Good morning.
Ministers are reviewing the algorithm(£) at the centre of the government’s ‘planning revolution’ after fierce opposition from its own MP’s.
Opposition from Tory councillors has also been predicted by lobbying groups(£) who, erm, make their money from the current planning system and hire ex-councillors.
So, is another U-turn on the horizon? Or is the government listening to the other rebellious Tory MPs who say they are sick of all the U-turns(£)?
Just 17% of workers have returned(£) to the UKs 63 biggest cities and towns. Only one in ten civil servants(£) are at their desks. And the BBC says half of UK firms have no intention of returning staff to the office.
The CBI, meanwhile, says a balance needs to be struck(£) between WFH and presenteesism, or other businesses will suffer.
After all, empty chairs at empty tables(£) are already the norm for many of London’s once bustling quarters…
… As a lack of tourists has caused spending in the capital to drop by 78%, or £60m a day(£).
Yes, the world is changing fast, Fiera’s Alex Price tells EG. But you don’t have to be a Canute about it.
You could take the opportunity to go green, as The FT (£) finds.
And, anyway, the days of working in the office nine-to-five, five days a week were numbered well before the coronavirus came along, writes EG’s editor.
In fact, contrary to what the CBI might think, working from home could prove to be the saviour of the UK’s high streets.
On the high street, New Look(£) has become the latest retailer to chance a CVA(£). It wants three years rent free for 68 stores and 2% turnover rents on the other 402.
Screwfix, meanwhile, is bucking the depressing trend by opening 40 new stores this year(£), as it gallops towards its 800 store target.
The FCA has said lenders must do more(£) to help homeowners once the mortgage holiday(£) comes to an end.
After all, unemployment is set to spike(£) as the services sector reports record losses, with worse to come next quarter.
Despite all this house prices will rise(£) 3% this year, says Zoopla.
That optimism also helped Purplebricks become the top riser in the property sector yesterday, as its share price gained 7.59% to 85p.
The owners of Birmingham’s iconic Cube are seeking a sale-and-leaseback.
Hong Kong’s office market(£) may have lost the love of the West, but mainland Chinese investors are pouring into the island.
Being the only one in the office has felt like a return to the early nineties for Urban Splash boss Tom Bloxham in this week’s Lockdown Diaries.
EG’s Diary has had fun seeing how many Rolling Stones titles it can squeeze into one paragraph. Before you start me up, it’s all over now.
Humble plans to convert a former church school(£) in Yorkshire into affordable housing have somehow escalated into a row involving chancellor Rishi Sunak and the archbishop of Canterbury.
And finally, an estate agent in Vancouver has been exiled from the garden after picking the forbidden fruit(£). Peter Yang, of Luxmore Realty, was meant to be showing the property to prospective buyers while its owner was out of the house. Instead security cameras show him nipping back to his car to get some plastic bags, before returning to strip the trees of pears and the bushes of berries. He also tried to tempt prospective buyers to try the fruit, too, the snake.
