Piers Wehner
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Govt appoints Grimley to consult on planning tariffs
The government is working on plans to reintroduce its planning tariff policy, despite claims that it had been scrapped. The controversial proposals, dubbed a “stealth tax” by many in the…
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Developers set for EC state aid housebuilding windfall
Developers are to receive a massive funding boost after the European Commission (EC) ruled to allow state aid for housing schemes.
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Railtrack’s £1bn Thameslink plans sent back to drawing board
Railtrack’s £1bn Thameslink 2000 extension plans have been dealt a crippling blow by a planning inspector’s report. The proposals, which would have linked the Thameslink line to 120 additional stations…
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MPs’ report savages regeneration policy after PIP ban
Regeneration in the UK has been set back by two and a half years because the government has failed to put its case across to the European Commission, according to…
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Hull council slated in Audit Commission report
The Audit Commission (AC) has accused Hull council of poor corporate governance and bad management of its housing stock. In a damning report, the AC, an independent body which scrutinises…
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Govt plans ‘right to buy’ reforms – but not abolition
The government has dismissed speculation that council tenants’ ‘right to buy’ their homes will be scrapped, but is considering ways of tackling abuses of the system.
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Government considers scrapping right to buy
The government is considering scrapping right to buy, in a bid to boost the nation’s affordable housing stock. Deputy prime minister John Prescott has drawn up proposals to suspend the…
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Battle of Crystal Palace moves to House of Lords
The long-running battle over plans to build a 4,800-seat cinema on the site of London’s Crystal Palace has moved to the House of Lords.
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Livingstone admits defeat in Tube PPP legal battle
London mayor Ken Livingstone (pictured) today abandoned his latest legal challenge to the government’s plan for private companies to run the Tube.
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English Partnerships earmarks sites for regeneration
English Partnerships (EP) has been ordered to “search out and deliver” sites for housing and urban regeneration, in its new role as the government’s regeneration “expert”. .
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MPs say landlords should be required to fund BIDs
Property owners should be compelled to pay for Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), a Commons committee has said. A report published this week by the select committee on transport, local government…
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Prescott calls in Sellar’s London Bridge Tower
Plans for Europe’s tallest skyscraper, Irvine Sellar’s London Bridge Tower, have been called-in by secretary of state John Prescott. A letter sent to Sellar Property Group by the Government Office…