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 Ownership Limited. Notices were removed for Eldonian, Haringey Council, and Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust. Annual stability checks regarded Aster Group, Castles & 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. GOV.UK, Scottish Housing News
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. GOV.UK
The Scottish Government’s 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%). The Scottish Government, The Scottish Government
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. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
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 £4.3bn tender for a low-carbon heat network across the Square Mile. JV North, GRAHAM, and Construction Enquirer
Calls have been made to investigate Mears Housing after it returned nearly £14m 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’s future. Belfast Live, Construction Enquirer
The UK plumbing and hard facilities management market, valued at over £27bn, is forecast to reach £32.4bn 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. FMJ, The Construction Index
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. Housing Today (register), East Anglian Daily Times, Place North West, LancsOnline, and MyLondon