Michael Gove has taken over the housing remit from Robert Jenrick.
Moving from the role of chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Gove now faces a substantial in-tray – with planning in the air, amendments to the Building Safety Bill and promises of reform from rental tenancy to leasehold, to further demands from the industry.
Reacting to the appointment, Rob Whiteman, chief executive of CIPFA and chair of ReSI, said: “He is a big hitter and radical in nature; and possibly our most senior minister in decades. Reform and resources are a good thing”. Former housing minister Mark Prisk said Gove will bring “a reforming mindset and political weight to housing, devolution, modernising local government”. Gove is joined by Neil O’Brien and Kemi Badenoch as ministers, with Badenoch’s title, minister for levelling up, perhaps telling of the new direction.
A turbo-charged national debate over planning is expected to reach final clarity with the Planning Bill in coming weeks. Earlier this week, Victoria Hills, chief executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute, and Ian Fletcher, director of real estate policy at the British Property Federation, laid out their post-recess priorities in the latest episode of the Resi Talks podcast.
As politicians, planners and developers unpick the latest in zoning, levies and, critically, funding, Hills says: “We’re in a bit of a sweet spot: we’ve got the ear of government, the ear of the public, and there’s an opportunity through the reform agenda to actually get some really great things for the profession.” Scroll to the end of the article for the rest of Gove’s newly inherited to-do list.
In other people moves, Homes England’s Simon Dudley has become chair of London Square’s for-profit affordable housing arm. Unveiled at the end of last year, Square Roots aims to expand with new acquisitions and a £500m pipeline of affordable housing assets. The new company will apply for approval as registered provider of social housing.
London Square follows hot on the heels of Australian developer Lendlease, which has received approval from the Regulator of Social Housing for its new company LTYD Homes. Lendlease has previously been criticised by campaigners for its lack of affordable housing in the controversial Heygate Estate regeneration with Southwark Council. The developer said the new strategy would strengthen the resilience of its large city centre, speed up delivery and help to attract new equity investment.
Finally, following months of fire-fighting and a failed company sale, the UK’s first and largest co-living developer, The Collective, has fallen into administration. The developer was widely recognised as the poster child for co-living, but had been hit with loss of income and development delays during the pandemic. Founder Reza Merchant launched the company in 2012 and had ambitious goals to expand to 100,000 beds by 2025. The Collective currently owns 1,623 beds in operations with a further 6,590 in the pipeline. Administrations at FTI Consulting will now seek to recoup funds for creditors and transition assets.
View the magazine, download the app (iOS and Android) and read on for more of the week’s headlines:
COMMENT Grand designs for self-built homes
Housebuilding halts as materials run short
CMA closes investigation into Countryside’s doubling ground rents
Civitas stocks slide as short-seller strikes
Lynda Shillaw on turning Harworth into a £1bn business
Harworth’s Ironbridge scheme heads back to committee
Greystar drives global expansion with string of new schemes
Mark partners with Credit Suisse on €1bn European resi portfolio
Yorkshire housebuilder forms £50m jv with Dominvs
Regal London heads to Watford for mixed-use scheme
Redrow’s exit from London drags down profit
Scotland’s Springfield hails record year
Foxtons picks Nigel Rich as chair
