Sunderland landmarks lit blue as ‘mark of gratitude’ to health workers
Tenants protected from eviction during coronavirus outbreak
Jenrick 'deeply disappointed' in housing delivery under Khan
Budget 2020: £1.5bn boost to improve FE college estate
Smarter buildings create smarter revenue
Richard Morris outlines how smart buildings are adding value for councils and their tenants.
Council chiefs call for freedom to cut carbon emissions from housebuilding
06/03/2020 Council leaders and mayors from across the political spectrum are calling on the Government to abandon proposed restrictions on their ability to cut carbon emissions from housebuilding. |
Council chiefs worry £5bn Right to Buy discounts ‘threaten’ scheme
04/03/2020 Local authority leaders have warned that billions of pounds of centrally determined national discounts are threatening the future of Right to Buy (RtB). |
Study reveals eight-year ‘time lag’ in delivery of large housing sites
26/02/2020 Large housing sites of 2,000-or-more take on average eight years to deliver their first home from submitting the initial planning application, study reveals. |
Environment Agency chief executive calls for more flood resilience
25/02/2020 A new ‘twin track’ approach focused on better flood protection and resilience is needed to deal with the climate emergency, the chief executive of the Environment Agency says. |
Club used in the film The Full Monty ‘temporarily’ saved
20/02/2020 The planned demolition of the working men’s club used in the film The Full Monty has been temporarily postponed. |
New pilot to turn existing social homes into net-zero properties
20/02/2020 A pilot to turn existing council homes into net-zero energy properties is being trialled by Exeter City Council. |
Legal & General commits £100m pension money for affordable housing
19/02/2020 Insurance giant Legal & General has provided £100m of long term debt financing to its affordable housing business. |
Selling public land has created ‘minuscule’ amount of affordable housing, think tank says
18/02/2020 The Government has sold enough public land for developers to build 131,000 homes, but only 2.6% of those homes will be for social rent, think tank reveals. |
Calls to close down Harlow’s office blocks ‘ghettos’
14/02/2020 Converted office blocks that are being used to house vulnerable homeless people should be closed down, the MP for Harlow has said. |
Auditors raise concerns over councils spending £6.6bn on property
13/02/2020 Councils have spent £6.6bn on purchasing commercial property in the past three years, the National Audit Office (NAO) has revealed today. |
Permitted development ‘doesn’t work’ and needs an overhaul, architects say
10/02/2020 Permitted development requirements should be extended to ensure new buildings contribute to the wellbeing of residents, an architectural firm has said. |
Aberdeen council considers selling buildings for £45m
04/02/2020 Aberdeen City Council is considering selling off hundreds of public buildings in an attempt to find millions of pounds of funding. |
UK ‘haemorrhaging’ social housing, charity warns
28/01/2020 A homelessness charity has warned in response to new Government figures that the UK is ‘haemorrhaging’ social housing each year. |
Nearly half of councils unsure of their carbon footprint, research finds
28/01/2020 Nearly half of councils in England do not know their own carbon footprint, new research has revealed. |
Councils call for £500m to upgrade outdated leisure centres
27/01/2020 A quarter of all council-run leisure centres have not been refurbished in more than 20 years, new figures have revealed. |
Boroughs in GP estate devolution call
24/01/2020 London Councils has called for more devolution to boroughs of decisions on the GP estate. |
Councils 'coming up short' in helping self-builders, say campaigners
22/01/2020 Campaigners have accused some councils of using 'dirty tricks' to stop people from building their own home. |
Scottish councils granted powers to regulate short-term lets
09/01/2020 Local authorities in Scotland are to be given new powers to regulate short-term lets where they decide this is in the interests of local communities. |
Councils still being held back from building more homes finds report
07/01/2020 Local authorities are still being held back from providing more homes, a new report examining the future for council housing has argued. |
Welsh government bans combustible cladding
23/12/2019 Welsh government has banned the use of combustible cladding on high rise buildings following the Hackitt review into fire safety after the Grenfell tragedy. |
Council leases library to Holocaust education project
23/12/2019 Cumbria County Council has agreed to provide a Holocaust education project with a long lease to a library building in memory of the Windermere Children. |
Liverpool to host ‘first permanent’ city zip line
20/12/2019 Liverpool could be host to the ‘first permanent’ city zip line in the UK, the city council has announced. |
Council’s homelessness service suffers ‘serious weaknesses’
09/12/2019 A housing regulator has launched an inquiry to investigate ‘serious weaknesses’ in Glasgow City Council’s service for people who are homeless. |
London council sues contractors for £130m over ‘fire safety failings’
29/11/2019 Camden Council has launched legal action against a group of contractors over ‘multiple fire safety failings’ that led to the evacuation of the Chalcots Estate two years ago. |
