Latest news with #landdevelopment
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Higher costs and planning delays hit MJ Gleeson profits
Shares in MJ Gleeson fell sharply on Tuesday with the housebuilder warning higher build costs and weak home price growth would hurt profits this year. The group, which specialises in affordable homes and promoting land for residential development, also highlighted planning delays it expects to continue to weigh on the business into next year. Gleeson had reported solid first half trade with revenues up 4.2 per cent, while the group highlighted 'encouraging signs of a recovery in demand' with reservation rates up 45 per cent over the first four weeks of 2025. But Gleeson told investors the 'pace of the housing market recovery has not been sufficient' to offset 'a number of headwinds' faced through the year. 'These include increased build costs, flat selling prices, the continued use of incentives and several bulk sale transactions,' It said. Gleeson's full-year guidance had also been based on the expected sale of 'extensive land holdings in East Yorkshire'. But delays to this sale mean the group now anticipates that operating profits within its homes business will be 15 to 20 per cent below current expectations. Gleeson Homes' gross margin for the year to 30 June will likely come in 1 per cent below previous guidance, the group said. The unit's 2026's gross margin is expected to see a similar impact. The group's land business, meanwhile, has completed three transactions to date and working to complete a further seven disposals before the year end. Warning signs for the sector? MJ Gleeson shares were down 22 per cent to 402p in early trading, bringing one-year losses to around 28 per cent. The update also weighed on the shares of rivals like Persimmon and Vistry Group, which were down 1.4 and 1.9 per cent, respectively. Analysts at Peel Hunt said: 'There are obvious questions about the read-across to the wider sector. Our sense is that, despite increased affordability, some of the net margin pressure described above will likely be felt across the sector, as the new build market competes with a second-hand sector seeing high stock levels. 'Similarly, planning issues impact all players. We continue to believe the sector needs to see demand-side support to see a material uptick in housing supply.'
CTV News
28-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
‘Is it a fulsome proposal?' Oro-Medonte responds to Barrie's proposal after ongoing boundary talks
Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall made headlines earlier this month when it was announced that a shared principles agreement had been struck with Springwater over ongoing boundary talks. On Wednesday, a proposal was put forward to the other partner in the discussions, Oro-Medonte. Council chambers were packed with residents widely in opposition to any potential agreement that could have been found. Barrie's proposal, according to the letter, addressed to council reflected an agreement that was in line with the City of St. Thomas and Central Elgin, in which the city would pay about 1.27 million dollars to the township annually over the course of five years. In exchange for the money, Barrie is looking for roughly 850 acres of land to develop and would approve about 935 units of servicing capacity over 10 years. Nuttall saying, 'Our focus is to get jobs and housing in places that they aren't currently in, you know, my real push has been the focus on, on jobs to ensure that if you live in the City of Barrie, you don't have to work in Toronto' Randy Greenlaw, Oro-Medonte Mayor stated, 'Is it a fulsome proposal? Not to the fullest degree we want, the financials aren't there, a bunch of elements or key pillars within, what the proposal should have, were lacking but that's fine, the process will flush this stuff out over time.' These conversations are not rejecting negotiations outright. Instead, the township will be sending its own principles back to Barrie, a lot of which the mayor says will be done through the province's facilitator. But the idea here is that an agreement can be found in the long term without the Ford government's intervention.
CBC
28-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Greater Sudbury city council changes its mind on Azilda property that was earmarked for housing
Citing "significant opposition," Greater Sudbury city councillors have voted to hold onto some vacant property instead of opening it up for housing development. On Tuesday night, city council voted in 9-3 favour of a motion to reconsider putting a piece of vacant land into the city's Affordable Housing Land Bank. The piece of land in question is a city-owned vacant plot in Azilda, near the Lionel E. Lalonde Centre. Last year, councillors voted unanimously to mark the land for future affordable housing. "Nobody on this council has been more pro-housing and development than me and I'm sure the irony of my motion is not lost on anyone," councillor Pauline Fortin said at the meeting. "This situation is quite different than anything that this council or any council has considered before." Fortin said she's heard from many constituents who don't want to see the land developed. "This is city-owned land which makes it in my opinion, community-owned owned property. And the community is saying no to this development. Some of this is NIMBYism for sure, but I have been hearing from residents all over," she said. 'Opportunity to reconsider' Greater Sudbury city councillor Mark Signoretti said he agreed with having a second look. "I look at decisions that we have all made and sometimes, we look at those decisions and say, '?You know what? Maybe I didn't do my due diligence,'" he said. "Maybe whether there's public outcry or public concern, there's an opportunity to reconsider." However, Councillor Deb McIntosh said she wasn't in favour of reconsidering the status of the land. She pointed out to a past example in her ward, where the city gave a piece of land to a non-profit seniors housing corporation. "On this site now stands a five-storey apartment building with affordable rents," she said. "The non-profit started down this path so that Conistonians could sell their homes and continue to live in the community." She said the city needs to make tough decisions with it comes to housing. "We need more homes," McIntosh said.
