Greater Manchester has announced ambitious plans to build 30,000 net-zero homes over the next 16 years through a partnership with the government’s housing accelerator Homes England. The homes are part of a broader social, environmental, and economic vision for the area which covers Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan. Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said: “Right now we have to be creating homes and infrastructure that are fit for a better future, and our ambition [...]

Boris Johnson’s announcement to insulate more homes to protect people from the cost-of-living crisis has added weight to adopting a national green retrofit strategy claims the building industry. They argue that a proper assessment of householders’ homes first to decide what remedial action is appropriate should happen before insulating a property. “For example, there’s no point rolling out Icynene spray foam Insulation in a property which has a cold roof as this would cause long-term damage and the product itself isn’t [...]

New homes in London recorded a 51 per cent year-on-year increase according to the National House Building Council’s, NHBC, registration figures for the first quarter of 2021. Wales saw an 84 per cent rise followed by 65 per cent for the East Midlands and 52 per cent for the West Midlands.  Northern Ireland experienced an eight per cent decrease and Scotland a six per cent drop. Overall, the volume of new homes registered was up by a quarter to 45,991 [...]

The number of individuals registering to construct a self-build or custom house rose by a third while permissions granted increased by just seven per cent. Government statistics show 12,263 individuals joined local councils’ custom and self-build register between 31st October 2020 and 30th October 2021 – a 31 per cent year-on-year increase. And 157 new groups joined the register – a 12 per cent rise on the previous year. However, councils granted just 8,309 planning permissions for service plots reflecting [...]

More than half of SME builders feel unprepared for imminent changes in building regulations to improve energy efficiency, claims the Federation of Master Builders, FMB. New rules on ventilation, conservation of fuel and power, overheating and infrastructure for charging electric vehicles come into force on the 15th of June. FMB chief executive Brian Berry said: “Over 50 per cent of small, local builders are not yet prepared or are not aware of the changes. This puts them at real risk [...]

London’s mayor Sadiq Khan has appointed Lyn Garner to oversee the capital’s housing delivery on land the authority owns. Ms Garner will offer strategic oversight on building new homes on Greater London Authority Group, GLA Group, land which includes Transport for London and the London Fire Brigade. “There’s huge potential and a genuine commitment among all involved to use our landholdings to tackle London's housing crisis,” said Ms Garner who will continue as London Legacy Development  Corporation chief executive. Her appointment [...]

SME housebuilders are furious about being forced to pick up the tap for remediating unsafe tower blocks – a type of property they don’t build. Housing secretary Michael Gove’s announcement to extend the building safety levy to all housebuilders to raise a further £3bn for remediation has come as an unpleasant shock. National Federation of Builders housing and planning policy head Rico Wojtulewicz said: “We’re livid. It’s completely out of the blue. They have thrown our smaller members under a [...]

Housebuilders could be lumbered with extra infrastructure costs if solar panels become mandatory for new developments, the industry fears. The National Federation of Builders, NFB, has criticised the government’s energy strategy, published last week, for focusing on the increasing use of solar panels rather than wind turbines. Housing and planning policy head Rico Wojtulewicz said: “Solar panels will raise costs. You have to get a qualified person to install them. They’re not just an add on, as they require grid [...]

Building output was boosted by sustained rise in new work across the board according to the Construction Purchasing Managers index for March. The latest reading of 59.1 was unchanged from February and well above the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction. The index revealed the joint-fastest rate of output growth since June 2021 boosted by the highest level of new orders since August last year. Commercial work was the best-performing segment with an index reading of 60.8 due to [...]

Fuel prices to soar in wake of curbs on Russian oil imports Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has announced the UK will phase out imports of Russian oil by the end of the year. Mr Kwarteng said that as the ban was not immediate there would be enough time for supply chain adjustments. “Businesses should use this year to ensure a smooth transition so that consumers will not be affected,” he said. The UK sources 18 per cent of its diesel [...]

SME builders are lobbying the government to hold off scrapping the tax rebate on red diesel due to the war in Ukraine. Lack of electrically powered machinery, biofuel and a shift in prices due to sanctions against Russia will mean huge cost increases when the rebate is removed on 1st April. Contractors have said they may have to increase their hourly rates for activities such as excavation by up to £5 per hour. The 47 pence per litre rebate for [...]