Tag Archives: construction
Research shows majority of UK parliamentarians support planning fees rise
Some 61% of MPs in the UK broadly agree that planning fees should increase and almost half 47%, say they should increase with stronger guarantees on planning performance. Indeed, MPS from all political parties support fees being changed, according to a new poll commissioned by the British Property Federation (BPF). Some 65% from the Labour party and 61% from the Conservative party support an increase in fees. The BPF says that the results show that Parliamentarians recognise that there is a problem, alongside the property industry and local authorities. The BPF and GL Hearn’s 2015 Annual Planning Survey revealed that 55% of local planning authorities perceived under resourcing to be a significant challenge, and that 65% of applicants are happy to pay more to shorten waiting times. The government has taken some steps to address this problem, proposing to allow local authorities to outsource the processing of planning applications and to reward well performing local authorities by allowing them to increase planning fees by an inflationary increase, but the BPF has warned that these steps will not go far enough. Responding to a government consultation on the technical planning changes set out in the Housing and Planning Bill, the BPF has welcomed the government’s recognition of the fact that local authorities ‘are struggling to provide the service required by applicants’, but cautions that the measures suggested will not be enough to plug the skills gap. ‘The public and private sectors have both been very clear about the need for more resourcing in local authority planning departments, and we now know that there is political understanding of this issue as well,’ said Melanie Leech, BPF chief executive. ‘We are supportive of the small steps that government is taking to address this, but are not holding out hope for any great impact. Some local authority planning departments are simply short staffed, putting those who remain under enormous strain,’ she explained. ‘Outsourcing the processing of planning applications is likely to relieve this burden to an extent, but it is not going to solve the chronic shortage of skills and resource that is the true problem,’ she added. Meanwhile, land broker Aston Mead is advising councils without up to date local housing plans in place to act quickly before the Government steps in to write their plans for them. Local authorities have been given until March 2017 to produce a local plan in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which was introduced in 2012. However, with less than a year to go, recent research suggests that fewer than a third of local planning authorities outside London have an up to date NPPF compliant plan. ‘It’s absolutely incredible that with the deadline looming large on the horizon, so few councils have got their act together. By next year they will have had five years since the introduction of the NPPF and yet the vast majority have still to… Continue reading
Land around railway stations to be used for new housing in the UK
A massive programme of development of railway stations and surrounding land will deliver thousands of new homes, the UK government has announced. Up to 10,000 homes are to be built around rail stations and three local authorities have come forward with ambitious proposals for the first sites which aim to revitalise town centres. A new agreement between Network Rail and the Homes and Communities Agency will see them working with local councils to trail blaze development opportunities across England’s railway stations for housing and businesses. The Government wants to hear from at least 20 local authorities to take the scheme forward as York, Taunton and Swindon councils already have proposals to spearhead the new initiative and have identified railway sites that could be pooled to deliver housing and other locally led regeneration. Drawing on the example set by the transformation of Birmingham New Street, Manchester Victoria and London Kings Cross, the Government said that it will bring together high calibre technical expertise and local knowledge to increase development opportunities that exist throughout the entire rail estate. ‘We’re determined to fire up communities and back local business so they build much needed housing and create thousands of jobs. Rail stations are a hub of communities, connectivity and commerce and should be making the most of their unique potential to attract investment and opportunities,’ said Communities Secretary Greg Clark. ‘With record numbers of people travelling by train, it makes sense to bring people closer to stations and develop sites that have space for thousands of new homes and offices. This new initiative will bring about a step change in development and ensure we go further and faster in putting these rail sites to good use,’ he added. According to Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin it will put stations at the heart of wider community regeneration. ‘I’m pleased to see that exciting visions for regeneration at Swindon, Taunton and York are being developed, with the potential for hundreds of additional homes and new businesses. I look forward to seeing how Network Rail and the Homes and Communities Agency’s excellent work on these projects develop,’ he said. ‘Local areas are best placed to understand and identify the opportunities that exist within their communities. The Homes and Communities Agency and Network Rail will now work with councils on the opportunities they see and any plans already in place to explore how government can support them to deliver locally led regeneration and development schemes quickly,’ he added. Proposals suggest that land at York Central station can support up to 2,500 homes. Housing would be key to creating a sustainable new community and would include Starter Homes and community facilities. Around 100,000 square meters of office and commercial space for private sector firms could also support more than 6,600 jobs in industries such as professional services. Housing and office regeneration around the station could add £1.16 billion to the local economy. Regeneration at Taunton station could provide a significant increase in commercial spaces… Continue reading
Property asking prices in Ireland rebound at start of 2016
The residential property market in Ireland is set to rebound in 2016 as price momentum has already been growing in the first quarter of the year, according to the latest survey report. But Dublin is likely to lag behind the rest of the country according to the latest house price survey from MyHome.ie. The data shows that having declined towards the end of 2015, asking prices for newly listed properties for sale rose by 2.1% nationally and by 0.9% in Dublin in the first quarter of 2016, the first gain in Dublin since the first half of 2015 and follows two quarters where prices declined marginally. The report predicts Irish house price inflation will register another solid gain of close to 5% in 2016, with the rest of the country leading Dublin, due to affordability constraints in the capital. The mix adjusted asking price for new sales nationally is €220,000, an increase of €5,000 compared to the final quarter of 2015 while the corresponding figure for Dublin is €315,000, an increase of €2,600. The author of the report, Conall MacCoille, chief economist at Davy, said a key factor supporting house prices this year will be a tighter housing market and he pointed out that the stock of properties listed for sale on the MyHome website in the first quarter fell to a fresh low of 21,650, down 6% on the year. ‘Despite popular opinion, the immediate impact of the Central Bank lending rules was to make it easier to buy as sellers anticipated the slowdown in Dublin house prices and decided to bring their properties to the market in 2015,’ said MacCoille. ‘This won’t be repeated this year while housing supply in the capital is likely to pick up less sharply through the summer months. This is because the ambitious goals set under the last government’s Construction 2020 strategy are unlikely to be attained with no stable coalition yet formed for the new Dail. Overall, home building levels look set to remain depressed for some time and while this will support Irish house prices, it will hurt activity levels,’ he added. The report’s analysis of the Property Price Register indicates that Dublin and the commuter belt counties last year accounted for 75% of transactions that exceeded €220,000, the threshold below which lenders require a 10% deposit. Of the 48, 374 residential property market transactions recorded in 2015, just 35% or 16,893 exceeded €220,000. Of these Dublin accounted for 60% or 9,987. Put another way 59% of Dublin transactions exceeded the €220,000 threshold, whereas outside of the commuter counties just 17% of transactions, or 4,300, exceeded that mark. ‘The Central Bank mortgage lending rules have prevented households from reacting to the lack of housing supply by taking on ever more highly leveraged loans and bidding up house prices further. However our analysis shows this has been mainly a Dublin/commuter belt phenomenon where the lack of housing supply is most severe and affordability… Continue reading
