New framework published for allocated housing in Guernsey
A framework to ensure the sustainable development of houses in the north of Guernsey has been published by the States. The Committee for Employment & Social Security said the Strategic Delivery Framework (SDF) would "establish a vision" for the allocated housing sites in St Sampson's and Vale. It said the SDF was a coordinated approach which would ensure future development met existing housing needs, boosted the economy and improved transport options. Deputy Peter Roffey said the framework would lay "the groundwork for long-term growth".
'Vibrant communities'
He said: "The work marks a significant step forward in our efforts to deliver much-needed housing in a way that also supports sustainable, vibrant communities in the north of the island. "By taking a collaborative approach with Savills and working closely with both internal and external stakeholders, we're laying the groundwork for long-term growth that benefits islanders now and into the future. "The north of the island holds enormous potential, and the SDF provides a clear and practical path to unlocking it in a sustainable way."Key sites in the SDF include Parc Le Lacheur, Saltpans, Franc Fief, Pointues Rocques and Fontaine Vinery.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
Reeves faces fresh pressure to spend billions more on affordable housing
Rachel Reeves is under renewed pressure to spend billions more on affordable housing, after an industry report suggested the government had significantly overestimated how many new homes would be built over the next few years. The chancellor is being urged by figures inside and outside government to spend heavily on affordable housing at this month's spending review, as a report by one of the country's biggest housing companies cast doubt on official forecasts. The findings from Savills suggest the government is further away from hitting its target of building 1.5m new homes than previously admitted. Its findings are likely to boost the arguments of Angela Rayner, the housing secretary, who is at loggerheads with Reeves over how much her department should be given to build new affordable homes. Kate Henderson, the chief executive of the National Housing Federation (NHF), which commissioned the report, said: 'This analysis shows that reaching the OBR's [Office for Budget Responsibility] forecasts, let alone the government's targets, will require a generational boost to investment in social and affordable housing.' Chris Buckle, the residential research director at Savills, added: 'The heroic rates of growth forecast by the OBR will not be achieved without further action from the government to support demand – particularly support for housing associations and an ambitious new grant funding programme.' One government source said funding for affordable homes was proving a sticking point in negotiations over June's spending review, with Rayner pushing for Reeves to spend much more heavily on it than the previous government did. Labour's vow to build 1.5m houses over the course of the parliament has been central to its promises on economic growth and tackling the cost of living. Hitting the target would require 300,000 net new additions to housing supply every year of the parliament – a level that has never been hit before. Ministers argue that they will be able to stimulate a housing boom by making changes to the planning system that make it far easier for private developers to invest in new schemes. Their claims have been bolstered by official forecasts from the OBR, which say there are likely to be 1.3m net new homes built over the five years to March 2030. Reeves welcomed that forecast in March, saying it showed the government was within 'touching distance' of hitting its target. However, the findings from Savills suggest ministers are much further from that target than Reeves's words suggest. First, the report says the 1.3m forecast applies to the whole of the UK, while the government's target applies only to England. It also highlights the fact that the OBR's forecast is for a period until March 2030, nearly a year after the latest possible date for the next election. Taken together, the report estimates the government is actually on track to oversee the building of 1m new homes by the end of the parliament – only two-thirds of the way to its target. In addition, Savills found the OBR had relied on historically high estimates of private housebuilding to create its forecast. In 2030, for example, the forecast says there are likely to be just over 1.2m private house sales, of which 160,000 will be newly built properties. This would be far in excess of historical trends, given that transaction volumes throughout the 2010s were closer to 1m, and that sales of newbuild properties rarely exceed 10% of the total number of transactions. If overall sales and sales of new properties remain closer to recent trends, it would mean only 100,000 new houses going on sale every year – less than two-thirds of the OBR's forecast. The OBR's forecasts also rely on affordable housebuilding rising in line with the private market, despite the fact that the number of new affordable homes being started has collapsed recently – down 35% in England in 2024 and 90% in London. The report comes amid a standoff between Reeves and Rayner over