Fri, 18 May 2012 08:23:58 GMT Thieves steal a metal plaque erected in memory of two young boys killed by IRA bombs in the Cheshire town of Warrington in 1993.
Fri, 18 May 2012 09:02:22 GMT A major search is under way to find a fishing boat which has disappeared without trace with a crew of three off the Dorset coast.
The Government is failing to tackle the worsening housing crisis, leading housing groups have warned. Latest Government figures out today show annual housing starts totalled 104,970 in the 12 months to March 2012, down by 6% on the same period a year before.
The number of homes built is now running at less than half the number even the Government admits is needed to meet demand.
Seasonally adjusted starts are currently 50% below peak output in December 2005. Completions are 36% below their March quarter 2007 peak.
The poor quarterly figures show house building starts in England fell by 11% to 24,140, compared to the previous three months.
Private housing starts fell 8% as house builders remain focused on restoring balance sheets rather than building at higher volumes.
Public spending cuts are also starting to bite with housing associations starts slumping 21%, despite the raft of Government measures to stimulate the market.
The new figures coincided with the release by the National Housing Federation, Shelter and The Chartered Institute of Housing of their second Housing Report.
It warned that the government is not delivering on five out of ten key housing indicators.
These include housing supply, affordability of the private rented sector and homelessness.
The report calls on the Government to make good on its promises, in particular to ‘Get Britain Building’, which as well as providing much-needed homes for thousands of families, will also deliver new jobs and economic growth.
The report also warned ministers of the urgency of meeting the nation’s housing needs as pressures, such as falling incomes and a growing and ageing population, intensify over the coming years, putting an increasing strain on Britain’s broken housing market.
David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, which represents housing associations, said: “Much more needs to be done to tackle this country’s dire housing crisis. Unless we build significantly more homes, it will only get worse.
“Building new homes will help fix our broken housing market and, with rising unemployment and living costs, spur economic growth by creating jobs and supporting small businesses. It’s a win/win for the taxpayer and for the millions stuck on waiting lists.'
Grainia Long, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing, said: “The Housing Report shows the Government’s progress in addressing our national housing crisis is limited.
'With the economy now in double dip recession, the pressures on the housing system will only increase and the Government needs to step up its efforts in response and be more ambitious in its strategy to boost housing supply and activity in the wider housing sector.
“Addressing the housing crisis in this way would also be a much-needed and powerful stimulus to economic growth.”
The government has loosened the rules on how councils must reinvest cash from the revamped right to buy scheme.
Housing minister Grant Shapps has given councils three years to spend right to buy receipts on new homes, rather than the two years first mooted.
The light touch rules will also allow councils to decide on the type, size and location of the replacement homes, and to work with housing associations to finance developments.
If the cash is not used councils will be forced to pass it to central government where it will be reinvested in house building nationally.
The minister said councils now have a "prime opportunity" to refresh their housing stock and help meet the housing needs of hard-working families currently languishing on the waiting list.
The revamped Right to Buy, which will give 2.5 million social tenants the opportunity to buy their home with discounts of up to £75,000 was launched last month.
Shapps said:"For every extra property sold under Right to Buy we're giving councils the flexibility to build the homes they need, where they need them - or to work with us to ensure every penny raised through the scheme goes towards housebuilding.
“I've listened to their views, and they now have three years to make the most of the extra funds the scheme will bring.”
Bovis Homes is the latest house builder to report a sharp rise in sales in the first part of the year.
The firm today said net reservations to mid-May were up 33% at 589 homes. Including previous forward sales and social homes, total sales were up at 1,437, compared to around 1,000 at the same time last year.
This has been driven by a 23% increase in the average number of active sales outlets and a 9% improvement in the sales rate per site.
Bovis has remained highly active in the land market and currently has legal agreements in place to acquire 1,774 housing plots on 14 sites.
The southern house builder welcomed the launch of the NewBuy mortgage product, which enables customers to access 95% loan to value mortgages.
“There has been strong interest in NewBuy since its launch and the early signs are promising, however NewBuy's ongoing success relies on the availability of mortgages with competitive interest rates,” it said.
Unemployment dipped for the second time in three months to 8.2% in March, but this was entirely due to a rise in part-time workers.
Almost eight million people are now in a part-time job, the highest since records began in 1992.
Those locked in part-time work because they cannot find full-time work increased by 73,000 to a record high of 1.4 million.
The latest official figures have ignited calls to create valuable full-time jobs with investment in much-needed housing.
Mike Leonard, director of the Modern Masonry Alliance, said: “The under 25's and over 50's are being cut adrift from society.
“Around 22% of young people out of work and many more young and old are having to work part time as they cannot get full time roles and make best of their knowledge and skills.
He warned: “The public sector job cuts are in their early stages and with falling consumer confidence this will only get worse.
“The long term damage to our manufacturing sector capacity, the lost skills and the high risks associated with increasing levels of the young and old becoming disenfranchised are too dangerous to contemplate.
“The answer, Mr Cameron, is to make the funds available to build an additional 25,000 social homes now and Get Britain Building before it is to late!”
New homes "Think Tank", The Futures Group, details how to rise to the challenge of delivering better homes for the consumer.
Contributors to The Futures Group include leading experts from national house builders, manufacturers and regulatory bodies.
T-ZERO is a non-profit project initiated by some of the UK's leading
energy conservation and housing charities, housing associations, architects
and buildings performance specialists, together with English Heritage
and the Housing Corporation. It is supported by the Technology Strategy
Board (formerly DTI) and its brief is to develop novel ways to reduce
environmental impacts from existing housing, working towards a future
goal of a zero carbon built environment.
T-ZERO is
developing an interactive web-based tool that puts energy and environmental
performance expertise in the hands of the householder, housing stock
manager, designer or builder.
The AIMC4 project is developing homes that deliver to Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4 energy standards with a fabric-first solution.
Click here for more info.
Get Britain Building
vehicle stickers.
Show your support
Car sticker 95x245mm – 7p each
Van sticker 255x260mm, 13p each
Lorry sticker 305x325mm – 20p each
Plus postage.
To order, email info@britishprecast.org
or call 0116 253 6161
The UK Government has set out an ambitious plan for all new homes to be zero carbon from 2016. The Zero Carbon Hub is here to help you understand the challenges, issues and opportunities involved in developing, building and marketing your low and zero carbon homes. www.zerocarbonhub.org
Plan B Press Advert
Get Britain Building Plan B
Plan B - Because there is always another way.
Wolseley joins the Get Britain Building coalition
Biggest
Construction Coalition Calls on Scottish Government to Prevent 16,000
Scottish Job Losses 
Make a difference!
BBC
Radio WM interview with Mike Leonard, Modern Masonry Alliance Director.
