There was much triumphant huffing and defiant puffing this week in the wake of the Cala judgment.
The high court ruling that communities secretary Eric Pickles had acted unlawfully in abolishing regional spatial strategies was a victory for Cala Homes in its battle to get housing targets reinstated.
The Home Builders Federation described it as a “wake-up call for the government”. Ministers dismissively described the ruling as changing very little.
Cala believes that the decision will help with its stalled project to build 2,000 new homes in Winchester. The development was central to its challenge.
The gap between the ruling and the Localism Bill becoming law, probably next July, may help other developers who act swiftly. And it’s certainly unfortunate that the uncertainty dogging the planning system continues.
But it is conceivably a hollow victory. Cala may have won this battle but, make no mistake, the war will be won by the government. Disgruntled Liberal Democrat MPs may fall on their swords over tuition fees; they won’t over a regional strategy which they broadly supported going into the election.
• Speaking of legal matters. Interesting research from Hogan Lovells crosses my desk. Its latest is an upbeat survey that suggests cautious optimism is returning to the market.
More interesting, though, is the emerging expectation that litigation is set to increase.
Accusations of professional negligence are seen as the most likely cause of claims, as well as landlord and tenant litigation and insolvency. With the cost of professional indemnity insurance premiums rising, an increase in litigation is an expectation held by insurers too.
Claims are already being made in residential and will surely reach the commercial market soon. So worried are some that the issue is on the agenda for next week’s Windsor Group meeting of top agents.
• Grosvenor has completed the review of its London estate that it trumpeted in September. It’s all part of Fast Forward, the project it flagged last year as key to driving a £15m rise in recurring revenue on the estate, and a £25m increase in value-added growth.
At the time, it talked of other motives – creating better career opportunities for staff, removing bureaucracy and ridding the business of out-of-date practices – that are often seen as secondary when eight-figure sums are dangled enticingly. The structure that will emerge on Monday appears to deliver on each of those objectives (p31).
With 64 jobs ceasing to exist – replaced by 50 new roles – the working practices of the business will be significantly different. This is reinforced by delegating authority to lower levels – which, if successful, will change customer perceptions.
Oh, and it will increase profitability if the twin goals of speeding up lettings and reducing voids are also achieved.
On paper, it sounds sensible. In practice, it sounds deliverable. But the real test will come over the next several months.
To his credit, Grosvenor’s grounded Britain and Ireland chief executive, Peter Vernon, recognises that. “The changes we’re making enable us to deliver improvements,” he acknowledges. “They are not the improvements.”
• Congratulations to Hammerson regeneration director Michael Bear, the new Lord Mayor of the City of London.
Alderman Bear makes his public debut today at the Lord Mayor’s Show, which this year features a troupe of Zulu warriors.
As well as swearing an oath of allegiance to the monarch at the Royal Courts of Justice, he’ll be meeting retailers at One New Change. I imagine most readers’ Saturday will be quieter than his.
damian.wild@estatesgazette.com
