Tag Archives: homes
Planning permission in London too low to meet new housing targets
The current rate of planning permissions in London mean that just two thirds of the target number of homes that government officials say are needed will actually be built, according to new research. London’s planning system is allowing new homes at an annualised rate of just 27,470 as of the end of 2014, or just 69% of the target for 40,000 finished new homes each year announced by Chancellor George Osborne and London Mayor Boris Johnson in February and underlined in March’s Budget. An analysis of planning applications across the city by London estate agents Stirling Ackroyd shows just 6,780 homes were given planning permission in the last quarter spread over 826 different sites. These approvals represent 80% of all potential homes receiving a planning decision in the fourth quarter 2014. This is out of plans for 8,632 possible homes in the quarter. By contrast, if 100% had been approved, this could have allowed an annualised rate of up to 34,530 new homes, or 86% of the official target rate. In reality the number of homes reaching completion stage currently stands at an annualised rate of just 18,440 after the final quarter of 2014 saw just 4,610 properties finished in the space of three months. Despite this low base, London has seen an acceleration in finished homes. Last quarter’s figure represents a 30% increase from the third quarter of 2014. This is almost twice the acceleration in home completions seen outside the capital as across the rest of England there was a 17% uptick. However, new home starts were far lower last quarter, at just 3,040 or an annualised rate of just 12,160 homes per year. If this pace of housing starts continues and is reflected in the annual rate of completed homes it would mean failing to reach even a third of the government’s annual target. Out of all London’s boroughs, Tower Hamlets gave permission for the greatest number of new homes in the final quarter of 2014 at 1,197 dwellings spread over 25 different sites. This means more than one in six homes receiving planning permission in the capital was in Tower Hamlets, or 17% of the quarterly total. Second to Tower Hamlets in absolute terms was Croydon, where 682 homes came through the planning system, followed by Richmond with 591 dwellings approved in the quarter. At the other end of the scale Lewisham allowed just 11 new homes in the final quarter of 2014 out of a potential 18, while Kensington and Chelsea approved 13 out of 16 possible new homes and Lambeth only 17 homes out of a total of 40. Comparing the number of homes given permission to the total number of potential dwellings applied for via planning applications, boroughs vary by the leniency or rigour with which they have interpreted their guidelines. Greenwich and Hammersmith and… Continue reading
Call for next UK government to reform planning to help boost housing supply
{mosimageA leading campaigning group has warned that consistent deregulation and demoralisation of the UK planning system is putting the very fabric of towns, cites and the countryside at risk. In a pre-election manifesto the Town & Country Planning Association (TCPA) argues that there is a real danger that the planning system, a vital national asset, essential to the maintenance and well-being of the country, will soon be lost. In particular it is concerned that as housing supply continues to fail to keep up with demand good planning is needed more than ever. The manifesto calls for action in the first 100 days of a new government to restore the importance of planning as a key tool in delivering much needed new homes and communities. This includes taking steps such as creating a new legally defined purpose for planning based on sustainable development, the updating and effective deployment of New Towns legislation, and changing the National Planning Policy Framework to place social justice, equality and climate change at the heart of planning decisions. The manifesto additionally calls for better planning for cities and stronger measures to ensure that councils work together to meet housing need. ‘A new government must act to restore the prominence of planning as an essential element to create the new homes, communities and infrastructure that the nation so desperately needs. For the sake of our children and grandchildren, planning must be seen as a positive proactive force for good and must be placed at the centre of political debate,’ said Kate Henderson, chief executive of the TCPA. ‘At its best, planning has proved to be a powerful tool to bring forward sustainable growth, and to deliver multiple benefits to our society including certainty and confidence for businesses, democratic rights for communities and protection for our environment, heritage and biodiversity,’ she explained. ‘As we continue to battle with the nation's housing crisis, good planning is needed as never before to plan for and create the homes and communities we desperately need. However, the planning system as we knew it is being continually undermined and devalued though significant reforms and deregulation,’ she added. ‘Planning has lost all sense of the progressive social values that once lay at its core, and unless we are careful, is at risk of being destroyed altogether. The TCPA's position is simple: good planning makes better places,’ she concluded. Continue reading
Younger home owners looking towards equity release in UK
A surge in equity release activity in the UK in the second half of 2014 saw younger borrowers turning to lifetime mortgages in the wake of the Mortgage Market Review (MMR) and the 2014 Budget pension announcement. The Spring 2015 edition of the Equity Release Market Report from the Equity Release Council shows that as the market has grown, the proportion of new equity release customers aged 55 to 64 dropped from 24% in 2011 to 21% in 2013, pushing up the average customer's age towards 71. This trend continued in the second half of 2014 when just 17% of new customers fell into the 55 to 64 age bracket. However, following the March 2014 Budget and MMR implementation on 26 April, this age group made up 20% of new equity release customers during the second half of the year. Compared with the first half of 2014, the number of new equity release customers aged 55 to 64 was 32% higher in the second half of the year, which was also the busiest half year since 2008 for total new plans agreed. The average age of customers choosing drawdown products was unchanged at 71.6 from the first half of the year to the second half but the average age of those choosing lump sums fell from 68.8 in the first six months of 2014 to 67.6 in the second. The data suggests that changes in the residential mortgage and pensions markets are having an impact on the profile of equity release customers. Reports have surfaced that people are finding it increasingly difficult to access residential mortgage finance later in life under the MMR rules, particularly if the desired term may stretch beyond their normal retirement age. At the same time, many borrowers with interest mortgages are approaching their final repayment date. For those who have no or limited resources for a repayment vehicle, using equity release to pay off their existing mortgage is a common solution. Some younger borrowers may also have used equity release in the second half of last year to meet an immediate need for extra funds, rather than accessing their pension savings ahead of 6th April 2015 when the new pension flexibilities will take effect. ‘Equity release is helping people respond to a host of financial challenges at various points in later life, or simply enhance their standard of living so they can enjoy a more comfortable retirement. Part of the appeal lies in the option to cover off large one off expenses,’ said Nigel Waterson, chairman of the Equity Release Council. ‘Paying off the last of an existing mortgage is often one of the biggest financial deadlines people have to face beyond the age of 55. The flexibility of equity release enables them to wipe the slate clean while also using their housing wealth to meet a range of other needs,’ he explained. ‘The money they have put into property often proves a good investment over time. Releasing equity… Continue reading
