Timothy Douglas’ Post

With the Scottish First Minster, Humza Yousaf, stepping down from his post this week, our latest blog details how the news played out and what’s next for Scotland.   For housing, this may have a significant impact with a potential reset of Scottish housing policies on the cards, particularly on zero carbon buildings and rent controls.    With the industry calling for increased investment in the housing market, what do you think is the future for Scotland's property sector?   To read the full blog, please visit: https://lnkd.in/gDTzFdCe #blog #publicaffairs #scotland #politics #pr #propertypr

Much to welcome in Angela Rayner’s housing speech. Improvements to energy efficiency standards in the rented sector must be prioritised. But these reforms will all take time to come into effect and households will need help with energy costs until then. https://lnkd.in/edXQXx4Y

So, as the dust begins to settle in largely predicted ways, whither the #eastofengland politically this afternoon, with what impact for our places and people? We leave behind, perhaps for a long time, a world where blue was the colour of our region, with the odd red dots in our cities, some blinking blue. Now, it’s the Multi-Colour [MP] Swap Shop... But the fate of Great Yarmouth, now one of Reform UK’s two East of England coastal seats is concerning. The renewable energy sector has the potential to drive regeneration, widen horizons and raise aspiration, as the superlative INTO University Partnerships / University of East Anglia and East Norfolk Sixth Form College are very skilled in doing. Will the town’s new Reform UK MP listen to those such as Dr Catherine Richards, Kevin Keable of EEEGR (East of England Energy Group) and EastWind to understand that renewable energy is a huge opportunity for Great Yarmouth? I hope so but burn baby burn seems to be the motto. Jessica Asato the new Labour MP for Lowestoft and the Waveney Valley’s new MP, Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay will likely be *far* more receptive. As you’ll hear next week on the Eastern Promise podcast, I discussed the impact The Labour Party in Govt. could have on ‘The Case for Cambridge’ with Mike Davey Jackie Sadek and Homes England Chair Peter Freeman. Growth is so fundamental to Labour’s plans, #Cambridge will move back into the frame come what may. There’s a huge opportunity for #norwich to make a similar, connected case, as I may have mentioned!!! It would also be wise to listen to the experience of Steve Barclay and George Freeman too. In 2010 incoming Local Govt. SoS Eric Pickles canned Norwich devolution, tied councillors’ hands on council tax rates and effectively set up a ‘request stop’ service for Tory MPs opposing onshore wind projects. Yet can Angela Rayner afford NOT to be as ruthless (just differently so)? I’ll be keeping a close eye on how #devolution proceeds (just for fun, you understand!) Will Labour give County Deals time to prove their function, or will the need to make radical change (i.e. save £££) become too pressing? Not to alarm local government colleagues but it’s not hard to see Labour impose #Norfolk and #Suffolk combined authorities with one huge planning service - or even a single Norfolk & Suffolk CA to sit alongside Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority. They clearly want more progress and upsetting mostly Tory councillors won’t be too troubling. Some early thoughts there, a ‘wafer-thin mint’ of political chuntering atop the Mr Creosote diet of high-fat opinion coming out of Westminster. What do you think? Andrew Wiltshire Andrew Holdsworth Jack Weaver Harriet Fear MBE Chris Starkie Chris Bruce Arron Gatley Julian Little Saul Humphrey 🌍 Richard Ross Angela Brett Mark Bentley Paul Cracknell Johanna Forster Ben Little Steve Barwick Simon De Young

Several solutions to Australia's affordable housing crisis may be worthwhile, including a policy similar to London's Mayor that mandates setting aside up to 50% of London Council surplus land for affordable housing time to emulate at the Australian Federal, State, and Local levels. This model could help address the pressing need for more affordable housing options nationwide. In Metropolitan Australia, leveraging "Public Funded" Railway infrastructure corridors presents an opportunity to rezone areas within a 1,200m walking distance of Railway stations into "inclusive" mid-rise apartments. This strategic rezoning approach could unlock the potential for tens of thousands of new residential units, addressing the shortage of affordable housing. Moreover, a thorough review of tax breaks like "Negative Gearing" was introduced in the 1980s to encourage investment in new builds of rental properties. However, in today's market, these benefits have yet to translate into increased rental property supply, leading to intensified competition among potential homeowners and driving up property values of existing housing. Addressing the shortfall of around 1 million affordable dwellings in Australia requires multifaceted solutions that combine policy changes, strategic rezoning, and a critical review of existing incentives to ensure sustainable and "inclusive" housing options for all citizens. Ultimately, to solve the chronic shortage of affordable rental accommodation and to purchase, building more dwellings with new thinking relying on slow, inefficient custom construction methods with vast shortages of tradies will never solve the chronic shortage of affordable housing across Australia. The fast-to-market solution in advanced modular construction platforms built from renewable plantation forest trees into cross-laminated timber construction with great design, detailing, and finishes minimises the waste of expensive building materials going to landfills, which is unsustainable. The Thrive Alliance consortia demonstrated their scalable solution last year, sponsored by BusinessNSW, to various State government agencies. We demonstrated our fast-to-market solutions in advanced modular construction platforms built from Renewable plantation forest trees into Cross-Laminated Timber with over 100,000 major urban reference projects worldwide. Up to 75% faster-to-market solutions exist. #AffordableHousing #Australia #HousingCrisis #TransformativeSolution #fasttomarket #CLT #ThriveAlliance #Harropfactor

