Countryside Corporate RSS Chairman's Blog

Why we’re still confident about the Thames Gateway

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:00:00 GMT

The Thames Gateway is the number one regeneration project in the UK and probably in Europe too, and therefore it is very important not just to London and the South East, but nationally too. However the biggest constraint to progress currently in the Gateway is the state of the housing ma...

Improving housing supply and housing markets - does mortgage finance need to be thoroughly reconsidered?

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Recently we would appear to have seen the first signs of a long-awaited revival in the economy. However, the short-term outlook must be viewed with caution. It’s simply too early to say that a sustainable recovery is now underway, but the early signs are encouraging. However, there are...

Is the housing market recovery sustainable?

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:00:00 GMT

We are beginning to see signs of stabilisation in the housing market, which is encouraging, but can this be sustained? The availability of finance for mortgages and development is key, but it is unknown when the supply of funds will improve.

As the report and research into the public's attitudes to housing, and the affordability problem in England. They highlig...

Where is finance for property development going to come from?

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:00:00 GMT

In my blog post of 21 May I noted that the effective rationing of mortgages and finance for development are still the critical issues in getting the industry moving again. In this post I’m going to look at finance for development in more detail and why it is so important for future housi...

Playing politics with housing supply

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:00:00 GMT

In the Government’s Housing Green Paper they state “that housing is critical to Britain’s future – the decisions we take today make a crucial difference to the lives of generations to come. Our first challeng...

Property developers must cope with the present and look to the future

Thu, 21 May 2009 12:01:00 GMT

There has been a huge amount of media coverage in recent weeks of MP’s expenses alongside criticisms of bankers. These issues must not be allowed to overshadow everything else that we must cope with during this recession, including doing everything possible to stabilise the economy and t...

Are we really using our resources wisely?

Wed, 06 May 2009 12:00:00 GMT

The development industry has had its capacity reduced by around 50% in under two years – an incredibly short time for such a major contraction. Most companies have reduced their management and staff dramatically, and with the majority of developers relying on the banks for finance to und...

Why we need more collaboration between business and universities

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:00:00 GMT

I spoke recently at the Lord Stafford awards in Cambridge which was a very enjoyable evening and the first time they have been held in the East of England. The awards, which were first developed in 1997, ‘recognise and encourage the d...

The fall in house building must now be taken seriously

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 12:00:00 GMT

The increased likelihood that only 60,000 new homes will be started this year is very worrying. It is just 25% of the Government’s target of 240,000 new homes which is the level we need to meet if we are to keep pace with household formation.
Even before the current rece...

The broad impact of the recession in housebuilding

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Inadequate housing supply creates a number of highly damaging problems – economically and socially. This year new housing output may be down to a post war low of 80,000 new homes or less. This is just one third of the Government’s annual target.
The obvious implication of ...

The impact of recession on regeneration and sustainability - part two

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 12:00:00 GMT

I hope you enjoyed part one on this post below. Let me start part two by saying that financial viability is the biggest problem for private developers at present. Unless projects are financially feasible the private sector will simply not invest. Financial assistance from the public se...

The impact of recession on regeneration and sustainability

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 12:00:00 GMT

I have been reading with interest in the last few days the Parkinson Report on the impact of the credit crunch on regeneration, the housing market and commercial property. It is so disappointing that regeneration and sust...

The impact of policy and regulation on development viability

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 12:00:00 GMT

I spoke earlier today in London at a very enjoyable meeting of the Architects Journal ‘AJ 100’ Breakfast Club and amongst a number of things I talked about I highlighted that the development industry has become highly complex in recent yea...

The outlook for the housing market in 2009

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 12:00:00 GMT

This recession has highlighted the importance of the housing market to the wider economy. It all started with a banking crisis in the USA that quickly spread to the UK. That adversely impacted immediately on the US and UK housing markets. As so often happens when this attracts media in...

The housing market and the Homes & Communities Agency

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 12:00:00 GMT

It is good news that the Homes & Communities Agency (HCA) has been launched even if it is at such a difficult time for the housing market. English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation have served housing and regeneration well an...

Moving the Thames Gateway forward

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT

The annual discussion about the future of the Thames Gateway takes place this week at the Thames Gateway Forum at Excel. Just recently there has been a great deal of negative comment in the press about the future of this key development co...

Why we need an open book approach to planning negotiations

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT

I spoke last week at the East Midlands Property Show on the issue of new housing supply. In many ways my presentation picked up on the important subjects I’ve been discussing in my recent blogs. In the first part of my speech I talked about the current downturn and the economic fundamen...

Design, place making and the Stirling Prize

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:00:00 GMT

What is good design? For me it is what is preferred by the majority of people rather than the elite minority. There are some new home developers including my own company who do give significant attention to design. Architecture isn’t just about the buildings, important as they are, it’...

Banking package is good news but lets see action from the banks on mortgages

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 06:03:00 GMT

The Government’s announcement yesterday regarding the package of assistance being given to Banks should bring about some confidence in the economy. It is important that everything possible is done to help stabilise the housing markets in this respect.

The Government...

The Stirling Prize - a first for a housing development

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 04:51:00 GMT

I was absolutely delighted that Accordia, our scheme in Cambridge won the Stirling Prize on Saturday night. I was also a little surprised as it wasn't strongly backed in t...

Huge challenges for commercial property market

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 12:00:00 GMT

The woes in the housing market sometimes hide the fact that there are currently huge challenges for developers and investors across all the sectors of the commerc...

A delivery focussed planning system

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:00:00 GMT

I spoke a few days ago at the CBI re plan-making and here's an extract.

The Government has tried, I believe, to improve the planning process in various ways over the last few years, no doubt as a response to the many complaints about the fundamental slowness of the system. H...

The consequences for housing supply

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:18:00 GMT

The odd thing for some people to understand is that the underlying need for more housing in the UK is not in dispute. If we look at the number of homes physically available and consider the number of households wanting their own home, there is a significant shortage.

Welcome!

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 12:00:00 GMT

My desire to write a blog has come from the realisation that many of the general conversations that we have around the office within Countryside Properties could be of interest to those in the wider world. I have views and opinions on our industry, many built up from my half century of