Ministers urged to put brakes on offices in England being turned into homes
Dozens of organisations have signed an open letter calling on the government to scrap office-to-residential conversions in England, which analysis has found led to the loss of almost 28,000 affordable homes,Local government campaigners, housing providers and homelessness charities have all joined the call to abolish some permitted development rights (PDR), which grant automatic planning permission to building projects and are often used to convert office blocks into housing,A major point of contention is that PDR developments are not required to make affordable housing contributions,New analysis by the Local Government Association (LGA) has found that nearly 28,000 affordable homes have been lost due to office-to-residential conversions under PDR in the past 11 years,An amendment to the planning and infrastructure bill – the government’s flagship planning changes designed to speed up housebuilding – that would remove many PDR allowances is being debated in parliament on Monday.
Dorothy Thornhill, a vice-president of the LGA who brought the amendment, said: “The impact of certain PDR rules has gone much further than was ever anticipated when they were first bought in.It is time they were scrapped.Councils and communities are losing out significantly because developers are able to circumvent the democratic planning process.”A letter signed by 39 campaigners, experts and groups, including Shelter, the Town and Country Planning Association, the National Association of Local Councils and the Association of Directors of Public Health, calls on the government to support the amendment.The letter calls the PDR policy “indefensible” and says the government needs to “ensure that the homes built today are not the poor-quality housing problems of tomorrow”.
“Many would not meet the most basic fire safety and habitability standards had they been subject to the planning process,” the letter states,“Communities lose twice: on the quality and suitability of the homes, and on the schools, transport, green spaces and health services that make neighbourhoods thrive,”The LGA estimates more than 110,000 new houses have been converted from offices under PDR since 2013, meaning councils were unable to enforce affordable housing contributions, or ensure the new homes were good quality, climate resilient or suitably located,Studies have shown that homes created through PDR are more likely to be substandard, smaller, darker, poorly ventilated and in unsuitable locations such as industrial estates and business parks,In Bristol there is a campaign to stop people being housed in a former office block that the housing charity Shelter says has been plagued with issues of damp, mould, disrepair, overcrowding, antisocial behaviour and rat infestations.
More than 500 people, including local GPs and charities, signed an open letter calling on Bristol city council to move people out of Imperial Apartments, a three-storey office block converted into 466 flats under PDR.Residents report the heavy security and fire doors from its office days make it unsuitable for family living, and say the walls are thin and poorly insulated.LGA analysis found that a quarter of the 130,000 families living in temporary accommodation could be living in an affordable home if office conversions had contributed to affordable housing targets.Louise Gittins, the chair of the LGA, said the amendment “could be a gamechanger”.She said: “PDR allows developers to avoid contributing to affordable housing in the local area which has a real-world impact.
A quarter of families in temporary accommodation could be permanently housed.”A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “The government is delivering the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation backed by £39bn investment.“We recognise there has been criticisms of delivering homes using permitted development rights and that is why we continue to keep these rights under review.”
