James Rowlands

New research from Nationwide Building Society shows that house price growth has been faster in predominantly rural areas, where it has risen by 22% over the the last five years, compared with 17% in predominantly urban areas

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#GeneralElection24 #GeneralElection2024 We'll be responding to some of the #Planning policies in the manifestos from the major political parties. Today it was the Liberal Democrats 👇

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Here it is…….. The revised National Planning Policy Framework setting out government's planning policies for England. https://lnkd.in/dt7cRgiA

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Following on from the Government's consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework what can we expect next in terms of housing policy? The Government’s other housing plans were less well defined during the election campaign but with the flagship policy announcement done, what will be their next steps on housing policy? - More detail in October's Autumn Statement on affordable housing spending and details of a national housing strategy - The start of deliberations by the New Towns Taskforce and potentially identification of the first sites - The publication of the Renters’ Rights Bill setting out detail on proposed measures to improve private renting - Private rented sector minimum energy efficiency standards requiring properties to have minimum EPC C before letting by 2030 - The broader Warm Homes Plan including incentives and regulations around green homes - Support for first time buyers including the ‘Freedom to Buy’ mortgage guarantee scheme The speed with which the new Government has moved to make changes to planning policy and signal its commitment to delivering 1.5 million homes over the next five years shows the importance it places on housing a tool for economic growth. The next phase of its plans are likely to focus on how people access those homes - including funding for affordable housing and mortgage support - and the quality of the experience when living in them - rental reform and energy efficiency improvements. In line with their general direction around increasing household financial resilience and improving the economic position of households, they will want to ensure people’s housing is affordable and provides them with the basis to thrive. https://lnkd.in/edHb3k5u

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What might we be able to tell about the Government's plans from its initial actions? - Onshore wind changes and housebuilding targets demonstrating a desire to remove barriers to growth. - Creating a National Wealth Fund to secure the funding for investment in green technology and the industries of the future. - Changing the name of DLUHC to show a focus on action. Some thoughts on what we've seen and what we can expect to see from the new government

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Yesterday the Welsh Government published its draft 2025-26 budget. https://lnkd.in/e8i8UvVr Proposals fall into four categories: 1) A healthier Wales 2) Jobs and green growth 3) Opportunity for every family (which includes more social homes for rent) and 4) Connecting communities (which includes public transport improvements and road repairs) Highlights include: *An additional £3.7m to help accelerate planning decisions and support a programme of digital transformation of planning services; *An additional £5m for NRW to help deliver infrastructure consents quickly and to provide the necessary input into land use and marine planning decisions; *An additional £5m resource funding to deliver renewable energy projects and local energy systems; *Continued investment in city and growth deals; *£57m for Help to Buy Wales; *An additional £81m capital funding for Social Housing Grant and Transitional Accommodation Capital Programmes to help social housing providers deliver homes at pace; *£70m resource and £51m capital funding to improve rail and bus services and repair roads. This reflects many of the RTPICymru asks in our consultation response. Following scrutiny by Yr Senedd, the final budget will be published on 25th February 2025. Read a bit more here: https://lnkd.in/eciWM9zJ

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The latest Nationwide Building Society House Price Index has been published: - April sees slowing in annual house price growth - House prices fell 0.4% month on month in April - Annual rate of change slowed to 0.6%, from 1.6% in March - Average price £261,962 In addition to the regular HPI data some polling around views of first time buyers has also been shared: - Nearly half (49%) of prospective first-time buyers (those looking to buy in the next five years) have delayed their plans over the past year. - The most commonly cited reason for delaying their purchase is that house prices are too high (53%) but 41% said that higher mortgage costs were preventing them from buying. - 84% of prospective first-time buyers said that the cost of living has affected their plans to buy, for example through having less money each month to save for a deposit. - 55% of respondents said they would be willing to buy in another part of the country where house prices are cheaper, or where they could buy a bigger property. - Buying a property in a less expensive area appears to be the most common compromise that prospective buyers will make. Around a third (32%) said they would consider a smaller property than they wanted, while 28% would go for a property that needed work doing. Ultimately an increase in housing supply is the best way to support affordability but in this continued challenging environment for first time buyers, Nationwide is calling for four key policy and regulatory actions to help more people buy a home: - An independent review into the barriers facing FTBs and how they can be addressed. - Reintroduce the Help to Buy ISA. - Review the 15% flow limit for lending at more than 4.5 times income. - Review of lending rules to allow first time buyers to access part repayment/part interest only mortgages more easily.

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Housing will inevitably be an election issue but what will Labour housing policy cover? We know from previous announcements that increasing housebuilding will be central to their offer including planning reform, changes to green belt rules and new towns. Housing will also link to Labour's desire for people to have more financial and economic stability. For this reason we can expect a focus on social housing and home ownership inevitably squeezing private renting. From planning reform to mortgage support and a quick end to section 21 evictions. What could Labour's policy announcements look like? https://lnkd.in/dxJYQ3As

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Do the UK public know their EPCs as well as their ABCs? In March the Department of Energy released its latest data on the public’s awareness and understanding of climate change issues, green heating, and low-carbon choices. Nesta has delved into the data for a temperature check on the public’s awareness of the transition to green heating and whether there are signs of change. From growing awareness of heat pumps to a better understanding of EPC ratings, these are their five key findings:

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I am chuffed to bits to see question 70 in the #NPPF consultation: Question 70: How could national planning policy better support local authorities in (a) promoting healthy communities and (b) tackling childhood obesity? Thanks Dan Simpson for drawing my attention to it. Now to get on with a response.... https://lnkd.in/ebCnyKUx #PlanningPolicy #HealthyHomes #HealthAndWellbeing #HealthyCommunities #Planning #HealthThroughPlanning

