Latest news with #housebuilding
The Independent
10 hours ago
- Business
- The Independent
Badenoch and Cleverly attack Labour housing record after Tory reshuffle
Sir James Cleverly has joined Kemi Badenoch in a new attack on Labour's record on housing in London as the Tories seek to put on a united front following a shadow cabinet reshuffle. The newly appointed shadow housing secretary promised that 'under Kemi's leadership, I am ready to lead the fight' on new homes policy in the capital, a day after returning to the Conservative front bench. Opposition leader Mrs Badenoch accused Sir Keir Starmer's Government of having done 'the exact opposite' of showing it was serious about housebuilding. Labour, which has pledged to deliver 1.5 million homes by the next parliament, said the country was still 'living with the consequences' of the Tories' 'disastrous decision to abolish mandatory housing targets'. Mrs Badenoch said the Prime Minister is 'seemingly more concerned about homes for illegal migrants than getting Britain building' following remarks made by Sir Keir to Parliament's Liaison Committee. Sir Keir has suggested there is 'lots of housing available' to accommodate both rising numbers of homeless people and asylum seekers when asked about the need to house both groups. 'Under my leadership, Conservatives will stand up for property rights. Private owners should not face the threat of their property being taken over by the council to house illegal immigrants,' she said. Sir James said: 'This Labour government is totally failing the country, and the capital, on housing – and under Kemi's leadership, I am ready to lead the fight against this failure.' Ahead of a joint visit with Mrs Badenoch on Wednesday, he criticised actions such as cancelling the London Plan review of housing and 'using precious stock to house asylum seekers'. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has withdrawn the review, which had been ordered by the previous government, to pave the way for what she called a 'partnership approach' to development between Government and City Hall. The joint visit is the first since Mrs Badenoch reshuffled her front bench on Wednesday as part of efforts to demonstrate what she described as the Tories' 'mission of renewal'. Former foreign secretary Sir James will shadow Ms Rayner in the housing, communities and local government brief, while ex-Conservative Party chairman Richard Holden becomes shadow transport secretary. Kevin Hollinrake has been appointed party chairman, replacing Nigel Huddleston, who will become shadow culture Andrew will become shadow health secretary, replacing Edward Argar, who resigned citing health reasons. Julia Lopez has been appointed shadow science secretary, taking over from Alan Mak, who has left the shadow cabinet. Gareth Bacon has been replaced by Mr Holden in his transport brief and demoted from the shadow cabinet, but remains minister for London. Sir James served in the Foreign Office and as home secretary when the Conservatives were in power before spending months on the back benches after coming third in the Tory leadership contest last year. The MP for Braintree in Essex has since used his influential position as a former minister to warn against pursuing a populist agenda akin to Nigel Farage's Reform UK. In the same speech, he also said he wanted to return the Tories to government 'at every level,' amid speculation he could harbour ambitions of running for the London mayoralty held by Sir Sadiq Khan in 2028. He has also urged the Conservatives to reject climate change 'luddites' on the right who believe 'the way things are now is just fine,' in remarks that were widely seen as at odds with the net-zero stance of the Tory leader. In a press release ahead of the joint visit, the Tories described Sir James as a 'political heavyweight' who will take the fight to Labour 'over their failure to provide the people of Britain with the houses they need – particularly in London, ahead of the mayoral elections in 2028.' The release contained no new Conservative housing policy announcements, after Mrs Badenoch said she did not want to rush into new proposals following the party's election defeat last year. A Labour spokesperson said: 'No amount of deckchair shuffling can hide that the architects of 14 years of Tory failure still sit around Kemi Badenoch's top table. 'We're still living with the consequences of the Tories' disastrous decision to torpedo supply by abolishing mandatory housing targets. 'While Labour is working in partnership with regions to turn the tide on the acute and entrenched housing crisis, the Conservatives haven't changed and they haven't once apologised for the mess they left behind.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Homes and factories ‘can be built faster' with water reforms, says Reed
Water reforms will help speed up housebuilding and ease wild swimmers' fears that they might be bathing in sewage, the Environment Secretary has said. Steve Reed described supply and sewage infrastructure as 'critical for housing development, economic development and economic growth', as he took questions about the Independent Water Commission's final report published on Monday. Mr Reed told MPs the Government would publish a white paper this autumn, with proposals in response to the review led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, and teased plans for a new water reform Bill. In the Commons, Labour MP Allison Gardner warned that 'antiquated mains water infrastructure cannot adequately cope with the increased demand of new housing developments, even when the developer meets all the required mitigations'. The Stoke-on-Trent South MP asked: 'Does the minister agree with me that with the Government's plan to build 1.5 million homes, it is vital that privatised water companies ensure that they can adequately meet systems demand without sewage dumping, prioritising this over profiteering?' Conservative MP for Exmouth and Exeter East, David Reed, later said some billpayers feared water companies might not 'keep pace with development' in their area. Responding to the Labour MP, Mr Reed said: 'Water infrastructure is critical for housing development, economic development and economic growth in every single region of the country. 