Majority of new homes classed as energy efficient, figures reveal
Councils to receive £30m to boost provision of Changing Places toilets
Council plans England’s first sewage-powered heating scheme
Homes England acquires Harrogate sites to build over 800 houses
How the proposed Government leasehold reforms will impact councils and leaseholders
Nicholas Mordin explains what the proposed reforms to the leasehold property market will have on local government.
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. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
Mayor confirms relocation of City Hall
03/11/2020 The Greater London Authority will relocate to Royal Docks next year saving £61m over five years, the mayor has confirmed. |
London boroughs call for £115m to retrofit energy inefficient buildings
03/11/2020 Local authorities in London are calling on the Government to ‘secure London’s environmental and economic future’ by increasing funding for councils to retrofit energy inefficient buildings. |
Housing-with-care is 'critically low', report warns
22/10/2020 The UK has an ‘acute’ lack of housing-with-care for older people, a report has warned. |
Oldham Council buys shopping centre to 'kickstart' town centre recovery
20/10/2020 Oldham Council has bought the Spindles Town Square Shopping Centre to provide a catalyst for town centre recovery. |
Calls to invest £900m in ‘transitional supported housing’
15/10/2020 The Government has been urged to invest £900m to ensure the UK’s most ‘invisible’ vulnerable people have access to supported housing by a think tank. |
Housebuilders call to raise threshold for affordable homes
15/10/2020 Raising the affordable homes threshold would help boost smaller developments, the National Federation of Builders (NFB) has argued. |
Sector calls for new task force on housing with care
15/10/2020 The retirement community sector has united to urge the Government to set up a task force on housing with care in order to ‘level up’ for older people. |
Hancock announces £400m to remove dormitories from mental health facilities
12/10/2020 More than £400m will be committed over the next four years to remove dormitory accommodation from mental health facilities, the Government says. |
Government unveils £1bn funding to improve energy efficiency of public buildings
01/10/2020 Local authorities are being urged to apply for a share of £1bn to improve the energy efficiency of publicly owned buildings. |
Community ownership is key to revival of high street, says report
01/10/2020 Councils have been urged to help local communities take ownership of empty buildings in order to secure the future of Britain’s high streets. |
Corporate property generates £5m for Ashford BC
25/09/2020 Corporate property generated £5m for Ashford Borough Council in the past year, an annual review has revealed. |
Northampton BC buys M&S building for £1.45m
23/09/2020 Northampton Borough Council has bought a former Marks and Spencer building for £1.45m as part of an effort to transform the town centre. |
Study promotes ‘systemic change’ within the private rented sector
22/09/2020 A new study outlining measures that can be adopted to make the private rented sector (PRS) more secure for people from a diverse range of backgrounds has been launched. |
Funding boost to unlock surplus land for housing
10/09/2020 The Government has announced a £30m fund to help release surplus public sector land for new housing. |
Government commits extra investment to house prison leavers
08/09/2020 The Government has pledged that an extra 1,700 prison leavers will receive closer supervision under plans to extend the number of places in approved premises. |
Schools at double the risk of fire than other buildings, data shows
04/09/2020 School buildings are twice as likely to be in a blaze compared to other non-residential buildings, new research has found. |
Mayor of Liverpool quashes zip wire plan
03/09/2020 The mayor of Liverpool has intervened to stop a plan to build a zip wire that would have ended at Liverpool Central Library. |
Fast-tracked funding to improve school buildings
05/08/2020 The Government has fast-tracked £580m of funding to improve school buildings across England. |
Unsafe mental health wards are a 'disaster waiting to happen'
23/07/2020 Old and overcrowded mental health wards are putting patients at risk, new research has warned today. |
Changing Places toilets to be installed in every new public building
20/07/2020 Toilets for severely disabled people will be mandatory in all new public buildings from next year, the Government has confirmed. |
Selling off government car parks could deliver 110,000 new homes, study finds
15/07/2020 Public sector owned car parks have the potential to deliver more than 110,000 new homes while maintaining parking services, a new study has revealed. |
Planning changes to protect theatres and music venues
13/07/2020 New planning rules to protect theatres, concert halls and live music performance venues from being demolished or redeveloped will come into effect next week. |
Sunak outlines £3bn green investment package
08/07/2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced £1bn will be made available to improve the energy efficiency of public buildings, including schools and hospitals. |
Jenrick extends affordable homes scheme
06/07/2020 Councils will have a year longer to build affordable homes after construction stalled during the pandemic. |
Landlords urged to factor pandemics into future business plans
29/06/2020 Landlords must factor in the threat of future pandemics into long-term business planning, according to research carried out amongst social housing leaders. |
Sadiq Khan proposes City Hall move to save £55m
25/06/2020 The Greater London Authority (GLA) could soon be moved to a new headquarters in East London, under proposals put forward by mayor of London Sadiq Khan. |
Whitehall extends planning permission deadlines
22/06/2020 The Government has extended planning permission deadlines to ensure hundreds of construction projects do not run out of time during the pandemic. |
Three quarters of fire doors inspected ‘not fit for purpose’
18/06/2020 More than three quarters (76%) of the fire doors inspected in 2019 were condemned as not fit for purpose, new data reveals. |
Local leaders join forces on home retrofit project
10/06/2020 A new project to help local and combined authorities upgrade the energy efficiency of their existing housing stock has been launched by the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC). |
Council planning powers under threat
08/06/2020 Planning powers could be shifted from local authorities to development corporations as part of an economic stimulus package to be announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson later this month. |
Council gets go-ahead for local plan judicial review
05/06/2020 Sevenoaks District Council has been given permission to bring a judicial review against the government's planning inspector’s after it refused to endorse its local plan. |
Downsizing crucial to tackling ‘skewed’ housing market, says report
03/06/2020 Better housing options for older people in the UK could reduce the national housing target by 50,000 a year, a new report has found. |
Homes England to invest £61m for 6,500 new homes in Cambridgeshire
29/05/2020 Homes England has agreed to invest £61m with developer Urban&Civic to deliver 6,500 new homes at Waterbeach in Cambridgeshire. |
Launch of £1bn building safety fund
27/05/2020 The Government has outlined the details of its £1bn building safety fund. |
Homes for Heroes calls for 100,000 affordable key worker homes
12/05/2020 The UK’s 15 largest housing associations have joined forces to call for 100,000 affordable new homes for key workers over the next five years. |
More councils sign pledge to continue with building safety work
07/05/2020 The leaders of 25 councils have signed a pledge to continue with vital building safety improvements during the pandemic. |
CIPFA: 17 years to work through council housing waiting list
04/05/2020 It could take up to 17 years to re-house individuals and families on the waiting list for council housing, data analysis by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) has revealed. |
Councils call for more time to spend Right to Buy cash
28/04/2020 Council leaders have called for more time to spend money from Right to Buy sales, as most housebuilding has been halted in the wake of coronavirus. |
This issue of Public Property examines how how flexible workspaces can lead the way in regeneration for local authorities, Why local authority intervention is key to successful urban regeneration schemes and if the Government’s challenge of embracing beauty is an opportunity for communities.
The March issue also takes a closer look at Blackburn with Darwen Council's first digital health hub to help people gain control over health and care services.
