Daily News: 31/10/2025
VIVID will benefit from Lloyds’ third green retrofit loan of 2025, funding sustainable upgrades for 2,000 homes across Hampshire, Surrey, Berkshire, and West Sussex, supporting 2,000 construction jobs, and bringing the total homes upgraded this year to over 11,000. Lloyds Banking Group
Clarion has reported higher surpluses despite a drop in turnover, according to its unaudited quarterly update. Sefton Council and Sovini Group plan a partnership to deliver up to 1,000 new social and affordable homes by 2030, while Ardenglen Housing Association’s latest tenant survey shows it exceeding Scottish sector benchmarks across all key indicators. Housing Today (register), My Sefton News, and Ardenglen Housing Association Ltd.
The Housing Ombudsman has introduced a revised Special Investigation Process, ranging from early response plans to full investigations, with Tier 1 currently covering A2Dominion, Amplius, Hexagon, Redbridge, Wandsworth, Norwich City Council, and Soho Housing. At the same time, Cardiff and Flintshire Councils face criticism for leaving tenants in hazardous conditions, creating serious health and safety risks. Housing Ombudsman Service, ITV News
Families on Bath and North East Somerset Council’s social housing list face a 200-year wait for a four-bedroom home, as England builds just over 10,000 social homes annually, leaving Labour’s social housing targets far from reach. The Guardian
A report on delivering 1.5m new homes highlights rising land costs and new infrastructure as major drivers of England’s housing crisis. Another reveals a 10-year net loss of 180,067 social rented homes amid growing homelessness and record temporary accommodation, while Scotland’s SLWG proposes a single, consistent definition of housing affordability to harmonise measures across the UK. Parliament.UK, Crisis, and The Scottish Government
Novus Property Solutions has renewed three major housing maintenance contracts worth up to £48m, extending its partnerships with Trent & Dove, Bromford, and Newark and Sherwood District Council. Facilitate Magazine
London-based contractor 8build has returned to profitability, reporting a £2.2m pre-tax profit for the year to March 2025, reversing a £1.2m loss from the previous year as its fixed-price strategy pays off. Construction Enquirer
The UK government has launched a consultation requiring construction firms to carry out ‘right to work’ checks for self-employed workers. Tussell’s report shows three contractors led public-sector earnings in 2024/25, while Begbies Traynor’s reports a 70% rise in companies in critical financial distress. Meanwhile, a report from the Modern Slavery Centre warns that modern slavery risks in housebuilding remain poorly understood despite the sector reaching £139bn and employing 1.4m people. Construction Enquirer, Construction News (register), The Construction Index, and Modern Slavery and Human Rights PEC
Between July and September 2025, 390,000 domestic EPCs were lodged in England and Wales, representing a 2% decrease compared with the same period in 2024. At the same time, new ONS data shows that construction sector emissions have risen by nearly one-third since 1990, highlighting the sector’s ongoing and significant environmental impact. GOV.UK, BCIS
1,600 homes in Whitburn are back before West Lothian Council, nearly 1,000 homes have been proposed in Essex despite local concerns, Fife Council has approved 900 homes in Kelty, Habiko is delivering 590 low-carbon homes in Chester and Warrington, and 130 homes are planned near a Lidl site in north Harborough. Scottish Housing News, Essex Live, Scottish Housing News, Muse, and Harborough Mail