Ealing Council apologises to family after ombudsman report
Councils among top five offenders for data breaches
Next round of School Rebuilding Programme announced
Single-sex toilets will be mandatory in all new public buildings
Net zero: A whole life view
Chris Clarke examines how the public sector needs to change its way of thinking if it is to achieve net zero.
Kent County Council closes four schools following concerns over concrete
20/06/2023 Kent County Council has temporarily closed four schools in following safety concerns over concrete used in their construction. |
MPs call for deadline for asbestos removal
21/04/2022 Asbestos should be removed from all public and commercial buildings within 40 years, MPs have argued today. |
Astronaut Tim Peake launches £100m space research hub
15/03/2022 British astronaut Tim Peake has officially opened a new £100m space research hub in Leicester. |
Cap parking provision at one space per property, charity says
14/03/2022 A charity has called for car parking provision at new housing developments to be capped at a maximum of one space per property. |
Review launched to assess shortfall in housing-with-care options
08/03/2022 A review to assess the level of unmet need for housing-with-care for older people in the UK has been launched. |
Calls for a national tall buildings policy
24/01/2022 A charity has called for a new tall buildings policy to stop high-rises undermining the form and character of cities. |
Middlesbrough Council purchases £12m shopping centre
12/01/2022 Middlesbrough Council has acquired a multi-million-pound shopping centre as part of a drive to secure the town centre's long-term future. |
Thousands of new air filters to be installed in schools
04/01/2022 An extra 7,000 air purifiers will be installed across schools to protect face-to-face education and minimise disruption. |
New building renovation framework to support local authorities
14/12/2021 A new framework to help local authorities meet net zero targets through building renovation has been published. |
Newcastle to be new home of 9,000 HMRC staff
24/11/2021 Newcastle city centre is to be the new home for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in the North East, the city council has confirmed. |
County commits £12.8m to decarbonise its buildings
11/11/2021 Suffolk County Council will invest £12.8m to reduce the carbon produced by hundreds of its buildings. |
Council breaches Home Standard after missing safety inspections
28/10/2021 Norwich City Council failed to carry out inspections relating to fire, electrical, asbestos and water safety, causing the potential for 'serious detriment to tenants'. |
Budget 2021: £24bn multi-year housing settlement
27/10/2021 The chancellor has today announced £11.5bn to build up to 180,000 new affordable homes, calling it the largest cash injection in more than a decade. |
London boroughs agree retrofitting housing plan
15/10/2021 A new plan to upgrade all housing stock in the capital has been agreed by all the London boroughs. |
Plans for new children's hospital submitted to Cambridge City Council
12/10/2021 Plans for the first dedicated children’s hospital in the East of England have been submitted to Cambridge City Council. |
Nearly 2,000 swimming pools at risk of closure by end of decade, report warns
22/09/2021 Almost 2,000 public swimming pools could be lost by the end of the decade unless ageing facilities are replaced or refurbished, a report has warned today. |
Green homes 'revolution' would give £9.8bn boost to UK economy, report argues
21/09/2021 A new strategy to decarbonise the UK's housing stock could create up to 138,600 new jobs and boost the economy by £9.8bn by 2030, according to a new report. |
Councils call for £1bn investment for ageing sport facilities
16/09/2021 Council leaders are calling for the spending review to include £1bn to modernise sport facilities, after warning nearly two-thirds of the leisure estate is past its replacement date. |
Welsh Government doubles spending for low carbon social homes
05/08/2021 The Welsh Government has doubled its spending on social housing for rent in order to deliver 20,000 new low carbon homes. |
Second round of schools rebuilding programme announced
19/07/2021 A further 50 schools have been confirmed for the second round of the Prime Minister’s rebuilding programme. |
Scottish councils to receive £3.2bn housing grant
19/07/2021 Councils in Scotland will receive a 20% uplift in grant funding for affordable homes over the next five years. |
Right to Buy-back fund launched
13/07/2021 London boroughs are to receive funding to purchase former council homes on the private market. |
Bill aimed at improving safety standards for high-rise buildings published
05/07/2021 A new Bill aimed at strengthening safety standards for the construction of high-rise buildings will be published today four years after the Grenfell Tower fire. |
Welsh council to end property joint venture
30/06/2021 Powys County Council has decided to end its joint venture with Kier and bring housing and building maintenance services back in-house. |
More than a thousand school buildings to share £483m investment
23/06/2021 Schools in the North East and North West will receive the biggest share of funding to improve school buildings. |
Boroughs call for ‘fit for purpose’ fire safety regime
15/06/2021 London boroughs marked the fourth anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire yesterday by calling on the Government to put in place a fire safety regime that is ‘fit for purpose’. |
Councils to set priorities for First Homes scheme
04/06/2021 Councils will be able to set a ‘local connection test’ to give priority to people such as key workers. |
