Docklands News

Prime inner-London rents and house prices have plummeted since the start of the COVID crisis, driven by the dwindling appeal of city life during lockdown and restrictions on international travel. Average prices per square foot have been hit the hardest in Knightsbridge, dropping to £1,546 in the first half of 2021, down 11% on the area’s five-year average. However, the number of flats sold peaked at a five-year high during the six-month period, as buyers rushed to lock-in tax savings before the end of the stamp duty holiday. Experts warn the bargain will be short-lived and property prices in the area, which has historically been popular among foreign buyers, will rebound when border restrictions are lifted. 

The Daily Telegraph (26/07/2021)  

Construction leaders believe the shortage of raw materials could remain an issue into next year as demand for works remains high amid restrictions in supply due to Brexit and disruption in Chinese ports and on the Suez Canal. Brian Berry, chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders, said: “The national building materials shortage is harming Britain’s local builders and their ability to recover from the pandemic."

The Daily Telegraph (26/07/2021)  

Research by Loughborough University academics has estimated that more 4.6m homes across England are experiencing overheating during the summer, with bedrooms at night being particularly badly affected. The study, published in the Building and Environment journal, found that 4.6m bedrooms and 3.6m main living rooms were overheated during the summer. The study found that living room overheating was a particular issue in flats, and was more common in households living in social housing, with low incomes, or with members aged over state pension age. 

Daily Mail (23/07/2021)   Evening Standard (23/07/2021)   The Daily Mirror (23/07/2021)  

London has the most stable housing market in the country, according to recent figures from Rightmove. Selling a home in London takes more than twice as long than in Scotland as the housing market in the capital remains sluggish – even after the official end of the coronavirus lockdown in England. The latest figures from the property website revealed that asking prices in the capital – now £645,246 on average – adjusted down 0.8% from June to July while records tumbled across the rest of the country. Over the course of the last 12 months, price tags in the capital edged up just 0.5% on average, in contrast to 5.7% across the UK. Although slow growth is a sign of stability, the London data also hides dramatic polarisation of demand and activity. Over the course of the coronavirus crisis, prices in the more affordable outer boroughs have soared as buyers swapped convenience for space, while the inner urban areas recorded price falls.

Evening Standard  

A 900-home mixed-use scheme near the Blackwall Tunnel has been approved by Tower Hamlets Council. Developer Hadley Property Group will build five separate buildings of between nine and 39 storeys on the Docklands site, with 35 per cent of the houses on the 1.9-hectare site due to be affordable. Known as Blackwall Yard, the development will also include a new primary school, a local community hub, and almost 2,000 square metres of commercial space. Glenn Howells is the main architect on the brownfield site, alongside Panter Hudspith, White Arkitekter and LDA Design. An outdoor swimming pool or pond and new public square are also included in the plan. The application will now go to mayor of London Sadiq Khan for final approval. The Blackwall Yard project is the latest large residential scheme to be approved in the capital. Last week, Harrow Council green-lit Wates Residential’s £690m project to develop 1,500 homes across the Wealdstone area. Four in 10 of the new homes will be affordable. Days before, Ilke Homes, Impact Modular and TopHat were named on a £600m framework to develop modular homes in the UK for the National Housing Federation.

Construction News  

London Mayor Sadiq Khan is kicking off a housebuilding drive in a controversial bid to prop up Transport for London's budget. The London Mayor is plotting up to 46,350 new homes on land owned by the capital's transport authority. A commitment to press ahead with the plans is understood to have been crucial to a £1.1bn bailout from the Government to keep TfL afloat until December. It took the total central government grants during the pandemic to more than £5bn. Mr Khan, TfL's chairman, is now in talks with ministers over a £2.1bn taxpayer grant to finance the housebuilding project. It has been speculated that the project is a way for Boris Johnson to impose more new homes on the capital while Mr Khan faces any criticism. Robert Jenrick, the Housing Secretary, wants to force local authorities to commit to new housing targets under a new Planning Bill following the Government's commitment to build 300,000 new homes a year. Mr Jenrick is facing opposition from a group of up to 100 Tory MPs, however. The proposed planning reforms were blamed for the Tories' shock defeat by the Liberal Democrats in the Chesham and Amersham by-election last month.

The Sunday Telegraph