Latest news with #housingtargets
Telegraph
12 hours ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Khan under pressure after slump in London's new homes
Sir Sadiq Khan is facing calls to water down his affordable housing targets amid a slump in the number of new homes in London. Figures from the National House Building Council (NHBC) showed that just 904 new homes were registered in London in the second quarter, down by 59pc from the same period last year. That marks the weakest second-quarter performance for at least 15 years. Registrations stood at just under 7,000 in the same period a decade ago. The NHBC blamed mounting costs required to fix fire safety defects on high-rise buildings after new laws came into effect to prevent a Grenfell-style cladding disaster. It also cited a depressed level of activity from housing associations. However, developers are understood to be concerned that the Mayor of London's strict affordable homes quotas are fuelling the problem and are lobbying Sir Sadiq to water down the targets. The Mayor has set private housebuilders a target of ensuring 35pc of homes within each development are affordable, which in itself was a climbdown from an initial manifesto pledge of 50pc. Housebuilders say the 35pc target is too high and makes it difficult to turn a profit. Housebuilders argue that overly ambitious and inflexible targets have stymied building, with many developments not getting off the ground at all. Bosses are understood to be pushing for the affordability quota to be lowered to 25pc, according to sources close to the situation. One source said: 'If the Mayor continues to insist on 35pc, he'll get 35pc of nothing, so surely it's better to get a lower percentage of something.' Developers are also frustrated with a rule that means the Mayor can take the majority of profits made at developments where less than 35pc of homes are affordable. Affordable home starts last year were at their second-lowest level since 2008. Construction began on 3,991 affordable homes in the year ending March 2025, showing improvement from the previous year's record low of 2,358, but still well below average. In 2023, Sir Sadiq promised a 'golden era of council housebuilding' after being handed £4bn by the previous Conservative government for his affordable homes programme. This was topped up with £100m from Rachel Reeves in last year's Budget and another £60m earlier this year. But the Mayor has come under fire for the sluggish progress, with Kevin Hollinrake, the shadow housing secretary, branding the pace of construction 'catastrophic'. Official figures show work began on just work began on just 1,100 new homes in London during the first three months of the year. Sir Sadiq has an overarching target to build 88,000 homes a year in the capital.
BBC News
24-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Cotswold council criticises government housing targets
Cotswold council leaders say speculative developers are "honing in on greenfield sites" following the Government's new "moronic" housing government's changes to the way housing targets for each area are calculated mean Cotswold District Council's housing needs have more than Cotswolds are in desperate need of affordable housing to help retain the district's around 80% of the land is protected for its natural beauty and distinctive character. According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Cotswold District Council is among many authorities told they will have to allocate more land to accommodate thousands of new homes each leader Mike Evemy told a meeting on 16 July he would write to Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner setting out the Cotswold District's unique Evemy said: "In December 2024, new government housing targets were imposed on this district."A district where 80% of the land, 790 square miles, is designated national landscape. Now we have a housing target of 1,036 new homes per year up from 420." Former council leader Joe Harris described the target as "moronic" and blasted the Government for putting the Cotswold District in an "impossible position". He said he could not believe the Labour government's housing targets when they were released in December. Cllr Harris added: "They've doubled our target, so that means a thousand homes a year, predominantly going in areas that are in the 20% not in the area of outstanding natural beauty."It is madness and it has definitely been done on a spreadsheet by civil servants somewhere, I hope. Because no politician could put their name to this, quite frankly."
Telegraph
06-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Rayner's housing quango bosses spend thousands on hospitality and travel
Angela Rayner's housing quango has spent nearly a quarter of a million pounds on expenses for directors. Officials at Homes England have spent £240,000 on travel, hospitality, food, accommodation and office supplies since 2021. The revelation comes after Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, allocated £39 billion for affordable and social housing over the next 10 years in the spending review. Homes England, set up in 2018 to fund more affordable housing across England, will distribute 70 per cent of this money. The quango defended the spending as necessary for executives who travel for work and said there was a strict approvals process for expenses. Joanna Marchong, investigations campaign manager of the TaxPayers' Alliance, which obtained the data through Freedom of Information (FoI) requests, said: 'Taxpayers will be dismayed that Homes England bureaucrats are racking up more expenses. 'This is a clear example of a runaway quango. Rather than supporting the Government's new house-building targets, they are piling extra costs onto construction companies making new homes. 'If Labour want any chance of hitting their housing targets, ministers must get a grip on Homes England and focus on getting spades in the ground.'
