Daily News: 11/08/2025
The Resolution Foundation’s No Country for Cold Homes report outlines the Government’s £13.2bn Warm Homes Plan, which aims to cut energy bills and decarbonise England’s housing stock through upgrades like solar panels and electric heat pumps. Resolution Foundation
Registered providers face financial pressures limiting new home investments. By selling some existing homes to better manage assets, they can unlock capacity to build more, on average, one home sold funds 2.8 new homes, boosting supply efficiently. Savills
The UK Government has announced new freedoms for Armed Forces families, allowing them to keep pets, decorate and personalise their homes, and run businesses from military housing. Meanwhile, the CIEH is urging for more resources to help tackle the growing issue of empty homes, as communities see a rise in unoccupied properties and some landlords threaten to exit the market. GOV.UK, Chartered Institute of Environmental Health
Mears Group has won a £230m, five-year contract to provide day-to-day repairs and maintenance for over 11,000 homes in Milton Keynes, on behalf of Milton Keynes City Council. FMJ
O’Halloran & O’Brien won the enabling works contract for Medway Council’s £150m Strood Civic riverside regeneration. At the same time, Dacorum Borough Council partnered long-term with The Hill Group to enhance affordable housing and drive major regeneration in the borough. Construction Enquirer, Dacorum Borough Council
Staffordshire-based M&E contractor Cannock Building Services has entered voluntary liquidation. Hull-based modular specialist Kingston Modular Systems has filed a notice of intention to appoint an administrator, signalling potential financial difficulties. Glasgow-based City Building has significantly reduced its losses to £67,000 for the year ending 31 March 2024, compared to a £14.5m loss the previous year, despite a drop in turnover. Building materials producer Marshalls has reported interim results with profits coming in well below expectations. Construction Enquirer, Construction Enquirer, Construction News (register), and The Construction Index
A new study reveals that low-income and minority ethnic households in England are most at risk from dangerously hot homes as summers heat up. Separately, BBC analysis estimates an additional 140,000 construction workers will be needed annually for the next five years to support retrofitting under the UK government’s Warm Homes Plan. The Guardian, BBC
The UK government has appointed six experts, including figures from Taylor Wimpey and Pocket Living, to a panel that will review building regulations in line with the Grenfell Inquiry recommendations. Housing Today (register)
Bromsgrove Golf Club is opposing plans to redevelop its course into 1,300 homes, while Hinckley may approve 415 new homes as part of a major estate’s second phase. In Coventry, hundreds have petitioned against 350 homes proposed at the city’s highest natural viewpoint. Additionally, two schemes totalling 266 homes have been submitted for farmland near Cuddington and Sandiway, and Taylor Wimpey has put forward a £21.5m “landscape-led” plan for a 110-home neighbourhood in Tattenhall, Cheshire. Bromsgrove Advertiser, BBC, Coventry Live, Northwich Guardian, and Place North West