Wolverhampton's i9 selected to house MHCLG's Midlands base
28/05/2021 Two floors of Wolverhampton’s new i9 office building will be home to the first ministerial department outside of London, it has been announced. |
Shared ownership reforms could lead to loss of affordable homes, providers warn
19/05/2021 Proposed reforms of the shared ownership regime may result in a loss of affordable homes due to the increased administration and costs for social housing providers and local authorities. |
Government consults on new £2bn developer tax
30/04/2021 The Government has launched a consultation into a new residential developer tax to help towards the cost of removing unsafe cladding. |
Pilot phase launched for government-backed 'value toolkit'
29/04/2021 The Construction Innovation Hub has launched the pilot phase for its 'Value Toolkit', designed to drive better social, environmental, and economic outcomes in the built environment. |
Schools to share £1.8bn for building repairs
27/04/2021 Funding to repair and maintain schools in England has increased by 20% this year to almost £1.8bn. |
Housing Ombudsman launches damp and mould investigation
14/04/2021 The Housing Ombudsman has launched an investigation after a review of data revealed a high rate of maladministration on cases involving damp and mould. |
Majority of new homes classed as energy efficient, figures reveal
07/04/2021 The majority of new homes in England are in the most energy efficient bands, according to the latest official figures. |
Councils to receive £30m to boost provision of Changing Places toilets
04/03/2021 Councils in England will be able to bid for a share of £30m to install Changing Places toilets in existing buildings under new Government funding. |
Council plans England’s first sewage-powered heating scheme
26/02/2021 Plans to heat more than 2,000 homes using energy recovered from the sewage treatment process have been unveiled by Kingston Council. |
Homes England acquires Harrogate sites to build over 800 houses
23/02/2021 Homes England has acquired two development sites in Harrogate in a move that the national housing agency hopes will unlock land for over 800 new family homes. |
Social housing sector calls for guidance to meet sustainability targets
16/02/2021 Nine in 10 social housing construction professionals believe the sector is in urgent need of new Government guidelines if it is going to meet sustainability targets, a new survey has revealed. |
UK set for first hydrogen homes
16/02/2021 The UK’s first homes with appliances fuelled entirely by hydrogen will be built in Gateshead this April. |
Over £5bn raised through sale of surplus public land
08/02/2021 The Government has exceeded its target of raising £5bn by 2020 through the sale of surplus public sector land by almost £200m. |
First 50 schools chosen for £1bn rebuilding programme
05/02/2021 The first 50 schools to receive £1bn funding under the Government's School Rebuilding Programme have been announced. |
Government launches £30m fire alarm fund
01/02/2021 Residents living in high-rise buildings with unsafe cladding can now get financial support from the Government to help them buy fire alarms. |
All social high-rise buildings take action on dangerous cladding
22/01/2021 All social housing towers have had unsafe cladding removed - or have work underway - government figures have revealed. |
New homes will need to reduce emissions by at least 75% by 2025
20/01/2021 All new buildings will have to meet tough new energy efficiency standards under plans published by the Government. |
MPs savage abandoned £192m housing scheme
08/12/2020 A £192m affordable housing programme that failed to deliver any homes has been labelled ‘deplorable’ by the Public Accounts Committee. |
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Hundreds of local authority owned pools will stay closed
02/12/2020 Around 200 council-owned pools will remain closed following the second lockdown, new research has revealed. |
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Charity calls for new standards for accessible housing
18/11/2020 A charity for elderly people is calling for national building standards to be raised to be ‘accessible and adaptable’ as a minimum baseline as a new survey reveals there is a shortage of accessible housing. |
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Derbyshire councils commit to fitting sprinklers in schools
11/11/2020 Derby City Council and Derbyshire County Council have both signed a Statement of Intent committing to fit sprinklers and the right fire safety measures in new and refurbished schools. |
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Thousands of social homes to be decarbonised in Wales
06/11/2020 The Welsh Government has committed £10m to upgrade the energy efficiency of at least 1,000 existing social homes. |
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Two-thirds of school rated ‘poor’ for fire protection measures
05/11/2020 Two-thirds of schools have ‘poor’ fire protection with 40 schools a month hit by fire last year, a new study has revealed. |
Shell is helping power the journey towards a circular paving industry with Shell Bitumen LT R, a new product for roads that uses plastics destined for landfill as part of the additives to make the bitumen.
Effective Energy Group is now offering its support to the 40 Local Authorities who have received a share of the £430m to deliver their projects on the ground by surveying properties and installing measures.
Dougie Belmore explains how one of the main interfaces between you and Bacs is about to change.
