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Wednesday, 25th July 2007

Hope for Brown's green light

Anthony Hirsch
Anthony Hirsch
A MANCHESTER developer is hoping Gordon Brown’s plans for a green housing revolution will help him get the green light for his eco homes scheme.
 
Anthony Hirsch has twice had plans for new homes on a brownfield site at Eccles turned down by Salford Council who say the site on Lansdowne Road is earmarked for industrial use.
 
But Hirsch, boss of Chester Developments, said the Government’s proposal to unblock the planning system and allow brownfield land to be released for residential development had given him new hope.
 
He said: “Unlocking our land and granting permission for residential use is crucial to this development. It is clear that in some cases, what is being said at Central Government is not being heard at a local level.

“The local authority here needs to look at potential brownfield sites and the investment that will unlock this. Our site is being used as a test case and we hope that once the council have seen the site they will appreciate that it ticks all the right boxes suggested by the Government.”
 
The paper reinforced the government’s commitment to provide more affordable and social housing and announced an ambitious target to increase housing provision to 240,000 homes a year.

They have also managed to find more cash to make it happen with £8bn available to help housing associations plug the gap – an increase of £3bn – but the north west should not expect a bonanza according to Matthew Harrison of the Great Places housing group. He said: “The extras money is a pleasant surprise but I think it will be concentrated in the south where they have an affordability crisis.”
 
He also described the build target as ‘ambitious’ and said the planning system would have to overhauled if it were to be achieved.

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Jonathan Drake, marketing director for LPC Living which develops only brownfield sites called for the abolition of VAT to help the housing crisis.
 
He said: The VAT treatment on the renovation of run down and frequently derelict properties is a major obstacle facing developers hoping to tackle tower blocks.
 
“At present, all regeneration and renovation work is subject to VAT at 17.5 per cent whereas all new build schemes are exempt from VAT. As a leader in our field, we believe this legislation operates to the disadvantage of widespread urban regeneration. Put simply, it is currently a more attractive option to demolish a tower block rather than renovating it to provide affordable housing.”

Ian Thomlinson, Director of Residential in Jones Lang LaSalle’s Manchester office said the hard part would come in delivering the Government’s pledges.
 
He said: “Whilst the increase in numbers will be warmly welcomed , the key issue of delivery at a local rather than a national level remains. For us, the devil will be in the detail and we wait with interest to see how the Green Paper is implemented.”