Daily News: 02/01/2026
Eastlight Community Homes has refinanced with Santander and Lloyds, extending loan maturities and boosting financial flexibility. The deal includes a five-year extension of its £100m revolving credit facility on improved terms and a new £50m 10-year term facility secured at competitive rates. Housing Digital
Swindon Borough Council has lost £2.17m after buying back more than 20 council homes sold under the Right to Buy over the past five years, highlighting the financial impact of repurchasing former council housing at higher market prices. This is Wiltshire
Hundreds of families in Blackpool face eviction under a proposed £90m regeneration scheme that could see up to 400 homes demolished and replaced with just 230 new properties, raising concerns over the mass displacement of vulnerable residents. Meanwhile, housing pressures remain severe in the Northeast, where more than 40,000 people are currently on council housing waiting lists, underscoring the widening gap between demand and available social housing. The Guardian, Chronicle Live
The government has been urged to set up a cross-departmental housing delivery unit to improve coordination and speed up housing supply, according to a new think tank report, which also calls for the long-delayed Future Homes Standard to be published. Housing Today (register)
Novus Property Solutions has partnered with Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council to enhance communal spaces under its new Nicer Neighbourhoods pilot scheme. Meanwhile, Runcorn-based Castle Green Homes has nearly doubled its turnover and posted strong profit growth in a “transformational year”, with the housebuilder forecasting a period of consolidation in 2026 after rapid expansion. Housing Digital, Housing Today (register)
Ministers are considering scaling back green technology requirements in England’s new homes regulations, with critics warning that removing measures such as battery installations would cut household energy savings and mark a climbdown after housebuilder pressure. Meanwhile, the Building Safety Regulator’s new innovation unit is now handling most live new-build cases as it works to clear a backlog of legacy applications. The Guardian, Housing Today (register)
Figures from the social housing and planning sectors featured in the King’s New Year’s Honours List, including Paavan Popat, CEO of TLC Care, awarded an OBE for services to intergenerational housing, and Anna Rose, head of the Planning Advisory Service, also receiving an OBE for public service. Housing Today (register)
Revised plans have been approved for 180 homes on a prime Somerset field. In Hampshire, 150 homes in Marchwood are approved despite dockyard noise. London sees up to 780 homes at the former Kodak Factory in Harrow (10-16 storeys). Kent proposes 350 homes at Coblands Nursery under green belt changes, while a West London school plans 307 homes with a major refurbishment. Elsewhere, applications are submitted for 287 homes in Hemsworth, 205 homes in Whitburn (opposed by 1,200+ petitioners), and up to 120 homes in Braintree. Somerset County Gazette, Daily Echo, Harrow Online, Kent Online, MyLondon, Wakefield Express, Shields Gazette, and Braintree & Witham Times