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Big names lined up for CIH's new governing board
28th October 11 12:45pm
The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) has announced the proposed membership of its new governing board which will set the strategic direction of the organisation as it launches its new corporate plan for the next three years. The new board, which will take office following member approval in January 2012, includes David Cowans, Group Chief Executive of 62,000-home Places for People, Kate Davies, Chief Executive of 25,000-home Notting Hill Housing Group; and Elaine Elkington (pictured), Strategic...
House sales plunge 11% year on year
28th October 11 12:20pm
The number of completed house sales in England and Wales decreased by 11 per cent in July compared to the same time last year, new data reveals. Figures released today by the Land Registry show there were 59,919 house sales last July, down from 67,475 in the same month last year. The number of properties sold in England and Wales for over £1 million in July 2011 decreased by 24 per cent to 707 from 932 in July 2010. The September data from Land Registry’s House Price Index also ...
Developers 'sitting on planning consents for 280,000 homes'
28th October 11 12:12pm
A Liberal Democrat peer says the Government's draft national planning policy framework (NPPF) is "skewed heavily in favour of development" at the expense of the views of local people. During a debate in the House of Lords yesterday, where peers considered the framework in the same month the consultation finished on the document, Lib Dem peer Lord Strasburger said that it was the recession and not planning delays that has caused the slump in new homes. He said: "The figures show that new housing st...
Vikings and villains
28th October 11 12:24pm
The Viking invasions have been a source of fascination for centuries On Monday 31st October at 7.30pm anyone with an interest in the legacy these Norsemen left behind them might well consider invading the Leicester Lit & Phil Society where geneticist and historian Dr Turi King will be speaking on ‘Vikings and Villains: Surnames, Genetics and Ancestry’ in the Main Hall of the Leicester Museum and Art Gallery, New Walk. Dr Turi King, a member of the University of Leicester Department of Geneti...
Tenants take ombudsman complaint fears to the Lords
28th October 11 10:58am
A group of tenants have met with Labour Peers to explain their objections to a measure in the Localism Bill that will cut their direct access to the housing ombudsman when they have a complaint against their social landlord. Plans in the Bill - which receives its third reading in the Lords on October 31 -will see tenants having to go through 'designated persons' i.e. either MPs, councillors or newly formed tenant panels to have their complaints heard from April 2012. The National Housing Federati...
Decent Homes Boost For Tenants
28th October 11 10:53am
Council tenants in Wolverhampton have received a boost after Wolverhampton Homes managed to negotiate £1 million for the Decent Homes programme a year earlier than planned.The Decent Homes programme will bring all Wolverhampton City Council housing up to a Government standard, that includes being modern and weather-tight.So far 15,500 homes have been completed leaving 8,000 still to be done.Last year the funding of the Decent Homes programme for financial years 2011/12 and 2012/13 was changed so that...
Awards Success For Housing Team
28th October 11 10:46am
An in-house team at South Tyneside Homes has been recognised as one of the top providers of public sector services in the country. The housing company’s Property Services Team was awarded the Best Service Team in Construction and Building at the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) Awards 2011. The awards recognise best practice in the public sector and celebrate the achievements of organisations that deliver front line services. Beating off competition from other local authorities, ...
Ceremony marks success of new Orbit East scheme
28th October 11 10:46am
Orbit East residents and staff gathered together yesterday with representatives of Scole Parish Council, South Norfolk District Council and developers Baker Construction to celebrate the success of a new housing development in Scole, Norfolk. A ceremonial plaque was unveiled at the 12-residence ‘Flowerdew’ estate, which opened in April, and comprises a mix of leasehold properties, general needs bungalows, flats and houses. Following the official unveiling ceremony, guests enjoyed light refreshme...
Tory MP concerned with ‘empty homes paradox’
28th October 11 10:32am
A Conservative MP has expressed concern over an "empty homes paradox" which is seeing thousands of new homes being "pushed through" by a council when 11,000 properties in its area are empty. Conservative Member of Parliament for Colne Valley Jason McCartney urged the House of Commons for a debate on empty homes amid concerns that developments are given the go-ahead by local authorities instead of bringing empty homes back into use. He said: “There is a real paradox in my local council ar...
Undergraduates take on future climate challenges
28th October 11 10:46am
University of Leicester students have made it into the final of the npower Future Leaders Challenge – a national competition which tasks undergraduates to devise green projects and inspire people in their local area to live more sustainably. The team of four had to make a short film identifying a green project they would like to solve in either their university or local community. Team ‘Planet on Standby’ have devised educational projects for primary, secondary and university students to highlight how...
