Posted 22.03.18
GOV UK: Article link
Housing Secretary, Sajid Javid, has announced a government investment package of almost £300 million to help deliver thousands of new homes.
Greater Manchester is set to receive £68 million funding to support the Mayor's target of delivering 227,200 homes by 2035.
Government support for the West of England will help to nearly double the number of new homes being delivered historically, increasing from around 4,000 homes to 7,500 homes a year.
A housing deal with Oxfordshire worth £215 million will help deliver a further 100,000 new homes. Over a quarter of the new funding, £60 million, will provide for 1,300 affordable homes.
The package for Oxfordshire follows a similar arrangement agreed with the West Midlands last week to support the Mayor's plan to deliver 215,000 homes across the region.
The government has also announced that Housing Infrastructure Fund bids, from a further 44 areas for projects to help unlock more homes across country, have been shortlisted to the next stage of the competitive process.
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Posted 02.03.18
Empty Homes: Article link
The latest Government data analysed by Empty Homes shows that English local authorities recorded over 205,000 homes long-term (more than six months) empty in their latest council taxbase reports to Government - over 5,000 more than a year earlier.
This 2.6% rise is the first increase since 2008, though the proportion of England's homes long-term empty is broadly stable at around 0.85%.
The Charity is calling on Government to put tackling empty homes higher on its agenda to reverse the increase and ensure better use is made of long-term empty homes to meet housing needs.
Empty Homes' research shows that 70% of the areas with the highest proportion of homes long-term empty are in the North of England.
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Posted 02.03.18
Catalyst Housing: Article link
Catalyst and Galliard Homes have entered into a 50:50 joint venture agreement to develop 604 new homes and circa 18,000 sq ft of commercial space as part of the redevelopment of the former Wimbledon dog track.
The development, which secured planning approval in December 2017, includes both private residential and shared ownership apartments, as well as a new 11,000-seat stadium for AFC Wimbledon on Plough Lane.
The JV also intends to provide 177 affordable homes, which is over 30% of the entire development - surpassing the original 10% statutory amount set by Merton Council.
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Updated 12.03.18
