Good morning. Here’s your daily round-up of the latest news and views from EG and a collection of industry-relevant headlines from the nationals, all perfectly curated to set you up for the week ahead.
As the sun sets on 2024, EG looks back at the year when a new government was voted in, the market began to express some optimism and big deals were done.
Delve into EG’s annual review of the year, in which we take a look – month by month – at the biggest stories to hit the headlines, from LondonMetric and LXi’s January merger, through to a new government, the saviour of WeWork, Home REIT’s failure, and the loss of some major talent and personalities from the real estate sector to the slow but gradual return of optimism.
Elsewhere, Welput has had its plans to build a 43-storey office block next to one of Britain’s oldest synagogues, refused by the City of London Corporation planning committee. The scheme had received a number of objections for its impact on the synagogue but had been recommended for approval by planning officers – despite an order from secretary of state Angela Rayner, who had instructed the City “not to grant permission without specific authorisation”.
Welput’s plans, which proposed 366,000 sq ft of new commercial space at Bury House, EC3, were recommended for refusal 14 to 8 due to the tower’s impact on the Tower of London world heritage site, its bulk and massing and impact on sunlight to surrounding buildings, including the Bevis Marks Synagogue.
Chairman of the planning and transportation committee at the City, Shravan Joshi, was one of the eight who voted in favour of the scheme.
“I do feel that the applicant has listened,” he said. “They have listed to their neighbours and the groups involved in this application and come back with a different scheme. We may have subjective views on the impact of the world heritage site, but this scheme fits within the eastern cluster and it fits within the tall building area, so objectively, it sits within our policies.”
In Hampshire, Southampton City Council and Southampton Football Club are looking to score with the signing of a memorandum of understanding outlining plans to explore the redevelopment of the St Mary’s Waterfront area.
The partnership aims to create a premier sports, leisure and entertainment offer along the South Coast.
Phil Parsons, chief executive of Southampton FC said: “For the club to thrive and survive in the Premier League, we must increase our revenue streams and developing the St Mary’s Waterfront area is central to achieving that. In turn, a successful football club at the highest level brings enormous benefits to the city, including increased tourism, investment and civic pride.”
Henry Boot has teamed up with Feldberg for a new push into mid-box logistics. The pair’s Origin joint venture is seeded with three Henry Boot logistics developments with a combined GDV of £100m. The jv will target EPC A and BREEAM Excellent ratings.
David Turner, managing partner at Feldberg Capital, added: “Having held back from the industrial and logistics market while assets looked overpriced, we believe now is a highly attractive entry point.”
And developers may well be able to sidestep working out how to mitigate any damage they may make to natural habitats ahead of gaining planning permission, under new reforms by the government.
In a bid to reach its target of delivering 1.5m new homes over the next five years, the government is proposing that developers pay into a new nature restoration fund – likely to be managed by Natural England – which will then take responsibility for securing positive environmental outcomes across developments.
Deputy prime minister and secretary of state for housing Angela Rayner said: “Getting Britain building means stripping away unnecessary barriers to growth to deliver the homes that we so desperately need. For years, vital housing and infrastructure projects have been tied up in red tape, leaving communities without the homes, infrastructure and jobs they need.”
She called the changes a “win-win” for developers and the environment.
All of the news from EG, plus a selection of headlines from the nationals:
The year in review: big change, big deals
Henry Boot and Feldberg unite for logistics push
Frasers set for nod on giant new campus HQ
AEW offloads slice of Coventry retail park
Saints and Soton council unite on redevelopment project
Developers set to pay pollution offsets to get Britain building
Savills’ 2024 auction total tops £810m
Welput’s controversial City tower plans refused
Story of Christmas raises £1m
COMMENT: Understanding the Budget’s impact on commercial property
Property ‘Explores’ further for charity
Persimmon hit by £40m in extra costs (£)
New homes plan puts councils on ‘collision course’ with Labour (£)
House sales leap 22% thanks to lower mortgage rates (£)
Landlords buy more homes despite tax rise (£)
UK to pay developers of ‘green’ gas plans if court blocks £8bn project (£)
Use it or lose it, developers warned as Labour targets land banking (£)
Miliband to rule on building Britain’s biggest solar farm (£)
What’s on the UK menu for Chick-fil-A? (£)
Is Chris Dawson, the Del Boy retail tycoon, sizing up an exit? (£)
Isak Andic, founder of Mango fashion chain, dies in accident at 71 (£)
Nick Candy: Elon Musk will show me how Reform can win election (£)
Care homes made me want to shout, so I redesigned them (£)
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