how much to spend on affordable housing until the end of the parliament. With less than two weeks to go until the chancellor announces departmental spending limits for the next three years, officials say the two cabinet ministers are yet to reach an agreement on the housing budget. At the March budget, Reeves announced an extra £2bn for the government's affordable homes programme in 2026-27. But Rayner is understood to be arguing for more, saying the extra money was billed at the time as a 'downpayment' on the government's housing commitments. She argues that the 1.5m target will be missed without much higher levels of support. The NHF has calculated that to meet housing need the government must build 90,000 new socially rented homes a year, which if entirely publicly funded would cost the government £11.5bn a year. The federation is also urging Reeves to guarantee that social rents should go up by 1 percentage point above inflation for the next 10 years – double the length of time the government has proposed. This would help buttress the finances of the country's housing associations, 11 of which recently wrote to the housing minister Matthew Pennycook warning of 'the worst housing situation in living memory'. Henderson said: 'This certainty of income is vital for housing associations to unlock the private investment needed to build new affordable homes and deliver growth, jobs and improved living standards.' Part of the government strategy for hitting its building targets is to reduce environmental protections, saying: 'We can't have a situation where a newt is more protected than people who desperately need housing.' But this is causing grave concern among environment groups who say that nature in England and the UK is already in crisis, that builders are already not fulfilling the promises they have made on nature, and that the delays in housebuilding are very unlikely to be entirely down to bats or newts. The OBR declined to comment.
Scottish Sun
a day ago
- Scottish Sun
New mortgage rules could add £19,000 to average house price and help first-time buyers with lower deposits
Scroll down to find out what is happening with mortgage rates HOME LOAN New mortgage rules could add £19,000 to average house price and help first-time buyers with lower deposits NEW mortgage rules could add £19,000 to average house prices and help first-time buyers get on the ladder with lower deposits. Changes to stress testing practices could cause property prices to increase by between 5% and 7.5% over the next five years, claims Savills. 1 House prices could surge by up to 7.5% over the next five years, Savills said Credit: Getty New research by the estate agent also predicts the average deposit needed by a first-time buyer could fall from £58,000 to as little as £45,000 over the same time frame, The Telegraph reports. Lucian Cook, of Savills, said: 'Change would not be immediate, with the impact on house prices and transactions likely to take place over a period of five years. 'But in the medium to long term, the market would feel the knock-on effect of a widening pool of buyers." In March, the FCA reminded lenders they are allowed to tweak their stress testing based on market expectations. It said the market approach to stress testing could be restricting borrowers' access to affordable mortgages. It comes as mortgage interest rates fall, following drops in the Bank of England (BoE) base rate. Stress tests are carried out by lenders to see if borrowers could cope with an uptick in their interest rate or if their income dropped. A host of lenders, including Halifax, Santander and Barclays, have tweaked their stress tests in recent months. Santander said it could allow home buyers to borrow up to £35,000 more. But relaxing stress testing rules, while making it easier for buyers to get a mortgage, could see house prices rise as demand increases. The Sun's James Flanders explains how to find the best deal on your mortgage What is happening with mortgage rates? Mortgage rates have been falling steadily across the UK following a number of Bank of England (BoE) base rate cuts. Trump's "Liberation Day" blitz of tariffs also led to a number of lenders slashing interest rates below 4%. The base rate is the rate the BoE charges to high street banks and lenders when they borrow money. If it goes up, it means mortgage rates tend to rise too, as well as savings rates. When it falls, it sees the opposite happen. The base rate currently sits at 4.25%, having been lowered from 4.5% earlier this month, and down from 5.25% in summer last year. According to the average two-year fixed-rate mortgage is 5.12% today, compared to 5.93% a year ago. The average five-year fixed residential mortgage rate today is 5.09%. This is down from 5.50% a year ago. More base rate cuts are expected this year. It's worth bearing in mind, when your mortgage rate falls is dependent on the type you have. Those on tracker and standard variable rate (SVR) mortgages tend to see their rates fall first. However, if you're on a fixed rate, you won't feel the impact of any rate changes until your deal ends. If you are coming to the end of a fixed deal, most lenders let you lock in a new rate up to six months beforehand, which can be worth doing. If rates fall after you agree a new deal, some lenders will let you sign a new one at a lower rate.
