Tag Archives: facebook
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
Record number of homes with planning permission not yet built in England
A record 475,647 homes in England which have been given permission to be built have yet to be built, a new study has found, but says that the planning system is not to blame. Figures released by the Local Government Association from research carried out by industry experts Glenigan, shows this bumper backlog has grown at a rapid pace over the past few years. In 2012/2013 the total of unimplemented planning permissions was 381,390 and in 2013/2014 it was 443,265. The LGA said that the figures underline the need for councils to be able to invest in building more homes and also for the skills shortage affecting the construction industry to be addressed. Council leaders also want powers to charge developers full council tax for every unbuilt development from the point that the original planning permission expires. The LGA, which represents more than 370 councils in England and Wales, also revealed that developers are taking longer to complete work on site. It now takes 32 months, on average, from sites receiving planning permission to building work being completed, some12 months longer than in 2007/2008. The number of planning applications being granted planning permission in 2014/2015 was 212,468, up from 187,605 in 2007/2008 and is higher than all previous years and the data shows that councils still approve nine in every 10 applications. The research also points out that while the construction industry's forecasted annual recruitment need is up 54% from 2013, there are 10,000 fewer construction qualifications being awarded by colleges, apprenticeships and universities. Indeed, there were 58% fewer completed construction apprenticeships last year than in 2009. ‘These figures conclusively prove that the planning system is not a barrier to house building. In fact the opposite is true, councils are approving almost half a million more houses than are being built, and this gap is increasing,’ said Peter Box, LGA housing spokesman. ‘While private developers have a key role in solving our chronic housing shortage, they cannot build the 230,000 needed each year on their own. To tackle the new homes backlog and to get Britain building again, councils must have the power to invest in building new homes and to force developers to build homes more quickly,’ he explained. ‘Skills is the greatest barrier to building, not planning. If we are to see the homes desperately needed across the country built and jobs and apprenticeships created, councils must be given a leading role to tackle our growing construction skills shortage, which the industry says is one of the greatest barriers to building,’ he pointed out. ‘Devolving careers advice, post age 16 and adult skills budgets and powers to local areas would allow councils, schools, colleges and employers to work together to help unemployed residents and young people develop the vital skills to build. New homes are badly needed and councils want to get… 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
