The Government has released a consultation concerning new draft statutory guidance on social housing allocations for local authorities in England. Grant Shapps MP, Minister for Housing, hopes the guidance will help do away with the ‘injustice’ associated with the social housing system.
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The recent release of Halifax’s annual quality of life (QOL) survey has highlighted what some are calling a widening of the north south divide. In a thorough ranking of all 405 local authority districts, just 8 areas of the top ranked 50 locales can be found outside the southern and eastern regions of England.
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Two prominent MPs, David Davis (Conservative) and Frank Field (Labour), have put together a report suggesting that the Government go further with their proposed changes to the Right-to-Buy scheme – providing the opportunity for potentially another 1 million tenants to get on the property ladder.
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 A recent High Court ruling decided the local authority in question was not liable for damage caused by their tree as long as they were unaware the tree posed a real risk to the property in question – a new precedent for future cases and a cause to breathe a little easier for local authorities.
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www.birminghambuildingsurveyors.co.uk
There is a serious under supply of housing in the West Midlands where housebuilding has fallen by 50 per cent in recent years. But despite a difficult economic backdrop, several partnerships in the region are pushing ahead with major developments to meet the growing demand.
Between 2008 and 2033, the number of households across the West Midlands is projected to grow from 2.24 million to 2.7 million. That equates to annual growth of around 18,000 households or a total expansion of 20 per cent.
It is one of only two regions, the other being the North East, where annual household growth is expected to average less than 20,000 between 2008 and 2033.
Read more about this story here. To find a surveyor in the West Midlands, click the link at the top.
plymouthbuildingsurveyors.co.uk – A new development in the Sherford valley has received the go ahead after years of protests and planning struggles.
The plans to build 5,500 homes on the east side of Plymouth come from developer Redwood and have now been approved by the South Hams District Council. All is not lost for protestors, however, as the planning submission must still be approved by plymouth City Council.
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Inside Housing is offering the chance to win £100 in Marks & Spencer vouchers in exchange for your views on the riots.
Shortly after the riots swept England in August, Inside Housing, the Chartered Institute of Housing and the National Housing Federation launched ‘The Riot Report’ to find out what steps can be taken to help prevent a repeat of the violence. Now they want to know what housing professionals, who work for social landlords operating in areas that experienced riots, think caused the disturbances. What would they like their organisations to do to address the underlying problems?
Have your say here.
www.devonsurveyors.co.uk – Property Surveying provides a resource for all property purchasers to find the best surveyor for them. If you are looking to buy a property in Devon the Government, Which? and the RICS all recommend that you get a Chartered Surveyor to inspect it before purchase.
Follow the link above to find a Chartered Surveyor near your property purchase in Devon.
Campaigners are lobbying the Welsh government to amend building regulations to ensure carbon monoxide alarms are installed in new homes.
The Carbon Monoxide – Be Alarmed group say only 38% of homes in Wales own a carbon monoxide alarm.
As well as new-build regulations, it wants landlords to be forced to provide alarms in properties as part of annual gas safety inspections.
The Welsh government has been asked to comment.
Members of the group will meet assembly ministers at the Senedd at an event hosted by Islwyn AM Gwyn Price.
Campaign spokeswoman, Christine McGourty, said: “There are two simple steps we’d like the Welsh Government to take.
“Firstly, building regulations should be amended so that new homes come with alarms already installed.
“Secondly, providing an alarm should be part of a landlord’s annual gas safety inspection.”
Attending the event will be Adele Forbes, from Blackwood, in Caerphilly county, who lost her five-year-old son McCauley and her grandparents in 2005 to carbon monoxide poisoning.
McCauley Thomas, five, had been staying with Patrick Chidgey, 71, and his wife Gloria, 68, at Pontllanfraith, near Blackwood, in October 2005.
A Newport inquest heard carbon monoxide had built up in the house because of a blocked chimney from a coal fire.
An investigation showed the chimney had not been swept and the boiler not been serviced for “some time”.
Ms Forbes said: “We hadn’t got round to putting an alarm into our home, and I now have to live with that forever.
“Too many lives are lost or harmed each year because people don’t realise the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning.
“I want every parent in Wales to buy a carbon monoxide alarm this week.
“Believe me, spending £20 on an alarm is worth it – it can protect you and your family from permanent brain damage and it might save your lives.”
Gwyn Price AM said he hoped the event would be a “significant first step to achieving the campaigns objectives, here in Wales”.
The campaign group claims 1.8m people in Wales are at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning because they do not have an alarm.
It says research shows 74% of people are unaware that carbon monoxide – which has no colour, taste or smell – can kill, and only 15% realise it can cause brain damage.
Find a surveyor near you if you think carbon monoxide might be building in your home. Click here to find your nearest Chartered Surveyor.
Source: BBC website.
www.cardiffbuildingsurveyors.co.uk – If you are thinking about buying a property in South Wales, you should think hard about having a survey carried out.
There are many different types of survey, from full structural surveys to homebuyer reports, valuations to single fault assessments – there is a type of building survey to suit all budgets. Keith Batten FRICS is a Chartered Surveyor in South Wales that can help. Contact him to talk about having a building survey carried out on your property by a fully Qualified Chartered Building Surveyor. Doing so, will give you the peace of mind, and forward planning, needed to properly enjoy your property purchase.
0800 880 6264