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Small-town war erupts as church land is seized for pickleball: Bishop levels heinous claim against mayor
A legal war has broken out between a local church and pickleball enthusiasts over land development in New Jersey. The drama erupted on April 30 after the Toms River Township Council placed an ordinance to condemn 10 acres of land that is currently home to Christ Episcopal Church to build a new recreational area fit with pickleball court, soccer fields, and playground - among other attractions. Prior to the ordinance, the church congregation sought permission in July 2023 to use the land to build a 17 - bed homeless shelter to help the growing issue in the coastal town. Although governmental agencies have 'the right to condemn property for governmental purposes,' the township 'has never thought of this as a recreational site,' according to Harvey York, the attorney representing the church. 'For them to say they need recreational land flies in the face of the facts and their master plan,' York told Fox News. York and his legal team believe the town chose to make this move in response to the church's attempt to try and build a homeless shelter. 'It is clear that this is being done in retaliation for the church making an application for a homeless shelter,' he said, noting that there are constitutional protections for freedom and religion, along with the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. 'I don't know that you'll find a lawyer who will say, "Oh, yeah, they have every right to do this; they're going to win',' he told the outlet. Daniel Rodrick, the mayor of Toms River, has openly said that the timing of the town's request on the land is just a 'coincidence,' The New York Times previously reported. The ongoing legal battle has taken a toll on the community as locals are divided on who should get the land. Although York believes many are 'thrilled that the mayor is going to condemn the property,' a 'majority of the community is shocked and dismayed.' Bishop Sally J. French, who leads the diocese Christ Episcopal is under, is one of those who is furious about the conflict. According to French, the whole idea of the homeless shelter was 'actually a way to diminish the community concerns' of the growing population. From January 2023 to January 2024 the number of unhoused people has risen 28 percent in Ocean County, according to Monarch Housing Associates, a group that works to address homelessness across the Garden State. 'You've provided them with opportunities and the capacity to do what they need to do to get employment, to begin to contribute to the community in ways they haven't been able to do because of their difficult, painful circumstances,' she told the NYT. Other local religious leaders have all stood up for the church, including Rabbi William Gershon of Congregation B'nai Israel. 'I am outraged,' Gershon told the outlet. 'If you can do it to them, you can do it to any of us.' A petition has also been going around, urging concerned church goers and community members to stand up for the land. 'This action is unjust. It comes while the congregation is seeking municipal permission to build a homeless shelter on their property as an extension of the church's many ministries and programs that serve and support those in need in the Toms River community,' the page read. 'If the eminent domain ordinance goes forward, Toms River will lose a vital source of support for vulnerable residents. 'The church is not for sale. People matter more than Pickleball. We stand with Christ Episcopal Church, Toms River, New Jersey.' As of Monday afternoon, the petition accumulated more than 7,200 signatures. Others took to social media to voice their concerns and anger with the town trying to take over the land. One wrote: 'This is ridiculous! Pickleball comes before a place to help those in need?' 'Not kosher. This isn't kosher at all,' said another. Someone else commented: 'What an embarrassment....' In response to the backlash, Rodrick, a Republican, said his intention to build a recreational area on the land is all about managing priorities in his town. 'When you balance the hardships — you have a whole community without a park, and 65 or 70 people who could probably drive to a different location on a Sunday,' he said in reference to attending church. But, according to Bishop French, weekly attendance at Sunday services - offered in both English and Spanish - are more than twice the figure Rodrick claimed. 'As the guy who is supposed to look out for the welfare of all of the residents of Toms River, when you balance out those two things it's pretty clear which side I should be on.' Rodrick, a former teacher, said he is no stranger to political battles, adding: 'They fill the room and make a jerk out of me in the meeting and, like President Trump, my numbers just keep going up. The people are with me.' Litigation will continue to proceed, York said, adding: 'The plan will be decided by the diocese. But they certainly will litigate the issue, and I believe it will be successful.' He also said the local government should 'mind their own business and stay out of the religious affairs of the community.'
Argaam
26-05-2025
- Business
- Argaam
Idle land fees contribute to development of 162M sqm
The Idle Lands Law, before the recent amendments, contributed to the development of more than 162 million square meters (sqm) and supported 121 residential projects in several regions. The developed lands included fully-developed 75 million sqm, under-development 48 million sqm, and 39 million sqm in circulation.
