{"id":9671,"date":"2025-12-17T12:42:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T12:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.locarla.com\/insight\/?p=9671"},"modified":"2025-12-17T12:42:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T12:42:10","slug":"wednesday-17-12-2025-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.locarla.com\/insight\/daily-news\/wednesday-17-12-2025-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Wednesday: 17\/12\/2025 \/ News"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"blue-color\">\n<h6>Daily News: 17\/12\/2025<\/h6>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chelmer Housing Partnership and Estuary Housing Association plan to merge, creating Delta Housing on 1st April 2026 to enhance services and ensure long-term sustainability. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chp.org.uk\/customer-news\/chp-and-estuary-to-merge-blog-1772\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chelmer Housing Partnership (CHP)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The RSH has issued a C4 grading to Gosport Borough Council, upgraded Great Places Housing Group to C1, and awarded C1\/G1\/V1 to Sparrow Shared Ownership Limited. Notices were removed for Eldonian, Haringey Council, and Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust. Annual stability checks regarded Aster Group, Castles &amp; Coasts, Industrial Dwellings Society, and Soha Housing from V1 to V2, while Prima Housing Group moved from V2 to V1. Separately, the SHR confirmed Govan Housing Association is fully compliant after an eight-month review. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/gosport-borough-council-receives-c4-grading-from-rsh\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GOV.UK<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scottishhousingnews.com\/articles\/govan-housing-associations-regulatory-status-no-longer-under-review\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scottish Housing News<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Housing Secretary has launched a consultation on a revamped National Planning Policy Framework to deliver 1.5m homes, prioritising brownfield sites and building near train stations, with new rail and densification policies expected to unlock a further 1.8m homes. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/housing-sec-pledges-to-go-further-than-ever-before-to-hit-15-million-homes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GOV.UK<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Scottish Government\u2019s latest data shows that as of March 2025, local authority housing stock rose 7% to 327,746 units, while vacant units fell 16% to 9,827. As of September 2025, there were 20,927 second homes and 44,453 properties empty for over six months, including 32,337 long-term empty homes (73%). <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.scot\/binaries\/content\/documents\/govscot\/publications\/statistics\/2025\/12\/local-authority-total-and-vacant-housing-stock-scotland-march-2025\/documents\/local-authority-total-and-vacant-housing-stock-scotland-march-2025\/local-authority-total-and-vacant-housing-stock-scotland-march-2025\/govscot%3Adocument\/Local%2Bauthority%2Btotal%2Band%2Bvacant%2Bhousing%2Bstock%252C%2BScotland%252C%2BMarch%2B2025.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Scottish Government<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.scot\/binaries\/content\/documents\/govscot\/publications\/statistics\/2025\/12\/second-homes-and-empty-properties-in-september-2025\/documents\/second-homes-and-empty-properties-september-2025\/second-homes-and-empty-properties-september-2025\/govscot%3Adocument\/Empty%2Band%2BSecond%2Bhomes%252C%2BSeptember%2B2025.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Scottish Government<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A new study finds that children in damp, overcrowded homes in England miss an average of three extra weeks of school over their compulsory education compared to peers in better-quality housing, highlighting the impact of poor housing on learning. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/jech.bmj.com\/content\/jech\/early\/2025\/12\/08\/jech-2025-224495.full.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First Choice Homes Oldham has joined JV North to boost delivery ahead of the Social and Affordable Homes Programme, while GRAHAM Facilities Management secured a five-year hard facilities management contract with Kensington and Chelsea. Meanwhile, the City of London Corporation launched a \u00a34.3bn tender for a low-carbon heat network across the Square Mile. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/jvnorth.co.uk\/first-choice-homes-oldham-joins-jv-north-ahead-of-the-sahp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">JV North<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.graham.co.uk\/news\/graham-secures-five-year-partnership-with-royal-borough-of-kensington-and-chelsea\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GRAHAM<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.constructionenquirer.com\/2025\/12\/17\/hunt-starts-for-square-mile-4bn-heat-network-developer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Construction Enquirer<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Calls have been made to investigate Mears Housing after it returned nearly \u00a314m to the Home Office for exceeding profit limits under its contract. Separately, Yorkshire brickmaker York Handmade Brick was saved in a last-minute acquisition by 4D Capital Partners, securing 20 jobs and the business\u2019s future. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.belfastlive.co.uk\/news\/northern-ireland\/calls-investigation-asylum-seeker-housing-33067579\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Belfast Live<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.constructionenquirer.com\/2025\/12\/16\/yorkshire-brickmaker-saved-in-last-minute-rescue-deal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Construction Enquirer<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The UK plumbing and hard facilities management market, valued at over \u00a327bn, is forecast to reach \u00a332.4bn by 2029, driven by continued demand. However, skills pressures persist, with one in three Scottish plumbing firms planning to stop taking apprentices, raising concerns about future workforce capacity. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fmj.co.uk\/uk-plumbing-and-hard-fm-contractors-market-set-to-exceed-32bn-by-2029\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FMJ<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theconstructionindex.co.uk\/news\/view\/scottish-plumbers-scale-back-on-apprentices\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Construction Index<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kensington and Chelsea Council has approved its part of the 4,000-home Earls Court masterplan. Early plans for 640 homes were revealed in Halesworth, while a 60-acre site in Bramhall and High Lane, Stockport, could deliver 345 homes. Proposals have also been submitted for 335 homes in Louth and a 288-home, three-block redevelopment in Brixton. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.housingtoday.co.uk\/news\/earls-court-clears-planning-hurdle-as-second-council-approves-its-half-of-4000-home-masterplan\/5139865.article\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Housing Today (register)<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eadt.co.uk\/news\/25699322.developer-reveal-plans-build-640-new-homes-halesworth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">East Anglian Daily Times<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.placenorthwest.co.uk\/stockport-housing-plans-pile-up\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Place North West<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lincsonline.co.uk\/louth\/plan-submitted-for-335-homes-on-farmland-9446052\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">LancsOnline<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mylondon.news\/news\/south-london-news\/288-home-brixton-plan-submitted-33067328\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MyLondon<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Daily News: 17\/12\/2025 Chelmer Housing Partnership and Estuary Housing Association plan to merge, creating Delta Housing on 1st April 2026 to enhance services and ensure long-term sustainability. Chelmer Housing Partnership (CHP) The RSH has issued a C4 grading to Gosport Borough Council, upgraded Great Places Housing Group to C1, and awarded C1\/G1\/V1 to Sparrow Shared [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.locarla.com\/insight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.locarla.com\/insight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.locarla.com\/insight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.locarla.com\/insight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.locarla.com\/insight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9671"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.locarla.com\/insight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9671\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9678,"href":"https:\/\/www.locarla.com\/insight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9671\/revisions\/9678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.locarla.com\/insight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.locarla.com\/insight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.locarla.com\/insight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}