Monthly Archives: February 2015

Policy Exchange (an educational charity and think tank) has issued a report which calls for ‘garden villages’ to be built in each local authority area to solve issues with housing supply and demand.  Policy Exchange writes: Over one million new … Continue reading →

Public realm works in Limavady, and revitalisations projects at Banbridge and Gelngormley are in the news this week, with significant investment by the Department for Social Development Northern Ireland (DFSDNI).  These include: Limavady Main Street Banbridge Glengormley town centre View … Continue reading →

Civic Voice, the umbrella arm of local civic movements, has issued a new document ‘Collaborative Planning for All’ calling on those involved in the development process to make better use of community collaboration, with a ‘Participation not consultation’ approach using … Continue reading →

A proposal for 6 turbines in Cambridgeshire has been refused with views to church spires being cited as one of the deciding factors, even with a revised proposal for 3 turbines also being proposed.  Paragraph 39 of the decision letter … Continue reading →

The human resources recruitment consultancy Randstad have been conducting research into the role of women in construction, predicting that women will comprise a quarter of all construction workers by the end of the decade.  Key statistics from the research include: … Continue reading →

The Welsh Government is aiming to introduce new legislation to reform rented housing provision, including written contracts for rental agreements, new short term let opportunities and change in the law to allow 16 year olds to rent their own home. … Continue reading →

Core Cities (an organisation representing ten cities of the UK calling for greater devolution of powers, including Sheffield and Glasgow) has launched a petition calling for more freedom for cities in a modern version of the Magna Carta aimed at … Continue reading →

Despite not being able to demonstrate a five-year supply of housing land Cornwall Council successfully resisted a development of 154 dwellings on the edge of Falmouth, an inspector supporting its concerns regarding the impact on a grade II* listed church … Continue reading →

An independent report by the Lloyds Banking Group Commission on Housing has recommended new targets for new build housing, better public engagement and more longer term development partnerships to meets the housing needs of the future. Lloyds Banking group writes: … Continue reading →

As Scotland’s Borders Railway sees its track completed, the BBC reviews England’s stations note in that: ’In living memory, hundreds of railway stations have closed across the country and have since been abandoned, demolished or converted to other uses. But … Continue reading →

A cross-party group of London politicians has called on planning minister Brandon Lewis to immediately suspend the new vacant building credit, which reduces planning gain liabilities on vacant stock. Search Planning Resource

Civil society have reported on new technological initiatives which might be used by fundraisers in the near future, citing research by NESTA on scent technology, the introduction of contactless giving and using ‘bitcoins’ as virtual currency. Civil Society reports that … Continue reading →

Transport for London (TFL) is adopting a new approach to its property management portfolio, inviting tenders to take forward sites with development potential within the capital, including many listed buildings and brownfield sites. Transport for London (TfL) writes: The Mayor … Continue reading →

The Rt Hon John Hayes MP, Minister of State for Transport, as part of a ‘new vision for roads and the architectural features on and around them’, has looked to history to help improve a dystopian present, as he called … Continue reading →

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee has queried the Government plans to attract £600 million from external funders to bolster flood defences, stating DEFRA needs to demonstrate exactly how it will achieve this level of investment. The Environment, Food and … Continue reading →

Building firms have been urged to make the most of the skills which female workers can offer, by supporting a new Government Campaign: NotJustForBoys initiative CITB writes: This campaign represents an effort to encourage young women to enter sectors which … Continue reading →

The Category A listed Britannia Panoptican in Glasgow is the oldest surviving music hall in the world, and has launched an appeal to help rescue the historic stage, asking for donations to ‘sponsor a plank’ (with donors names etched into … Continue reading →

The Natural History Museum has announced that their famous Diplodocus skeleton will be replaced with that of a blue whale, but is it the right move asks the Guardian? Guardian article