Docklands News

Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing Eddie Hughes has dismissed an appeal over the building of the 1,500 Westferry Printworks housing development. The decision document stated that the Isle of Dogs scheme, which was initially rejected by planning officers in Tower Hamlets, breached 22 planning policies, and that approving the scheme would have meant a “failure to preserve the settings of the Old Royal Naval College and Tower Bridge, both Grade I listed, and the Maritime Greenwich WHS (World Heritage Site)“. It said: “The harm to the character and appearance of the area attracts significant weight". The development became a point of controversy after the extent of communications between then-housing secretary Robert Jenrick and developer Richard Desmond came to light. Officials in Mr Jenrick’s department described him as being “insistent” that the project be given the green light before a new levy added millions to the cost. He later had to quash his own approval, conceding that the decision was “unlawful” due to “apparent bias”.

The Guardian (18/11/2021)  

A planning application has been submitted for 1,600 homes plus a new high street, up to 25,500 sq ft of retail space and up to 29,100 sq ft of new offices in Poplar. The Aberfeldy New Village LLP, a joint venture partnership between EcoWorld London and Poplar HARCA, is working with architect Levitt Bernstein and a design team comprising of Morris+Company, LDA Design and ZCD Architects. The new masterplan is an extension of the previously approved Aberfeldy Village Masterplan, which received outline planning consent in 2012. Phases 1, 2 and 3a have been completed on site and are now occupied.  Phase 3b is currently on site and is due for completion within the next year, by which time the project will have delivered 901 homes of all tenures alongside a residents’ gym and lounge, a 75,350 sq ft public park, a new community centre and public art created in collaboration with the community. Poplar HARCA chief executive Steve Stride said the first residents should be welcomed into the latest development in 2024. 

Property Week (16/11/2021)  

The latest UK House Price Index from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Land Registry reveals that the average house price in the UK has hit a record high of £269,945. An average of £28,000 has been added to the typical property price over the past year. Values increased by 11.8% over the year to September, with this up on the 10.2% annual growth recorded in August. Wales has seen the steepest climb, with the average price up 15.4% over the year, while Scotland added 12.3%, England saw a 11.5% increase and prices in Northern Ireland rose 10.7%. Regionally, North West England led the way, with values up 16.8% in the year to September, while London saw the lowest growth, at 2.8%. On a month-by-month basis, UK house prices climbed 2.5% between August and September.  

City AM (17/11/2021)   The Daily Express (17/11/2021)  

The number of homemovers hit a record high in the first half of 2021, with the number of people moving more than doubling in the six months to 30 June to 265,070. The increase in the number of homemovers soared in all regions, led by London at 165% and the wider south east region, where there was an increase of 169%, according to data from Halifax. Across the UK the number of homemovers more than doubled (132%), as did the number of transactions in all regions bar Scotland. In the 12 months to June 2021, 461,010 transactions took place, up by 50%, and the average price paid by homeowners across the UK rose 11% to £387,485. Halifax also found that there were more first-time buyers than in the first half of any of the past 10 years. 

City AM (16/11/2021)   Evening Standard (16/11/2021)   The Daily Telegraph (16/11/2021)  

Homeowners could see higher rates and find home loans tougher to come by as banks roll out changes to mortgages ahead of tax increases and probable interest rate rises. With Chancellor Rishi Sunak freezing many tax-free allowances and introducing around £85bn in tax increases – including 1.25% increases in national insurance and dividend tax from 2022 – homeowners are likely to have less money to cover repayments. Paul Haywood-Schiefer from Blick Rothenberg says that while Mr Sunak implemented a stamp duty holiday during the pandemic “which pushed property transactions through the roof”, the tax increases will leave many of those who snapped up homes with less spare cash. Ali Hussain in the Sunday Times notes that between April and June, a record 57% of new mortgages were classed as large, up from 50% a year ago.

The Sunday Times (14/11/2021)  

Millions of homeowners are at risk of their properties being sold without their knowledge as property title frauds rise. Official figures show only around a quarter of a million of Britain’s 29m homes are registered with the Land Registry’s anti-fraud “property alert service”. The Land Registry was forced to pay out £3.5m in compensation to homeowners last year after approving fraudulent transactions, up two thirds on the prior year. It thwarted close to 200 other attempted frauds worth £115m since 2016. The service was launched in 2014 and normally gets 4,000 sign-ups a month, but that has jumped to nearly 30,000 in the past week. 

The Daily Telegraph (15/11/2021)   The Times (15/11/2021)