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Edinburgh to get first new council houses in two decades

Friday, October 22nd, 2010

Work has begun on the first new council houses to be built in Edinburgh for over twenty years. In total 215 new houses are going to be built in Gracemount under a joint project between the Scottish Government and the City Council.

The first phase which will see 99 new properties built and local residents will be actively involved in the design of the development. There will be 66 of these new properties built in the first phase available for rent from the city council with the remaining 33 houses put aside for shared equity sale or mid-market rent. These properties will be the first council houses to be built in Edinburgh since the 1980s.

Councillor, Paul Edie, said “This is an exciting time for residents in Edinburgh as they can now see our new council homes taking shape. I’m confident these modern homes will set the standard for other councils across Scotland to follow. Nothing is more important to people than decent housing. It impacts on health, well-being and educational attainment. The city faces an acute shortage of housing which is becoming a limit on our prosperity. This is something we are working closely with the Scottish Government on and their £7.5 million investment in this programme is vital to meet this goal.”

The first of the new homes will be ready to rent from around October next year and will include flats and colony houses. The building work is being done by the Edinburgh-based firm, Cruden Group, who along with Hart Builders are part of Edinburgh’s £150 million Homes programme, which is hoping to build 1300 new homes across Edinburgh by 2018.

Everyone on the waiting list for a home which they can protect with household insurance are delighted that Edinburgh are again starting to build council homes after such a long gap. Thanks to money secured from the Scottish Government, the next phase of building will take place in Pennywell and Muirhouse.

Tags: Council homes, Council house tenants, Government, home insurance
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Local people to be put first for housing

Monday, October 11th, 2010

Birmingham council has warned that it intends to stop offering housing to all asylum seekers as they want to keep their resources for local people.

The council will not renew their agreement with the United Kingdom Border Agency when the current five-year contract -which saw them accommodate asylum seekers-ends in June 2011.

Councillor John Lines, a cabinet member for housing, said “Over the last year we have seen a sharp increase in the number of homeless people in Birmingham and we must help the citizens of this city first. With a long waiting list for homes, we really need all our properties for our people in these difficult economic times.”

The withdrawal of the agreement will affect around 190 homes and a similar number of families. This announcement comes as the government is planning sharp cuts to funding for municipal authorities.

Councillor Lines has strongly denied this had anything to do with saving money and has predicted that many more cities will follow suit. He also claims that a huge 7,500 homeless people will have applied for a home in Birmingham by the end of 2010 and their interests should be put before those of all asylum seekers. They will then have a chance to buy household insurance for protection of their new property. The existing agreement involved putting homeless people into bed and breakfast accommodation while asylum seekers were being given homes to live in. Birmingham will still meet their obligation to help the Coalition Government, and they will also work with the United Kingdom Border Agency and help them to find an alternative service which could be in the private sector.

Last month Birmingham Council sent letters to just under 26,000 public-sector employees warning them that jobs were at risk. Like many councils, they are scrutinising every public service.

Prime Minister, David Cameron, called the benefit system ‘completely out of control’ after a family of asylum seekers were placed in a property worth over two million pounds which cost £8,000 per month. The family were moved after they complained about living in a poor area. Mr Cameron says that this case was a vindication of the governments strict new £400 weekly limit on all housing benefit claims.

Tags: Council house tenants, Government, home insurance
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Reduced number of new homes to be built

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

A plan has been put forward to build new homes on a controversial site in Hook, Hampshire, after three years of dereliction.

Longstreet Homes Limited want the green light to build five detached properties. A derelict bungalow used to be on the site, but this was knocked down by the developer after several complaints about teenagers causing vandalism and using it as it as a place to hang out.

Three years ago Longstreet Homes won planning permission to build eleven homes on the site; they got this despite the objections of nearby residents who had concerns about access and parking. Permission was given with the condition that the roads would be given significant improvements to allow for the increased amount of traffic.

The impact of the recession meant Longstreet Homes had to put the plans on hold and the homes were not built. They instead put in a different application this month with a revised, much smaller plan for the site. The new application states how the site has remained empty due to the downturn in the housing market and the huge cost of the highways works required. The builders believe the new proposal is better suited to the current market, and due to the smaller number of homes the highways works will not be as expensive. The new plan would see two five-bedroom, two six-bedroom and one three-bedroom properties built on the site, meaning five new properties needing household insurance. The homes would each have two parking bays plus an additional six visitor places.

