nearly one in 10 new homes over the last two years was converted from an office and included no affordable housing or supporting investment in infrastructure such as roads, schools and health services.
The LGA, which represents 370 councils in England and Wales, says permitted development rights rules allowing offices to be converted into housing without planning permission are "detrimental" to local communities and should be scrapped.
It warns they have led to the potential loss of more than 7,500 desperately-needed affordable homes.
Since 2015, a total of 30,575 housing units in England have been converted from offices to flats without having to go through the planning system.
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Posted 11.01.18
Housing LIN: Article link
This briefing by the New Economics Foundation looks specifically at the NHS sites which have been sold so far under the Government's public land sale programme.
These include hospitals, community health centres, and other health service infrastructure, which have been identified as surplus by the NHS.
It compares the homes planned on these sites to the average wages of NHS key workers.
The analysis reveals that the sale of NHS land is fundamentally failing to produce the affordable homes needed, and is in fact exacerbating the deep affordability crisis across the UK.
The above link also gives access to download the report.
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Posted 02.01.18
Hyde: Article link
Hyde has announced that it has signed a £120 million deal with Brighton & Hove City Council that will pave the way for 1,000 genuinely affordable homes for local residents.
Half the homes will be based on rents linked to the National Living Wage with the other half being for shared ownership.
The partnership is aimed directly at local people who cannot afford market rents or to buy on the open market. The rented homes will be available to local working people including young people and families on what is known as living rent - a rent that reflects local wages, rather than market rent.
The shared-ownership homes, available at part-rent-part-buy, are aimed at local buyers who cannot afford the deposit and costs to buy a home outright.
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Updated 30.01.18