Tomorrow, the Labour Party will release its manifesto and all of the major parties will have published pledges going into the next election. https://lnkd.in/g4V98AdC What do we want to see from the government on quality, sustainability and safety? To decarbonise our homes, we’re calling for a cross-sector roadmap with visibility of long-term investment to achieve low- carbon targets in both new and existing homes.  This should include long-term funding for social landlords to invest in their stock – improving condition, building safety and energy efficiency in a cost-effective and co-ordinated way. It should also ensure that homeowners are not overlooked and are strongly encouraged to make improvements to their homes, with grants where needed. The next government should take forward the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan that sets out plans for how to heat UK homes, including heat networks, the future of the gas network and the big increases in electricity capacity needed to move to zero-carbon energy.  It’s unfair that tenants in hard-to-heat homes pay the same rent as those with the higest standards of energy-efficiency. That’s why we’re calling on the next government to reform and update the social rent formula, so that rents reflecting the energy efficiency of the property. Linking rents to energy efficiency would also create a financial incentive for landlords to upgrade properties, and help leverage in finance to fund the decarbonisation work that is needed to bring all our homes to zero carbon standards. We’re calling on all political parties to set out plans to skill up the workforce to deliver and maintain the homes of the future.   The next government should work with the sector to create a more reliable market for low-carbon housing, including the use of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) to futureproof the housebuilding industry.  The next government should create better incentives to upgrade and improve existing buildings by removing VAT from all forms of retrofitting, regeneration and fire safety work.  This will help meet The Housing Forum’s aspirations of a quality home for all.  

So we are refurbishing my mums house, preparing to put it on the market. Lifting the old carpets to discover old newspapers as underlay is always like a little time capsule. Adverts for 10 speed racers from Halfords for £50, the Old Firm separated by 3 other teams, TV listings for shows long since forgotten … Reading this article about Inverclyde District Council spending £1,000 to sponsor a marcher with bag pipes to walk from Glasgow to London to demand the government tackle unemployment. The idea being talked down by local SNP candidate. The date at the top of the page reads April 1983, but it could have been any year between then and now. There’s always been a demand for more, always a hope that we’ve turned a corner, that investment and growth would be coming if we just demand it to. As we head into the final days of the election campaign, it’s worth remembering that these demands have echoed round Inverclyde, Scotland, UK for the last 40 years. The Government, UK, Scottish or Local can only do so much with policy tweaks. We need to be willing to meet them half way and be ambitious, start businesses, take risks, take responsibility and stop waiting for others to come save us. So on Thursday, cast your vote. Whoever we end up in power come Friday morning let’s not let them off the hook by squabbling amongst ourselves. Let’s be ambitious for all our marginalised communities, make a plan and meet them half way. Will put todays papers under the new carpets and see what becomes of these ideas in the next 40 years 🤔 #pg25 #PG25 #accountable #communityhub #beaccountabletoyourself #scotland #entrepreneurlife #regeneration #communitysupport #entrepreneur #wanderdownmemorylane

Encouraging that the new UK Government is focusing on finally "fixing" the country's housing shortage, https://lnkd.in/evSsyiGb But how? Is this a once in a generation opportunity to develop a holistic, strategic, national landscape-led vision for the UK? A vision that avoids repeating the catastrophic planning decisions of the past, yielding deep social inequality, poor investment, economic black-holes, plummeting public health outcomes, poor educational and life opportunities for the most disadvantaged and catastrophic environmental impacts that will only get worse. Let's have a grown-up conversation about planning so that these houses get built in the optimum locations, not just the easiest ones. Business as usual just won't cut it. Rt Hon Rachel Reeves, Richard Parker, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, Kevin Lee, Lucy Caldicott, Kathryn Moore, Tony Juniper CBE #UKGovernment #HousingShortage #landscape #levellingup #climateemergency

Richard Harris (Property Communications Director) from our team shares his insights on the importance of community engagement in the coming months and years after the General Election. He rightly points out that as new measures begin to take effect, there will undoubtedly be clashes with Local Authorities and affected communities. Now, more than ever, it's crucial for local people to be part of the conversation surrounding development plans in their areas. At Gough Marketing, we believe that even those strongly opposed to development may start to see the value in engaging more productively. This shift could turn opposition into a valuable dialogue, helping to shape plans that are more considerate of local concerns and needs. Developers stand to benefit significantly from this approach. By prioritising early, informative, and highly accessible consultations, developers can meet the community involvement requirements of planning authorities and identify local champions and objectors from the outset.

🎉 There’s been a lot of celebrating and gloating this week, but let’s dive into what it really means for Scottish landlords! 🏘️ With the Scottish Greens sacked from government, Patrick Harvie’s last act was to introduce the new Housing Bill, aimed at imposing long-term rent controls. Now, with the government in a minority status, navigating any legislation through Parliament just became a much tougher challenge. 📉 Moreover, the recent vote of no confidence in the First Minister and the government has us all wondering what’s next. With the political landscape this unstable, anything could happen by the end of the week! 🤷♂️ So, what are your thoughts? Will the new Housing Bill be scrapped, watered down, or merely postponed? #ScottishHousing #LandlordTalk #PropertyInvestment #HousingCrisis

How we run our own public services, including housing, is largely a matter for the Northern Ireland government - but decisions made by the next Westminster Government still impact Northern Ireland. Read my article for Business First on why a new government must recognise the need for long term investment in housing. Co-Ownership