Andrew Macleod, consultant for Longstreet Homes, said “The company had withdrawn a similar application earlier this year following concerns from the district council about the number of parking spaces. We bought the site in 2004 and it has taken six years and we are still looking for a viable concept and hopefully this will be it.”

The council will make a decision by October 14^th.

Tags: Government, home insurance, household insurance, property market
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Government cash to boost new housing

Monday, August 16th, 2010

Town halls which give approval for new homes will qualify for a cash bonus from central government. The Housing Minister, Grant Shapps wants to use the incentives to encourage councils to give planning permission in the near future to new building projects, the bonus cash could fund more frontline services or even new playground facilities.

Under the plan, any council which gives the green light to new properties will automatically qualify for a ‘New Homes Bonus’ for each home that is built. The government have agreed to match the council tax raised by every new property built for the next 6 years. This amount could come to thousands of pounds, with homeowners who live in a Band D property paying £1,439 in council tax. So if a council gives the go ahead for 100 new ‘Band D’ properties to be built, they would be entitled to the sum £863,400 of extra central government funding during the six years. Insurance companies will win as well because each new home will need household insurance

Mr Shapps said these incentives were of necessity because of the controversial house building targets which resulted in not enough new homes being built. He went on to say “The incentives would be returning control of a much faster and more responsive planning system to local people. With house-building falling to its lowest level since 1924 under the previous Government, action is needed now to build the homes the country needs. It’s why I have confirmed that those councils who go for growth by providing planning permission now will reap the rewards. So I urge councils to seize the moment and open up a debate with their communities now about the new homes they need and how they would use the new Bonus.”

However the shadow housing minister, Jon Healey, has warned that the scheme could cost billions. He said “Not content with misleading the public about a ‘black hole’ in funding for housing, this Government is now set on conning councils with a home builder’s bonus. The cost will run into billions, met by existing grants to local councils. Given the potential impact on essential local services, we could quite literally see government robbing Peterborough to pay Poole.”

Tags: Government, home insurance, home owners, household insurance, property market
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Trouble may be ahead for coalition

Monday, August 9th, 2010

Council house tenants who take out household insurance to protect their home, could find themselves having to take their insurance policy with them, when they are requested to vacate the property by the Council/Government in the future.

Proposals by Prime Minister Cameron, in a question and answer session with members of the public, suggest that council house tenants may be forced from their homes in the future, but not all members of the coalition are happy about it. Simon Hughes the Deputy Lib Dem Leader, has sent a warning to the leader of the Coalition Government that his party would not accept the Conservative plan to force council tenants from their homes. In a sign of what could be trouble ahead for the Coalition Government, Simon Hughes, a well respected figure on the left of the party, said that there had been no discussion between the Lib Dems and Conservatives within Government about the policy before it was announced by David Cameron. The subject was raised during time spent with voters in the Midlands, it was his fourth PM Direct meeting during which he was confronted by a tenant from a council house, who was complaining that they needed to be in a bigger house.

Many ministers have the belief that too many social homes are under-used, with the elderly having the finger of blame pointed at them, as they live in homes that are too big for them. These properties could be used by young families. The Prime Minister suggested that as well as forcing tenants to move out of council housing, people may also be told to “downsize” to smaller homes if their children have moved out, or even if they became divorced or widowed. David Cameron admitted that this proposal is going to be very controversial, but the current system under which council tenants can pass homes down to their children was not right.

However, Simon Hughes has responded “It’s a prime ministerial idea – it has no more validity yet and I think our party would need a lot of persuading that it has merit or could work. Council tenancy agreements have not been discussed by the coalition, and any idea or proposal floated so far is nothing more than that – an idea or a proposal and not a policy. There was no mention of this issue in either election manifesto or the coalition agreement. We will not let anybody have their homes taken away.”

Tags: Council house tenants, Government, home insurance, home owners, household insurance, property market
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Posts Tagged ‘Government’

Edinburgh to get first new council houses in two decades

Local people to be put first for housing

Reduced number of new homes to be built

Government cash to boost new housing

Trouble may be ahead for coalition

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