Local authorities thwart housebuilding with ‘manifestly unfair’ council tax raid on developers Property Cash-strapped local authorities across Britain are thwarting efforts to increase housebuilding by hitting property developers with steep council tax bills as soon as their homes are listed as complete, an influential industry body has warned. In a paper shared with Morning Wire, the boss of the Home Builders Federation (HBF) accused local councils of slapping [...]
Construction output weakens as gloom persists Economics UK construction output has continued to shrink as companies struggle to build at the pace required by the government’s far-reaching housing goals. Output fell 0.3 per cent month on month in August, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), with the most pronounced decline in repair and maintenance. “The underlying trends in construction are [...]
John Lewis: Losses triple at retail giant’s property start-up Property Losses tripled at the property start-up owned by retail giant John Lewis during its latest financial year despite its income shooting up, it has been revealed. BTR (Operating) Limited has posted a pre-tax loss of £406,000 for the 12 months to 25 January, 2025, new accounts filed with Companies House show. The latest figure comes [...]
The Building Safety Regulator’s near-impossible balancing act July 10, 2025 Originally implemented to tackle safety concerns in light of the devastating Grenfell fire, the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) has now been accused of hamstringing developments in the capital. Delays in the system are currently “undermining investor confidence” in the sector, “holding back the delivery of new homes and adding to uncertainty for residents”, head of [...]