The Sun
a day ago
- The Sun
New mortgage rules could add £19,000 to average house price and help first-time buyers with lower deposits
NEW mortgage rules could add £19,000 to average house prices and help first-time buyers get on the ladder with lower deposits. Changes to stress testing practices could cause property prices to increase by between 5% and 7.5% over the next five years, claims Savills. 1 New research by the estate agent also predicts the average deposit needed by a first-time buyer could fall from £58,000 to as little as £45,000 over the same time frame, The Telegraph reports. Lucian Cook, of Savills, said: 'Change would not be immediate, with the impact on house prices and transactions likely to take place over a period of five years. 'But in the medium to long term, the market would feel the knock-on effect of a widening pool of buyers." In March, the FCA reminded lenders they are allowed to tweak their stress testing based on market expectations. It said the market approach to stress testing could be restricting borrowers' access to affordable mortgages. It comes as mortgage interest rates fall, following drops in the Bank of England (BoE) base rate. Stress tests are carried out by lenders to see if borrowers could cope with an uptick in their interest rate or if their income dropped. A host of lenders, including Halifax, Santander and Barclays, have tweaked their stress tests in recent months. Santander said it could allow home buyers to borrow up to £35,000 more. But relaxing stress testing rules, while making it easier for buyers to get a mortgage, could see house prices rise as demand increases. The Sun's James Flanders explains how to find the best deal on your mortgage What is happening with mortgage rates? Mortgage rates have been falling steadily across the UK following a number of Bank of England (BoE) base rate cuts. Trump's "Liberation Day" blitz of tariffs also led to a number of lenders slashing interest rates below 4%. The base rate is the rate the BoE charges to high street banks and lenders when they borrow money. If it goes up, it means mortgage rates tend to rise too, as well as savings rates. When it falls, it sees the opposite happen. The base rate currently sits at 4.25%, having been lowered from 4.5% earlier this month, and down from 5.25% in summer last year. According to the average two-year fixed-rate mortgage is 5.12% today, compared to 5.93% a year ago. The average five-year fixed residential mortgage rate today is 5.09%. This is down from 5.50% a year ago. More base rate cuts are expected this year. It's worth bearing in mind, when your mortgage rate falls is dependent on the type you have. Those on tracker and standard variable rate (SVR) mortgages tend to see their rates fall first. However, if you're on a fixed rate, you won't feel the impact of any rate changes until your deal ends. If you are coming to the end of a fixed deal, most lenders let you lock in a new rate up to six months beforehand, which can be worth doing. If rates fall after you agree a new deal, some lenders will let you sign a new one at a lower rate. How to get the best deal on your mortgage IF you're looking for a traditional type of mortgage, getting the best rates depends entirely on what's available at any given time. There are several ways to land the best deal. Usually the larger the deposit you have the lower the rate you can get. If you're remortgaging and your loan-to-value ratio (LTV) has changed, you'll get access to better rates than before. Your LTV will go down if your outstanding mortgage is lower and/or your home's value is higher. A change to your credit score or a better salary could also help you access better rates. And if you're nearing the end of a fixed deal soon it's worth looking for new deals now. You can lock in current deals sometimes up to six months before your current deal ends. Leaving a fixed deal early will usually come with an early exit fee, so you want to avoid this extra cost. But depending on the cost and how much you could save by switching versus sticking, it could be worth paying to leave the deal - but compare the costs first. To find the best deal use a mortgage comparison tool to see what's available. You can also go to a mortgage broker who can compare a much larger range of deals for you. Some will charge an extra fee but there are plenty who give advice for free and get paid only on commission from the lender. You'll also need to factor in fees for the mortgage, though some have no fees at all. You can add the fee - sometimes more than £1,000 - to the cost of the mortgage, but be aware that means you'll pay interest on it and so will cost more in the long term. You can use a mortgage calculator to see how much you could borrow. Remember you'll have to pass the lender's strict eligibility criteria too, which will include affordability checks and looking at your credit file. You may also need to provide documents such as utility bills, proof of benefits, your last three month's payslips, passports and bank statements.
