Jim Gleeson

Text from the summary of the 2023 CMA housing market review, concluding that the two key drivers of poor outcomes are the planning system and the limited amount of homes being built outside the speculative private sector model.

Not sure that's an accurate description of what the CMA concluded.

This is great news, though I hope the stations will not be as isolated from other stuff as this CGI suggests

Just how much impact is the lack of bids from Registered Providers having on housing delivery nationally?

With anecdotal reports from members that the issue shows little sign of abating, we undertook an FOI exercise to determine if any progress has been made.

Here’s what we found 👇

This is around the corner from me. A few observations:
1. Binding heights haven't changed much in ~100 years
2. Shop awnings are good and we should bring them back
3. Catford had boda-boda motorbike taxis a century ago

How much has household size changed in Germany? There's some evidence of a change in England too, but hard to be sure because of data quality issues.

Shaping London, by Terry Farrell

The two cities and the South Bank as perennial entertainment district

"The Thames as the Shaping Force"

The docks as effectively 'straightening' the Thames

RIP Terry Farrell. In addition to his architecture he wrote 'Shaping London', a brilliant analysis of London's development. His explanation of how the flow of the river shaped different patterns of building on its steep and shallow banks has really stuck with me.

Now this is Content

Eagerly awaiting "8 car driving tips that just might prevent you from killing a pedestrian"

Following approval of recovered appeal on Brighton Gasworks by @matthewpennycookmp.bsky.social the council has had full costs awarded against them. The letter from PINs is v robust & makes clear that no. of objections is not a planning consideration-it's the substance of the objection that matters

A Coruña went mad for something similar around the end of the 19C www.galiciaguide.com/Coruna-glass...

That chart doesn't show housing demand

Thanks. I wonder if Waffle's memory was wiped as part of the clandestine government programme, or perhaps there are things he cannot yet bring himself to tell the Brooklyn-Bells.

I never saw the early episodes, were Waffle's origins ever explained or is there scope for a gritty, brooding prequel?

The English Housing Survey does a much more thorough and careful assessment of energy efficiency. If they also ask what the dwelling's EPC is (not sure if they do) that could be a very useful comparison.

This is a huge step, with Oxford set to join a small but select number of cities which have implemented a congestion charge.

the real glory of world war two was that it involved a warrior cult being ground down and beaten to a pulp by people who would rather have been doing something else.

I suspect it's because talking more about rents would undermine the argument that the problem is a financial one.

V sad news, but also a good moment for the BBC to implement my proposal for "In Your Own Time", an AI trained on all 1000+ episodes to generate a new one on any topic of your choice.

🚨 Excited to share that my work w/ @loreneri.bsky.social, “Knocking it Down and Mixing it Up: The Impact of Public Housing Regenerations” found a home at @restatjournal.bsky.social.

We study the impact of converting distressed public housing into mixed-income housing on local housing markets. 🧵👇1/9

The Guardian view on build-to-rent: hardly a solution to the housing crisis | Editorial Editorial: Labour is hoping that big investors will build more homes. But there’s no guarantee they will be genuinely affordable

Guardian editorial repeats mistake about build to rent's impact on rents from the FT: if you build lots of shiny new flats somewhere then of course average rents in those areas will rise. (Does not mean there are not big Qs to ask about BTR and who owns it)

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

I wonder if this also includes business rates?

What next for noise? My FOI reveals an evidence gap around policing noisy vehicles, while government announces it won’t support councils to tackle the problem

With the government saying they aren't helping councils use noise cameras to enforce loud vehicle modification, what happens when people report them to police? Answer is, we don't really know open.substack.com/pub/lauralak...

Yes, this seems to be (a) confusing cause and effect and (b) an issue with the ONS index being distorted by the composition of new supply instead of measuring like-for-like changes (which is a challenge when the stock in a few areas is changing so drastically).

Important to realize that crime will be the next front in the war on data 2/

Last few days to apply for possibly the best job in UK housing, as head of strategy and policy at the Greater London Authority glacareers.engageats.co.uk/Vacancies/W/...

Google Streetview image of 56-60 Farmstead Road in Lewisham, before its redevelopment into 24 new affordable homes by Phoenix Community Housing

This is what it replaces. The Bellingham estate is full of buildings like this which could be intensified into more and better homes if local policy would allow it (the Farmstead Road scheme is very much an exception).

Photo by Lourdas Photography of the entrance to the 56-60 Farmstead Road development by Phoenix Community Housing on the Bellingham estate in Lewisham

Aerial photo by Lourdas Photography of the 56-60 Farmstead Road development by Phoenix Community Housing on the Bellingham estate in Lewisham

Photo by Lourdas Photography of a landing in the 56-60 Farmstead Road development by Phoenix Community Housing on the Bellingham estate in Lewisham

Photo by Lourdas Photography of the 56-60 Farmstead Road development by Phoenix Community Housing on the Bellingham estate in Lewisham

Suburban intensification in London: Farmstead Road is a new Phoenix Community Housing in Bellingham (LB Lewisham), replacing a 3-home terrace with 24 affordable homes built to Passivhaus standards www.phoenixch.org.uk/news/phoenix.... Images by Lourdas Photography.

People think they hate urban canyons, but if you replace all the parked cars without outdoor dining and open streets these blocks become INCREDIBLY charming.

I think the idea is that fly-tippers will be shamed into stopping the practice. Would be keen to see any evidence of effectiveness that outweighs the fairly obvious downsides.