Irish Times
20-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Delays to housing plan could push it back to September
The Government is discussing a delay to publishing its new housing plan until after the summer. The plan, which is to replace the last coalition's Housing for All approach, was due to be published during July, but it looks as though it could slip into September before it is made publicly available. Senior Government figures said the new plan could not be completed until the publication of a review of how the State is going to fund its multi-year infrastructure delivery programme, which is now expected in late July. That review – of the National Development Plan (NDP) – is expected to add many billions in allocations for roads, public transport, the electricity grid and water infrastructure, among other things. But it needs to be completed before Minister for Housing James Browne publishes the coalition's roadmap for how it will hit its housing targets. READ MORE The potential to push back publication of the housing plan until September is said to have been discussed at a meeting of the Cabinet housing subcommittee. [ No 'special exemptions' for students under latest Rent Pressure Zone system, James Browne says Opens in new window ] While some Government sources believe there is concern about pushing back its publication, others say a delay would have support around the Cabinet table. A final decision on what to do regarding the publication date will have to be made in the coming weeks. It is unlikely that the plan can be unveiled in August, when much of the political system shuts down for the summer break, many civil servants are on leave, and the Dáil is not sitting. A spokeswoman for Mr Browne would not be drawn on a specific date for publication of the report, beyond saying it would be as soon as possible after the publication of the NDP review, which in turn will cover all public capital investment to 2035 and allocate funds from the Apple tax case and AIB share sales, among other sources of capital. Mr Browne's spokeswoman said work on the plan is 'at an advanced stage'. [ The Government is finally showing some political courage in tackling the housing crisis Opens in new window ] 'The next housing plan is due to be published after the publication of the National Development Plan as a matter of priority,' she said. 'This sequencing is necessary, as the housing plan must have certainty around the investment plans and capital programmes for the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage before the next plan can be finalised and published.' She said Mr Browne was not waiting for publication of the new plan before pushing forward with measures, including on Rent Pressure Zones reform, planning extensions and exemptions. The previous government also encountered delays when it was seeking to bring forward Housing for All under the former minister for housing, Darragh O'Brien. That document was due to be launched in July 2021, but was ultimately pushed back to September of that year, which drew criticism from the opposition.
Irish Times
22-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Hitting target of 41,000 homes to be built this year will be ‘challenging', Minister for Housing admits
James Browne has conceded it will be 'challenging' to reach the housing output targets of 41,000 this year. Speaking in Dublin on Thursday, the Minister for Housing confirmed he intended to bring a plan to reform rent caps to Coalition leaders next Monday in advance of a likely Cabinet decision on the issue next week. Asked about housing completions, which are low in the first three months of the year, he said the target for this year of 41,000 'was always going to be very challenging there is no question about that'. 'What we have is a situation where we have to accelerate supply. Whether it's 41,000 or the target of 60,000 that we have to get to [over the lifetime of the Housing for All plan], we have to do some radical steps to make sure we get this very significant acceleration of housing supply.' READ MORE He said there had to be greater investment from the private sector and international finance to get to the required level. Mr Browne, who was speaking at the sod-turning ceremony for a social housing project in Cabra, said he had a report from the housing agency on the future of the Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs). 'What I want to do is ensure fairness in any decision that is made,' he said. The Opposition has accused the Government of wanting to strip away protections offered to tenants by the rules, which limit rent increases in areas of rapid inflation to 2 per cent annually. The rules are due to expire at the end of the year. Mr Browne has received a report which outlined how the rules could be extended in duration, scrapped entirely or varied – perhaps with a higher level of annual increase allowed to landlords. 'Renters are feeling somewhat frustrated and I want to allay those frustrations as quickly as possible,' he said. The target under the Government's housing for all plan for 2025 is 41,000. He also said he was 'very disappointed' to see that a row of houses owned by the Construction Industry Federation (CIF), which represents builders, had collapsed in Ranelagh, Dublin, last week. He said it was 'completely unacceptable' to see dereliction and he said there was a need for greater leadership from the CIF.
