Housing Focus 鈥� Page 11
-
FeaturesWho wants to be in social housing?
Six months on from the collapse of Rok and Connaught, their competitors are scrambling to take their places against a backdrop of cuts and jittery clients. And now the big players are looking to muscle in on the social housing market
-
FeaturesHome truths: Localism and development
The government maintains that localism will boost development, but the latest planning figures show the exact opposite. Just how scared should developers be by this new political reality?
-
FeaturesGreg Clark: Local hero
Greg Clark pretty much invented localism as a political idea, and now he鈥檚 the minister implementing it as a policy. But he鈥檚 adamant that he is genuinely pro-development and not the nimby champion we all fear
-
FeaturesA VAT gift to cowboys?
The government鈥檚 VAT hike to 20% this month has been met with dismay throughout construction. But while some sectors will be exempt, small builders are bound to be hit as cash-strapped homeowners turn to the black market
-
FeaturesPollard Thomas Edwards' Islington square: Shaping up nicely
Pollard Thomas Edwards has made a north London square whole by filling in its missing fourth side with a residential scheme that sensitively reinterprets its traditional context
-
FeaturesYour easy guide to the Code for Sustainable Homes
The new Code for Sustainable Homes has finally arrived. Here鈥檚 a 10-point summary of the changes and the suggestions that didn鈥檛 make it into the final document
-
Features
Housing stats: Residential, projects and approvals
Wales limps on while Taylor Wimpey pips ING Real Estate to the top spot
-
FeaturesHousing stats: New build sales and completions in October
This month鈥檚 data reveals that the South-east has the highest number of completions
-
Features
Will raising social housing rent work?
Every extra pound housing associations are allowed to charge in weekly rent generates up to 拢4.4bn for their development budget, and the chancellor is counting on that money to fund social housing in the future. The question is: will it?
-
FeaturesEco co-housing schemes: Give it a spin
The UK has begun experimenting with co-housing schemes that aim to slash emissions while encouraging a more sustainable lifestyle - as you can imagine, communal washing machines that run on harvested rainwater are de rigueur
-
FeaturesThe future looks rosy: Sheffield's Park Hill estate
Urban Splash鈥檚 refurb of a listed sixties council estate is turning one of the republic of South Yorkshire鈥檚 biggest problems into an aspirational address
-
FeaturesHousing targets: Who鈥檚 afraid of the locals?
Most housebuilders are running like hell from the government鈥檚 plan to make them build local homes for local people. But others believe the upcoming reforms will be to their - and the locals鈥� - advantage
-
FeaturesHousing Design Awards: Living proof
It takes more than a numbing recession, constrained sites and nimbyism to stifle creativity in housing design. Martin Spring reviews the winners of this year鈥檚 Housing Design Awards
-
Features2012 countdown: Jonathan Edwards and the Olympic village
Don鈥檛 worry. Jonathan Edwards hasn鈥檛 fallen on hard times since winning gold at Sydney in 2000. Rather, Locog is using his expert knowledge to help with the delivery of the 拢1bn Olympic village, right down to the fixtures and fittings
-
FeaturesMainstream green: Brighton belle
One Brighton is the brainchild of the team behind super-green development BedZed. But although sustainability is at the heart of the scheme, it鈥檚 going to do it its own sweet way
-
FeaturesThe big brother houses: monitoring residents' energy use
Housebuilders can specify all the green technology they want, but what happens when human beings get left in charge of the thermostat? Buro Happold installed sensors to find out, then told Thomas Lane what they discovered
-
FeaturesBankside: Have you met the Tate鈥檚 new neighbours?
Once snubbed as the poor relation of the trendy South Bank, Bankside has been transformed over the past decade by ambitious design. Now, finally, the residential sector is moving in
-
FeaturesRunning Countryside: Another bite of the Cherry
Two days after Countryside chairman Alan Cherry died, his sons were back at work. Graham, the housebuilder鈥檚 chief executive, talks to Joey Gardiner about the values his father instilled in him 鈥� and whether the company will be able to hang on to its vision in less certain times
-
FeaturesStrata tower: Southwark鈥檚 sore thumb
The Strata tower sticks out 150m above south London鈥檚 downtrodden Elephant and Castle. But, rather than being a symbol of aspiration, the building is turning away from the very area it鈥檚 meant to be giving a lift
-
Features
What it costs: Flooring
Level access showers can improve quality of life for disabled users. Peter Mayer of BLP Insurance looks at the design options and lifecycle costs for retrofitting them into existing floors