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Thanks to Nationwide Building Society for inviting me to speak at their Green Homes Action Group on decarbonising homes today (alongside colleagues from L&Q and Clarion). We talked through the housing association sector journey to net-zero so far, and importantly what policy mechanisms we need from government in order to break down the barriers to retrofitting the nation’s social homes. Housing association progress on retrofitting homes is impressive and rollout of clean heat sources is increasing. Almost three quarters of housing association homes are at the right energy efficiency level (or better). But to retrofit the remaining 28% of homes by 2030 to the right standard we must double the pace of retrofit. Housing association homes also lead the way on clean heat sources across rented homes; but as a country there are only 1% of homes in England with a heat pump (the Climate Change Committee estimates we need 10% of homes in England to have a heat pump by 2028 if we're to stay on track to decarbonising homes by 2050). So... impressive progress so far, but still lots to do and housing associations can't do this alone. To change gear it is vital to work in partnership with government to ensure policy, funding, skills and supply chain certainty. Our call for a renewal of social housing includes shorter terms asks around funding and policy certainty, as well as the need for longer term retrofit funding and funding for clean heat. For example, the National Infrastructure Commission (who advise the government on infrastructure needs) suggest that the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund should deliver £5.1bn for the social housing sector between 2024 - 2030 (approx £1bn for fabric retrofit measures to homes). In addition to this it suggests that £33.8bn is allocated between 2024 and 2050 to deliver low carbon heat in the social housing sector.

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Exclusive polling for PLMR by Savanta has found that 53% of West Midlands residents want the mayor to have more power over local planning. Is this a solution to unblocking the planning system, delivering more homes, and unlocking growth - or does it avoid the real challenges?? 🧐 We also found: 🗳️Only 41% have faith in their local council to deliver the housing their area needs 🏡Most people would support development in the Green Belt if it meant more affordable homes and employment 🤷‍♂️47% had no idea what a Local Plan is #growth #planning #westmidlands https://lnkd.in/eCjzckjU

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£700m allocated to Depts in monitoring round today (£632m resource, £68m capital). Finance Minister made clear this is less than the £791m resource pressures submitted in total across Depts (and capital bids which were 5-times oversubscribed). But she emphasised that Depts should not overspend and repeated importance of transformation. Just over half of the resource funding goes to Health (£350m), then Education (£170m) and Justice (£36m). Infrastructure receives the lion’s share of the capital funding (£39.6m). Three comments: 1. Additional funding from UK Budget puts NI Executive in much less stretched financial position than earlier in year. It now looks possible, rather than unrealistic, to balance the budget this year (and so avoid having to repay last year's £559m overspend). 2. In total, resource funding additions for NI during 2024-25 now add up to more than £1 billion (including June monitoring additions). That is an unprecedented amount to receive in-year and is far beyond what would have been expected. 3. NI Executive should now think strategically about the Budget for 2025-26, with a big injection of extra funding coming from the UK Budget. Need to get beyond plugging gaps to make sure new funding is used to put public services on a sustainable path. Transformation must be prioritised. https://lnkd.in/d2Np2ErC

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Lots to digest in today's budget! https://lnkd.in/etes2zfE The Federation for Industry Sector Skills and Standards (FISSS) welcome the focus on stimulating economic growth and on long-term funding for growth-driving sectors. The evidence is clear – a government that is serious about achieving its economic growth ambitions also needs to be serious about investing in #skills. The £300m for further education and £40m to transform the Apprenticeship Levy into a more flexible Growth and Skills Levy are a welcome first step. As government continues to develop its plans, a focus on responding to employer skills needs must remain a priority.

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This is the first in my short series of blogs for BTA on how the charity sector can embrace the United Nations #SustainableDevelopmentGoals as a key component of their fundraising and governance - and find out how well they are currently performing.

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I was pleased to give evidence to the Senedd Local Government &Housing Committee earlier today on social house building. It’s been a challenging few years for housebuilding and despite this HAs have continued to build between 70-80% of the social homes in Wales over that time. Keeping momentum and scaling up requires : 🏠A continuation of the multi year settlement for Social Housing Grant in which existing levels of investment act as a floor rather than a ceiling. 🏠A recognition of the cumulative impact of an ambitious reform programme. This means spending as much time and resource ensuring organisations such as HAs have the time, tools and funding to deliver. Our focus here will be to understand the true cost of the WHQS and ensuring that there is a funded plan to support the delivery of this important standard. 🏠Working with our colleagues across the public sector to argue for greater investment in the planning system and seeking greater join up and coordination across planning & consenting systems to increase speed & predictability. More info here https://lnkd.in/e4usc4ku

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With Labour's manifesto launch tomorrow we already know some of their housing policies but what else can we expect? Last week's announcement meant we know that the manifesto should include: - The Freedom to Buy permanent mortgage guarantee scheme. - Compulsory purchase reform - 'First dibs' on new homes for FTBs - Planning reform to build more homes including relaxed green belt rules - Tax on foreign investors to fund more planning officers Hopefully there will be more detail on social housing and private rented sector proposals. I've set out a round up of other potential housing measures https://lnkd.in/eQyXn2-i

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The BBC recently published an exaggerated article about MVDC's financial position. Like all councils we face the need to make significant savings to balance our budget in the medium term but the Council has a transformation programme in place to do just that. If the savings outlined are made, reserves will stay at sustainable levels. More information can be found below. https://lnkd.in/efP9Yxnv.molevalley.gov.uk%2F2024%2F11%2F15%2Ffinancial-position-mole-valley-district-council%2F&utm_campaign=aga&utm_source=agsadl1%2Csh%2Fx%2Fgs%2Fm2%2F4

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