'I've accepted in principle, today, one of Sir Jon's recommendations that will allow us to align for the first time water infrastructure investment and spatial planning so that those homes and factories can be built faster to the benefit of local people.' In his report, Sir Jon wrote that 'planning for the water system should be closely aligned with other spatial planning'. This could involve requiring town halls to ask water firms what they need before agreeing their local planning policies. Samantha Niblett said wild swimmers in Derbyshire and Staffordshire 'frequently have to avoid a Trent tan' when they are in the water. The Labour MP for South Derbyshire asked: 'Does the Secretary of State agree with me that by having cleaner waters we can encourage more great exercise like this to make a healthier – and improve the wellbeing of – our country?' Mr Reed replied: 'The Trent tan is a very alarming and graphic image but it does capture what has gone wrong with our water sector for so long. 'The changes we're announcing today will clean up our waterways across the country, so that wild swimmers as well as many other people who like to enjoy our precious rivers, lakes and seas can get on and enjoy them without the kind of concern that she's alluding to.' The Environment Secretary also rejected the suggestion that ministers should take water firms into public ownership. Clive Lewis, the Labour MP for Norwich South, said the review 'feels like a missed opportunity for the Government to show the public whose side it's on'. He said: 'It entrenches a privatised model that has already failed economically, environmentally and democratically, with 20-50% of bills going on servicing debt. 'Why if public ownership is good enough for rail, good enough for GB Energy and renewables, is it not good enough for water?' Mr Reed said the Government had to 'take a rational and not an ideological approach to tackling this problem', and added Government officials had calculated that 'nationalising the water companies would cost £100 billion'. He continued: 'And to pay that money, we'd have to take it away from public services like the National Health Service and education in order to hand it to the owners of companies that have been polluting our waterways. 'That makes no sense to me, it makes no sense to the public. Frankly, I'm surprised it makes any sense to him.' Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said Sir Jon's report 'looks at how to tinker' with the system and added: 'It's a moribund model that has resulted in billions being paid out to shareholders, billions of debt being loaded up, and neglecting crucial infrastructure, meaning that sewage is regularly pumped into our rivers and seas. 'So, does the Secretary of State accept that the cost of this failure must be part of the calculation in determining the cost of bringing water into public hands where it belongs, and that figures like £100 billion are grossly inflated by those who don't think the water industry should pay for this greed and terrible mismanagement of our water systems?' The Environment Secretary said it would take 'years to unpick the current models of ownership, during which time, pollution in our rivers would get much worse not better'. He said: 'He's talking about cutting the National Health Service, giving £100 billion to the owners of the current water companies, and making pollution far worse – doesn't sound very Green to me.'
The Independent
2 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Homes and factories ‘can be built faster' with water reforms, says Reed
Water reforms will help speed up housebuilding and ease wild swimmers' fears that they might be bathing in sewage, the Environment Secretary has said. Steve Reed described supply and sewage infrastructure as 'critical for housing development, economic development and economic growth', as he took questions about the Independent Water Commission's final report published on Monday. Mr Reed told MPs the Government would publish a white paper this autumn, with proposals in response to the review led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, and teased plans for a new water reform Bill. In the Commons, Labour MP Allison Gardner warned that 'antiquated mains water infrastructure cannot adequately cope with the increased demand of new housing developments, even when the developer meets all the required mitigations'. The Stoke-on-Trent South MP asked: 'Does the minister agree with me that with the Government's plan to build 1.5 million homes, it is vital that privatised water companies ensure that they can adequately meet systems demand without sewage dumping, prioritising this over profiteering?' Conservative MP for Exmouth and Exeter East, David Reed, later said some billpayers feared water companies might not 'keep pace with development' in their area. Responding to the Labour MP, Mr Reed said: 'Water infrastructure is critical for housing development, economic development and economic growth in every single region of the country. 'I've accepted in principle, today, one of Sir Jon's recommendations that will allow us to align for the first time water infrastructure investment and spatial planning so that those homes and factories can be built faster to the benefit of local people.' In his report, Sir Jon wrote that 'planning for the water system should be closely aligned with other spatial planning'. This could involve requiring town halls to ask water firms what they need before agreeing their local planning policies. Samantha Niblett said wild swimmers in Derbyshire and Staffordshire 'frequently have to avoid a Trent tan' when they are in the water. The Labour MP for South Derbyshire asked: 'Does the Secretary of State agree with me that by having cleaner waters we can encourage more great exercise like this to make a healthier – and improve the wellbeing of – our country?' Mr Reed replied: 'The Trent tan is a very alarming and graphic image but it does capture what has gone wrong with our water sector for so long. 