Where have all the children gone
In the last six weeks, I have had three meetings with different London Boroughs where discussions on public land…
Solving for Beauty
Can the planning system solve for “beautiful buildings” whilst also applying increasingly complex viability tests? I remain unconvinced and…
The politics of affordability
‘Perfect should not be the enemy of the good’ goes the old adage. It’s not often Voltaire gets a…
Banks, real estate and clueless policy makers
J P Morgan’s announcement it had acquired First Republic Bank on Monday this week didn’t make much in the…
Onward SME House Builders
I learned the other day that 38% of the existing housing stock in the UK was built before…
An Easter axe to Help to Buy doesn’t have to mean the end to new homes
Another day, another housing initiative down the drain. In an Easter treat for first time buyers, the curtain finally…
Changing of the guard?
On the face of it, it has been a rather uneventful week for the housing industry in a frankly…
Why Councils Go Bust
Back when I was an elected Member at Wandsworth I can recall the two big things which made everyone…
If we want more homes we need to simplify viability testing
For those returning from MIPIM, a blog on development viability testing may not be considered conducive to recovery. However, it…
Middle market crunch
We’re now in a binary residential market. The industry can either build for the rich or it can build…
