The many (more) faces of Grant Shapps
Posted: April 29, 2012 Filed under: Homelessness, Housebuilding Leave a commentNo sooner had I written about a vintage week for Shapps watchers than another one followed quickly behind like a No 19 bus. Could this week be yet another?
Last week for our esteemed minister began with housing topping the agenda on the Today programme as Newham prepared to ship its homeless people to Stoke and all points north, south, east and west. This was proof, surely, of the impact of a combination of cuts in investment and housing benefit and the weakening of the homelessness safety net. Shapps on the ropes?
If you’re in a hole, start digging
Posted: April 25, 2012 Filed under: Economics, Housebuilding 2 CommentsSo we’re in a double-dip recession and construction is to blame.
You don’t have to be part of the construction lobby or a Keynesian or even Ed Balls to think that something is badly wrong here. The coalition’s strategy of cutting public spending to reduce the deficit to pacify the markets to keep interest rates low to produce a private sector-led recovery is not working and it is way past time for Plan B.
The many faces of Grant Shapps
Posted: April 20, 2012 Filed under: Housebuilding 1 CommentIn a vintage week for Shapps watchers, I’ve experienced a mixture of horror, admiration and amazement at the antics of our esteemed housing minister.
Take Thursday. Shapps somehow found time in his busy schedule to find a bag from the Tenant Services Authority (TSA), put it in a bin, take a photo and then share it with his followers on twitter.
Rearranging the seats
Posted: March 27, 2012 Filed under: Housebuilding, Planning Leave a commentSo the people in Range Rovers in Barbours appear to have beaten the people in Range Rovers in pinstripe suits. But it remains to be seen how much difference the new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) will make to new housing in general and new affordable housing in particular.
After the final version of the document was published on Tuesday, The Telegraph was quick out of the blocks to claim victory for the Barbours and its Hands Off Our Land campaign. It cited explicit protection for the green belt and encouragement for local authorities to use brownfield land first. The National Trust and the Campaign to Protect Rural England both said the government had listened to their concerns (not surprising when documents released at the same time as the NPPF revealed that planning minister Greg Clark met them five times and had another seven meetings with other environmental organisations to discuss planning between July and September).
The sound of squawking
Posted: March 13, 2012 Filed under: Housebuilding, Housing market, Mortgages, Right to buy 2 CommentsYesterday should have been a day of triumph for Grant Shapps and the DCLG. Instead it was the day when the chickens began to come home to roost.
The day began so well too. Well-placed leaks in the Sunday and morning papers prepared the ground for TV and radio saturation for the launch of two key parts of the housing revolution promised by David Cameron in his party conference speech and first outlined in last year’s housing strategy: the new build indemnity guarantee and the expansion of the right to buy.
Shaky start
Posted: March 12, 2012 Filed under: Housebuilding, Housing market, Mortgages Leave a commentIf NewBuy really is to be about supporting buyers and new homes rather than just subsidising housebuilders here are 10 questions that need answers.
The launch of the scheme this morning got off to a somewhat shaky start, with many reports claiming (wrongly) that it is for first-time buyers and others (rightly) pointing out the advantages for builders.
Read the rest of this post on my blog at Inside Housing.
Jules Birch 