Bank chief warns against ‘exaggerating’ rise in UK borrowing costs
The governor of the Bank of England has cautioned against “exaggerating” the impact of a steep rise in the UK’s long-term borrowing costs, which he said was part of a global trend.Andrew Bailey told MPs the Treasury had continued to borrow at the same interest rate for most of the year despite a rise in the rate on 30-year bonds to a 27-year high.Bailey’s intervention will bring some relief to Rachel Reeves, who is under pressure from rising debt financing costs ahead of a budget which on Wednesday she set for 26 November.The governor said the government’s switch to borrowing over five or 10 years rather than 30 years meant its borrowing costs had remained flat this year, and commentators should not “over-focus” on the figure.“There is a lot of dramatic commentary on this but I wouldn’t exaggerate the 30-year bond rate,” he said
Hackers linked to M&S breach claim responsibility for Jaguar Land Rover cyber-attack
A group of English-speaking hackers linked to the Marks & Spencer cyber-attack has claimed responsibility for an attack on Jaguar Land Rover.A channel on the Telegram platform posted a screenshot of what appeared to be the carmaker’s internal IT systems, as well as a news article detailing the hack.The name of the Telegram channel is a combination of three English language speaking, or western-based, hacking groups known as Scattered Spider, Lapsus$ and ShinyHunters.Scattered Spider, a collective of teenage and twentysomething hackers, has been blamed for attacks this year on British retailers M&S, Co-op and Harrods. Four people including three teenagers were arrested at UK addresses in July as part of an investigation into the retail cyber-attacks
BoE’s Bailey plays down surge in 30-year borrowing costs, and criticises Trump’s attacks on the Fed – as it happened
The governor of the Bank of England has warned that Donald Trump’s attacks on the US Federal Reserve are damaging, and could lead to higher inflation and interest rates.Testifying to parliament’s Treasury Committee, Andrew Bailey reveals he is “very concerned” that the independence of central banks is being threatened, following Trump’s repeated criticism of Fed chair Jerome Powell and his attempt to fire governor Lisa Cook.He warns that undermining central banks could hurt consumers and businesses, as it would damage attempts to keep price rises under control.Asked about the attacks on the Fed’s independence, Bailey says it is a very serious situation, and that he is “very concerned”.Bailey says:“The Federal Reserve is the central bank for the world’s strongest economy
Shein opens investigation after shirt listing displayed image resembling Luigi Mangione
The clothing company Shein said it has opened an internal investigation after its website briefly displayed a shirt listing featuring an image resembling Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, in New York last year.The image appeared to show Mangione in a short-sleeved white shirt, and the top was reportedly priced at just under $10.In a statement shared with various media outlets, the company said: “The image in question was provided by a third-party vendor and was removed immediately upon discovery.”Exactly when and for how long the shirt was on sale is unclear, with Shein uploading thousands of products every day, but searches for “Luigi Mangione Shein” on Google spiked on Tuesday and the listing began circulating across social media.An archived posting of the product description for the “Men’s New Spring/Summer Short Sleeve Blue Ditsy Floral White Shirt” shows the item was nearly sold out, with only one size left in stock
John Lewis targets gen Z with Topshop revival tie-up
John Lewis is to host Topshop in 32 of its 36 stores from February as the clothing brand’s only national stockist on UK high streets, in a drive to attract younger shoppers and their mothers.Peter Ruis, the managing director of the staff-owned department store chain, said Topshop – and Topman, which is to go into six outlets – would “really exemplify the new John Lewis”, as it tries to broaden its appeal with more fashion, home and beauty brands, ranging from Fenty to the Conran Shop.He said Topshop was “a brand that is going to resonate with our gen Zs [those in their late teens and early 20s] and our gen Xers and everyone in between”.Topshop, which launched in Sheffield in 1964, closed all its UK high street stores in 2021 after its parent company, Philip Green’s Arcadia, went into administration.The brand was bought out by the online fashion seller Asos, which last week relaunched Topshop’s website and opened an outlet in the London department store Liberty
Thames Water to do fewer improvement projects under lenders’ new rescue plan
Thames Water customers are set to get less bang for their buck if a consortium of creditors wins approval for its rescue plan.The development was revealed in the outline of a business plan – without some key spending details – published on Wednesday by the investors who hold much of the company’s debts. The consortium is called London & Valley Water.It wants to use about £20.5bn of consumers’ cash to prioritise key activities but deliver fewer projects than under a deal set out by water regulator Ofwat
Global bond sell-off eases after weak US jobs report and smooth Japanese debt auction – business live
UK court freezes £150m of assets of collapsed Prax Lindsey oil refinery owner
Google Pixel 10 review: the new benchmark for a standard flagship phone
‘Slap on the wrist’: critics decry weak penalties on Google after landmark monopoly trial
Alex Matthews to captain England in final World Cup pool game against Australia
Jannik Sinner outclasses Lorenzo Musetti to storm into US Open last four