'The changes we're announcing today will clean up our waterways across the country, so that wild swimmers as well as many other people who like to enjoy our precious rivers, lakes and seas can get on and enjoy them without the kind of concern that she's alluding to.' The Environment Secretary also rejected the suggestion that ministers should take water firms into public ownership. Clive Lewis, the Labour MP for Norwich South, said the review 'feels like a missed opportunity for the Government to show the public whose side it's on'. He said: 'It entrenches a privatised model that has already failed economically, environmentally and democratically, with 20-50% of bills going on servicing debt. 'Why if public ownership is good enough for rail, good enough for GB Energy and renewables, is it not good enough for water?' Mr Reed said the Government had to 'take a rational and not an ideological approach to tackling this problem', and added Government officials had calculated that 'nationalising the water companies would cost £100 billion'. He continued: 'And to pay that money, we'd have to take it away from public services like the National Health Service and education in order to hand it to the owners of companies that have been polluting our waterways. 'That makes no sense to me, it makes no sense to the public. Frankly, I'm surprised it makes any sense to him.' Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said Sir Jon's report 'looks at how to tinker' with the system and added: 'It's a moribund model that has resulted in billions being paid out to shareholders, billions of debt being loaded up, and neglecting crucial infrastructure, meaning that sewage is regularly pumped into our rivers and seas. 'So, does the Secretary of State accept that the cost of this failure must be part of the calculation in determining the cost of bringing water into public hands where it belongs, and that figures like £100 billion are grossly inflated by those who don't think the water industry should pay for this greed and terrible mismanagement of our water systems?' The Environment Secretary said it would take 'years to unpick the current models of ownership, during which time, pollution in our rivers would get much worse not better'. He said: 'He's talking about cutting the National Health Service, giving £100 billion to the owners of the current water companies, and making pollution far worse – doesn't sound very Green to me.'
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Crumbling water industry is damaging Britain's economy, MPs warn
Britain's crumbling water industry is hitting housebuilding and slowing the country's economic growth, MPs have warned. On Friday, MPs on the public accounts committee (Pac) said the sector's failure to build new reservoirs had delayed the construction of thousands of new homes and offices that were urgently needed to boost the UK economy. This includes 7,000 new houses being built in Oxford as well as 50,000 new homes in Cambridge which have been delayed because of a major shortfall in the water supply, the MPs said. Crucially, they added that neither the Government or the Environment Agency (EA) were able to say how many homes had been denied planning permission because of a lack of water pipes and that customers were footing the bill for the failures. Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the Pac chairman, said: 'The monumental scale of work required to reverse the fortunes of failing water companies is rivalled only in difficulty by the efforts needed to repair customers' faith in the sector. 'Customers are being expected to shoulder the burden of water companies' failings, without being told why or on what their money will be spent.' Water companies are under intense scrutiny after the debt crisis at Thames Water put renewed focus on how much companies are spending on fixing creaking water infrastructure. According to the Pac, 10 out of Britain's 16 water companies failed to generate enough income last year to cover the interest payments on their debts – leaving them unable to invest more. In two cases over the past two decades, water companies paid out dividends worth more than 100pc of the entire value of company assets, according to the MPs. Ofwat is also blamed for failing to prevent water companies from taking excessive dividends – even as it has flagged concerns about the payouts. The regulator signalled concerns about 10 water companies last year. The water industry must spend nearly £300bn on new infrastructure to avoid looming water shortages – including building 10 new reservoirs – and boost UK economic growth. The investment is urgently required because the UK has failed to build a single new reservoir since the Carsington Water reservoir in Derbyshire – which was opened more than 30 years ago in 1992. The report placed a portion of the blame on the Environment Department's failure to ensure water companies had been building and maintaining the infrastructure needed to avoid looming shortfalls, which are expected to hit 5bn litres a day by 2050. By the end of the year, the MPs recommended that the EA should publish a list of all housing and commercial developments being delayed or blocked. The report comes as Southern Water announced it had doubled the pay of chief executive Lawrence Gosden to £1.4m at the same time as announcing a hosepipe ban for 1m customers. Southern Water, which servers 4.7m customers across Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, is now the fourth water company to announce a hosepipe ban, alongside Thames Water, Yorkshire Water and South East Water.
Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Times
Ethical developers rebuild property sector's reputation
It's a trying time to be in the property business. The government looks set to miss its much-trumpeted 1.5 million housebuilding target, firms are struggling to attract skilled tradespeople and last week seven of the UK's biggest homebuilders offered to pay a record £100 million fine to end an inquiry by the Competition and Markets Authority. While property development has long suffered an image problem — from incompetent amateurs inspired by primetime TV shows to rapacious builders devouring greenfield with poor-quality identikit estates — in reality it is a foundation of the economy. The sector provides housing, workplaces, leisure spaces, infrastructure and jobs ranging from chief executives and surveyors to carpenters and technology specialists. Now a growing wave of ethical developers is attempting to rebuild the sector's tarnished reputation.
