Category: Uncategorized

Politicians love to denounce developers for concreting over green space with soulless new blocks, while progressive voices hate gentrification driving out the poor for luxury flats. Election candidates seek votes to stop developers “running amok” and “riding roughshod” over locals, and Ministers relieve councils from having to meet ‘Stalinist’ housebuilding targets. But it seems people… Continue reading It turns out people like housebuilding!

It’s now 5pm on Friday, and we’re not even halfway to finding out exactly the full extent of the council results, but I think the general picture is clear – signs of voters aligning towards whichever party they think can remove Conservatives, especially where council administrations are unpopular. The Conservatives have lost most heavily in… Continue reading Local elections fallout for the Tories

Local elections are coming up in lots of district and unitary councils around the home counties

There’s been no public announcement yet who will take on the planning portfolio, but we’ve been assured by senior people in the department that Rachel Maclean will be the new Minister for Housing and Planning, as a Minister of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. Maclean is on the rise, having… Continue reading A new Housing and Planning Minister

Harry Rich, who was recently reappointed as Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists at the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists (ORCL) – the body that oversees the lobbying industry – gave evidence to parliament about codes of conduct in the public affairs industry. Noises from some self-interested and self-policed organisations in the industry suggest that… Continue reading Quasi-govt body defends our code

When Liz Truss talks about the anti-growth coalition, she may be talking about Extinction Rebellion, the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the Labour party, the CBI and anyone living in Islington, rather than anyone preventing the housing industry to put shovels in the ground. But getting the industry to build is clearly one of her main… Continue reading The growth coalition