Prop-arazzi

Sarah Teather, MP for Brent East has moved from business, enterprise and regulatory reform to become housing spokeswoman for the party.

The British Construction Industry Awards 2008 are due to be announced at a gala awards dinner at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London this week. The BCI Awards are widely regarded as the industry’s ‘Oscars’. The awards dinner will attract around 900  members of the construction industry in the UK.
National Construction Week is also scheduled to take place from the 8th of October. The aim of the week is to inform young people about the many careers available in the modern construction industry.

This graph from the BBC website says it all:

Housing Minister Caroline Flint MP joined us this morning at Weber Shandwick for a briefing session for which we are very grateful. Please click the link below for our latest briefing -Housing the Nation.

Demographic and social changes, leading to the formation of more, smaller households, have been upping the pressure for an increase in housing supply for nearly a decade. More recently, the squeeze on access to mortgage finance means that the affordability of buying one’s own home is becoming increasingly remote for lower income groups. When you add to that the challenge of improving the environmental performance of domestic accommodation – a major source of carbon dioxide emissions – it is easier to still see why housing has again been elevated as a major policy issue for the Government. This guide explores the Government’s growing concentration on the provision of greater social housing.

Please click here to download the guide.

Caroline Flint was on sparkling form as she addressed a packed audience at Weber Shandwick this morning. 

Speaking to a room full of industry experts she outlined the Government policy on eco-towns, refurbishment, local government, use of government land and much more.

Watch this space for future event information.

Ruth Kelly has made a statement in the House of Commons to announce the introduction of a new congestion charge for Greater Manchester.  The scheme will be funded from the Transport Innovation Fund.  Improved public transport links have been promised before the scheme comes online in 2013.

 The scheme is expected to reduce congestion in Greater Manchester by 20% .

63 Labour MPs have signed a Commons motion opposing plans for the creation of an independent panel - the organisation at the very heart of the Planning Bill.

The MPs, led by Clive Betts, are concerned that the planning system will become skewed and (even more) illogical.  The point to the fact that an application for a new football pitch may go to the Secretary of State while a new airport can fly through(!)

With Gordon Brown in serious trouble on all fronts, there is now a concern that something has to give, and the Planning Bill could be an early victim.

Just one day after David Lock claimed in the Sunday Times that the Government were planning to crash the planning process for eco-town, Caroline Flint has announced an expert panel of advisors.

The “Eco-Town Challenge Team” is made up of fourteen experts who will lay down the challenge to bidders today and ensure that as well as being eco friendly, all houses are well designed, are sensitive to local surroundings and create homes people want to live in.

The fourteen members of the Eco-Towns Challenge Panel are:

1. John Walker (Chair) - Former Chief Executive, British Urban Regeneration Association. Expert in delivery of large mixed use development

2. Dr Liz Goodwin - Chief Executive, Waste and Resource Action Programme (WRAP). Expert in use of natural resources and recycling

3. Stephen Hale - Director, Green Alliance. Environment expert

4. Sir Peter Hall - President, Town and Country Planning Association. Expert in urban issues, housing and planning

5. Wayne Hemingway - Founder, Red or Dead. Expert in design and social issues

6. Stephen Joseph - Executive Director, Campaign for Better Transport. Transport expert

7. Nick Mabey - Chief Executive, E3G. Expert in energy issues and economic development

8. Kris Murrin - TV presenter, expert in sustainable transport and children’s issues

9. Sunand Prasad - Royal Institute of British Architects President. Expert in design and architecture

10. Liz Reason - Director, Reasons to Be Cheerful consultancy. Expert in innovative approaches to energy issues and climate change

11. Sue Riddlestone - Director, BioRegional Development Group. Expert in sustainability and sustainable development

12. Joanna Yarrow - TV presenter, green-lifestyle specialist and founder of sustainability company Beyond Green

13. Richard Simmons - Expert in architecture and the built environment.

14. Lynda Addison - Managing Director of Addison & Associates. Transport and planning expert.

The Competition Commissions final report into the groceries market was released this morning - and calls for the introduction of a new competition test for grocery stores at the planning stage.

In a report which focused on the needs of customers, the Commission concluded that while grocers are providing a good value, action is needed to improve local markets and relationships between suppliers and supermarkets. 

For the supermarkets this will mean:

• a “competition test” for larger planning applications (a recommendation at the moment)
• action to prevent land agreements which prevent competition - most notably restrictive covenants on other sites
• the creation of a grocery supply code
• the introduction of an independent ombudsman to police the code.

In practice, this will mean the OFT becomes a statutory consultee on planning applications and will judge and report to the planning authority on an application’s ”competition test”.

The report will not mean any immediate sales of sites by big supermarkets chains, but in specified areas, there will be a requirement to release restrictive covenants within 6 months - and new restrictive covenants will be prohibited.  These measures are designed to encourage the development of new supermarkets in areas previously dominated by a single supplier.

For more details - please contact Weber Shandwick on 020 7067 0341