Launch of world’s first ‘gender-lens’ property fund
26/11/2019 The first gender-lens property fund to support women at risk of homelessness has been launched, aiming to raise £100m. |
Asbestos still ‘serious’ threat to public heath
25/11/2019 Asbestos can be still be found in 1.5 million public buildings putting people at risk of exposure, a think tank has warned. |
Council buys town centre in £43m property deal
25/11/2019 Knowsley Council has completed a £43.8m deal to acquire 87 shops and over 12 acres of land from St Modwen. |
Sunderland receives £100m ‘vote of confidence'
22/11/2019 Sunderland City Council’s city centre masterplan has received a massive boost from a £100m deal with Legal & General. |
Survey warns housing developments are 'built too quickly'
21/11/2019 Planners and developers are failing to consider the infrastructure needed to support new house building, according to a report produced with the help of architects. |
Council to buy back estates from developer
19/11/2019 Hammersmith and Fulham LBC is to take back ownership of two housing estates 12 years after they were sold off by a previous administration. |
Property investment guide for councils is launched
18/11/2019 A new guide to provide clarity on local authority property investments has been published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA). |
Fire services to investigate cause of Bolton student blaze
18/11/2019 An investigation is underway to establish the cause of last Friday’s student accommodation fire in Bolton and to find out whether the building’s cladding contributed to its rapid spread. |
Council closes property company to focus on building 300 new homes
13/11/2019 An arms-length local authority property company is to be wound up when its first project has been completed in the New Year. |
Government urged to revitalise key worker housing
12/11/2019 The Key Worker Housing initiative should be revitalised to help public sector workers access affordable homes, a think tank has argued. |
Charity calls for commitment to deliver 90,000 social homes a year
05/11/2019 New figures show that nine in 10 private renters are left on council housing waiting lists for years due to a lack of social homes. |
County council moves to Surrey after 50 years outside county
04/11/2019 Surrey County Council has announced that it is moving its headquarters to Woking after more than five decades outside of the county’s boundaries. |
Local data opened up to create 'digital revolution' in property sector
22/10/2019 Housing minister, Esther McVey, has announced a series of measures to help create a ‘digital revolution’ in the property sector. |
Joint venture unlocks ‘biggest brownfield’ site in the Black Country
21/10/2019 Industrial land in Sandwell is set to be the site of a 750-home community after a deal was struck by the council and the West Midlands Combined Authority. |
Council approves Santander’s £75m campus
21/10/2019 Sefton Council has formally approved plans for a multi-million pound investment to create a state-of-the-art campus in Bootle. |
South Kilburn residents ‘overwhelmingly’ back regeneration
17/10/2019 Residents of South Kilburn Estate in Brent have overwhelmingly backed council plans to rebuild their neighbourhood following the biggest ever resident ballot of its kind in London. |
Queen's Speech 19: Whitehall to ‘implement’ new building safety standards
14/10/2019 The Government plans to ‘implement new building safety standards’ in order to prevent a repeat of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, according to the Queen’s speech. |
Ashford BC’s local plan ‘legally sound’, court rules
11/10/2019 The High Court has rejected a case brought against Ashford Borough Council’s local plan, which the court concluded was legally ‘sound’. |
Public property hubs to be delivered in Birmingham and Peterborough
11/10/2019 Peterborough and Birmingham are the latest places to benefit from a government programme to regenerate city centre sites. |
Norwich council estate wins top architecture prize
09/10/2019 A council estate in Norwich has been named as the UK’s best new building. |
Sussex council green lights 3,000 new homes
07/10/2019 A planning committee in Sussex has given the green light to a construction project that will see thousands of new homes delivered in the area. |
Oxford to lose out on millions due to planning rule changes
03/10/2019 Oxford City Council has warned that the city could lose out on hundreds of new council houses due to changes in the national framework which guides planning policy. |
Trafford Council signs £50m property deal
03/10/2019 Trafford Council and Bruntwood Works have exchanged contracts on a £50m joint venture. |
All council buildings in Southampton to use 100% green electricity
01/10/2019 All commercial buildings owned by Southampton City Council will now be powered by renewable energy, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 7,000 tonnes a year. |
Councils attack plans to extend permitted development rules
01/10/2019 The Government has announced plans to extend permitted development rules to allow developers to convert commercial buildings into homes without planning permission. |
Council buys waterfront land for £1
27/09/2019 Liverpool City Council has bought more than 55,000 sq metres of prime waterfront land for £1. |
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.
