Good morning,
The government has performed a second planning policy U-turn in as many days, after bowing down to rebels over onshore wind. This will overturn a de facto ban on development put in place by David Cameron in 2015 and is a reversal of Rishi Sunak’s position during the leadership campaign. It follows hot on the heels of a separate Levelling Up Bill U-turn on housing, which scrapped mandatory housing targets, a move the BPF said “beggars belief”.
The government will fall short on its affordable homes housebuilding targets, according to a committee of MPs. The Public Accounts Committee said the levelling up department “does not seem to have a grasp on the considerable risks to achieving even this lower number of homes, including construction costs inflation running at 15-30% in and around London”.
Meanwhile, a growing cadre of senior business figures will be attending a one-day Labour business conference tomorrow(£) in London’s Docklands, partly sponsored by Canary Wharf Group.
As the public inquiry begins into Mitsubishi Estate’s and CO-RE’s 72 Upper Ground development, opponents have warned developers to “stop demolishing youthful concrete towers at whim”.
In other news, British Land is expanding its burgeoning life sciences portfolio, with plans to take a part in the next phases of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
While, as a life sciences hub, the untapped potential for Leeds is huge, writes Savills’ Simon Lister. But only continued investment and a harnessing of talent will see it fulfil that potential.
Changes in the healthcare REITs as CBRE’s Michael Brodtman joins the board of Target Healthcare, and Simon Laffin steps in as Rupert Barclay’s successor as chair of Impact Healthcare.
Spacemade has signed a management agreement with Wittington Investments to operate a new 20,000 sq ft flexible workspace in London’s Clerkenwell.
Fenwick is to close its Bond Street department store in central London after more than 130 years, after selling up to Lazari Investments for an estimated £430m.
Asda plans to open 300 new convenience stores in the next four years as part of its quest to supplant Sainsburys as the UK’s second-largest grocer.
And fears are growing over the health of the UK construction sector after growth slowed to a crawl last month.
Time Out has hailed a “turning point” in its fortunes, thanks to the success of its Markets concept. “Interest from landlords in our Markets proposition has never been stronger,” says boss Chris Ohlund.
And Circle Property has sold around 60% of its portfolio as its divestment programme continues.
The real estate sector must take tackling socio-economic inequality seriously, writes Jennie Colville, head of ESG and sustainability at Landsec. But with almost half of those working in the sector having come from independent or selective schools, it is clear far more needs to be done.
And if we really care about our people, we need to put health at the heart of our ESG efforts, writes Savills associate director Charlotte Paton, one of this year’s Future Leaders cohort. It’s time to get ahead of the curve and support ESHG.
Meanwhile, in the US, Donald Trump’s family business has been convicted of conducting a 13-year tax fraud scheme. “This was a case about greed and cheating. In Manhattan, no corporation is above the law,” said Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg.
