£9bn in housing funds sit idle in council accounts Property More than £9bn in developer contributions earmarked for schools, transport, healthcare and affordable housing is sitting unspent in council bank accounts, according to new research. A freedom of information survey by the Home Builders Federation (HBF) estimates that £6.6bn in Section 106 payments and £2.2bn raised through the community infrastructure levy (CIL) remain unspent. Of [...]
John Lewis blames high costs as it axes build-to-rent venture Retail Retail giant John Lewis is to withdraw from its build-to-rent business in a shock U-turn on its diversification plans, after bemoaning high interest rates and a downturn in the London property market. John Lewis Partnership (JLP), which also owns Waitrose, took on management of around 1,000 homes in Bromley, West Ealing and Reading as part [...]
London Docklands might get a new 820-home development Property A new 820-home planning application in the Docklands has been submitted in what could be a major housebuilding scheme for the capital. The 54-storey scheme, submitted by Areli Developments, would occupy 77 Marsh Wall in Canary Wharf. Rob Tincknell, founder and CEO at Areli, said it would be a “landmark building… for all types of [...]
L&G: FTSE 100 giant reveals £2bn plan to create 24,000 jobs October 20, 2025 FTSE 100 giant Legal & General (L&G) has revealed plans to invest £2bn in regeneration projects across the UK in a move which it said will create around 24,000 jobs. The group said it would invest into ‘productive assets’ such as infrastructure, affordable housing and urban regeneration between now and 2030. L&G added that it [...]
Taylor Wimpey: Construction jumps but cladding costs wipe out profit July 30, 2025 Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey posted a double-digit rise in housing completions, but a £222.2m hit from fixing combustible cladding pushed the company to a half-year loss. Shares fell nearly five per cent in early morning trades. The number of houses built in the first half of 2025 totalled 5,264, up from 4,728 last year, the company [...]
Number of affordable homes started in London plummets July 10, 2025 The number of affordable homes underway in the capital has fallen far short of expectations as tight regulations and cost pressures make sites unviable. The Greater London Authority has so far completed 871 homes under the 2021-2026 Affordable Homes Programme (AHP), according to its annual housing report. This is just over five per cent of [...]
Watchdog probe to net £100m from listed housebuilders for affordable schemes July 9, 2025 A probe by the UK’s competition watchdog is likely to result in a collective £100m package from seven housebuilders for affordable housing schemes. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) probe, which looked into the anti-competitive practices of seven housing developers – Barratt Redrow, Bellway, Berkeley Group, Bloor Homes, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and Vistry – was launched [...]
Family hubs to be rolled out across every council in England July 6, 2025 Family hubs offering parenting support and youth services are set to be rolled out across every council in England, ministers have announced. The Department for Education is putting £500 million that will be targeted at disadvantaged communities into the scheme, to put a hub in every local authority by April 2026. The Education Secretary has [...]
Keir Starmer accused of hypocrisy over Camden housing targets June 20, 2025 Keir Starmer has been accused of hypocrisy over low housebuilding targets in his own constituency amid a country-wide push to ‘get Britain building again’. Camden council, which falls within Starmer’s constituency of Holborn & St Pancras, has shrugged off the government’s targets for housebuilding this parliament and instead used figures set by the 2021 London [...]
Berkeley notes rising demand for new homes as profit drops June 20, 2025 Housebuilder Berkeley has stated that it is ‘fully aligned with’ and ‘committed to’ the government’s ambitious housing agenda, despite a decline in annual profit. The FTSE 250 company told markets this morning that its profit before tax fell 5.1 per cent in the last financial year, from £557.3m to £528.9m. Its operating margin improved from [...]