Daily News: 21/07/2025
NatWest has launched a £500m social loan to help housing associations build social rent homes across the UK, featuring no arrangement fees and discounted interest margins. Separately, Wythenshawe Community Housing Group (WCHG) secured a £127.5m funding package from NatWest, comprising an £87.5m loan and a £40m revolving credit facility, to support social housing in south Manchester. NatWest Group, Property Week (register)
Horsham District Council plans to spend £5m from its £14m Section 106 fund to purchase ten homes for larger families currently on the housing waiting list. Sussex World
The Northern Housing Consortium has launched a housing regeneration inquiry, citing the North’s disproportionate share of poor-quality homes. It follows a previous call for £1.4bn in government support. Housing Today (register)
The Guinness Partnership has launched a £250m remediation framework to accelerate building safety upgrades across residential and mixed-use developments nationwide. Construction Enquirer
Cottsway Housing has exchanged contracts with Cala Homes to deliver 34 new affordable homes near Chipping Norton in West Oxfordshire. Meanwhile, Brighton & Hove City Council has announced plans to demolish eight large panel system tower blocks due to structural concerns. Housing Digital, The Construction Index
Keltbray Group reported another loss-making year with pre-tax losses of £8.1m, according to its latest accounts. In parallel, failings in solid wall insulation under ECO4 and GBIS have triggered a retrofit review, with the Retrofit System Reform Advisory Panel set up to improve oversight and standards. The Construction Index, Construction Enquirer
Build-to-rent investment fell 22% year-on-year in H1 2025 to £2.2bn, JLL reports, reflecting market shifts and changing focus between multifamily and single-family sectors. Housing Today (register)
Lewisham Council has increased its housing target by 10%, aiming to deliver more than 30,000 homes by 2040 in response to underperformance by developers. Housing Today (Register)
Mid Sussex has approved Wates’ 350-home plan in Crawley Down, while Reigate and Banstead gave the green light to 300 homes in Reigate. Sunderland’s Riverside project advanced with a planning bid for up to 600 homes at Sheepfolds. In Corringham, plans for 412 homes are nearing submission. Revised proposals for 361 homes in Bridgwater could see work begin within a year, and a 350-home scheme in Leeds is set for approval. Show House, BBC, The Construction Index, Thurrock Nub News, Somerset Live, and Yorkshire Post