New Building Regulations will add thousands of pounds to construction costs

May 7, 2012 Leave a comment

New Building Regulations will add thousands of pounds to construction costsHouse building firm Linden Homes criticizes the new policy plans for 2016 on Building Regulations. The UK government is discussing new policy plans as they would aim for greener houses. According to Linden Homes, these new requirements on house building would increase the costs tremendously. They estimated it would cost up to £30,000 more on each new home.

Linden Homes is one of the biggest residential developers in the UK. They are good for almost half of the houses needed and absolutely disagree with the current policy plans of the government. The government would like to raise the efficiency requirements of new houses. These new Building Regulations would guide developers to build ‘zero carbon’ houses, which will press the energy bills. The only thing is, this policy goes along with increasing building costs. Read more of this post

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National Planning Policy Framework UK rewritten

March 27, 2012 1 Comment

National Planning Policy Framework UK rewrittenThe National planning system has been there since 1935 to protect greenbelt areas in the UK in terms of usage of land. This policy contains guidelines to ensure that the balance between the natural and man-made environment is maintained. Building new houses and factories is extremely important for the UK’s economy in terms of creating new homes and job opportunities. However, this may not be at the expense of the natural environment.

Currently, there is a lack in clarity of using the guidelines and we are hoping to gain that clarity soon so we can start building, said property investment expert Sue Foxley. Read more of this post

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Energy bills will rise to 1.7 Billion pounds in 2016

March 16, 2012 Leave a comment

energy bills will riseEnergy bill will rise to 1.7 Billion pounds, is what professor John Hills calculated at the School of Economics in London. He expects that 2.6 to 3 million households will be under the official poverty line, meaning that less money will be left after paying their energy bills.

“If we compare the high households with the fuel-poor households, an average of 600 pounds extra per year will be needed for fuel-poor households to cover all the energy bills, Hills said.” This is almost 50% more than it was in 2009. With fuel-poor households Hills means inefficient houses in terms of poor insulation and thus significant heat loss. Read more of this post

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Whitehall to announce savings of £130m on property spending

February 16, 2012 Leave a comment

Whitehall to announce savings of £130m on property spendingAfter pledging to cut spending, Whitehall is set to announce it has cut £130m from its annual property spending since April. This reduction in spending is part of Whitehall official target of cutting property spending by £400m annually. However, much can be done to better manage Whitehall’s property assets as examples of under occupied or vacant government property abound.

Francis Maude, Cabinet Office minister, will announce on Friday that the government has been able to cut its annual property spending by £130m. As part of the overall drive to cut spending, the government’s property spending is being significantly reduced.  Mr. Maude has set a target of reducing property spending by £400m per year by the end of the decade. In order to achieve that goal, the government is taking a series of measures.

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The UK housing minister presents his buildings plans

February 2, 2012 Leave a comment

The UK housing minister presents his buildings plansSix weeks before the budget, UK housing minister Grant Shapps presented the government’s plans to support the building sector, which are supposed to also help the struggling economy. In his speech, the minister insisted on the fact that the new policies show the determination of the UK government to make housing a high-priority.

The different measures Grant Shapps announced are entitled to help first time buyers pursue their desire of owning property, to provide help to the millions of people who have been waiting for social housing for a long time and to stimulate construction. Therefore the government is determined to make its own land available for building. 80,000 homes could be constructed on this land and 20,000 more are sought by demanding organizations like the BBC, Network Rail or the Royal Mail to release unused land. Read more of this post

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UK Strike Action – How does this impact the property market?

November 30, 2011 Leave a comment

UK strikeThe UK Strike action planned for today is underway, and around 2.6 million public sector employees are making a stand.

The problem?

People are now being asked to pay more into their pensions, they are being asked to work for longer, they have to accept a pension which will be based on a ‘career average’ salary rather than the current arrangement where there is a final salary arrangement. Read more of this post

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