The recent spring statement from the Government appears to show that Labour is serious about tackling planning reform and unlocking housebuilding across the UK, with the OBR forecasting that the planning reforms will result in a £6.8bn boost to the economy and housebuilding at its highest level in over 40 years by 2029-30.
We have a couple of articles on planning this month, on page 24 we delve into how the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will affect SME developers, and on page 26 David Kemp provides a case study on how financial viability can play a role in obtaining planning permission, particularly for tricky sites on appeal.
Also, in this issue we have some excellent articles, which should provide food for thought, particularly our lead article on page 15, which looks at the historic regional ratios around the UK and includes analysis on where exactly is over or undervalued. I am sure it will give some a clearer focus on where to invest next.
On page 18 we have an interview with a recent Property Investors Awards winner in Mariam Radi. She discusses her burgeoning career to date and how she has used her legal skills to make a healthy profit on one award-winning deal in London.
Adaw Lawrence looks at the East Midlands on page 20, using his analytical approach to work out how to select robust investment areas that pay off over time.
On page 22 we have our quarterly fictional fund of property-related companies, which has taken a small hit as concerns grew over higher stamp duty land tax rates and the impact they will have on housebuilders, but the fund still remains in a healthy state.
Suzi Carter looks into how you should approach finding tenants for your commercial property on page 32, with some useful insight on the various factors to be aware of. Staying within the commercial sector, we have an opinion piece on page 35, which looks at how the resurgence of business and logistics parks in the UK can be attributed to the surge in online shopping.
We take a look at Middlesbrough on page 36. While the town has suffered in recent years, due to industrial decline, it is now experiencing a resurgence via regeneration of these former industrial sites and FDI.
Maxine Fothergill offers her views on Commonhold on page 44 with Richard Blanco looking at the mess that is MEES on page 43, where he discusses the cost of bringing residential property up to the required EPC C rating and of course the lack of suitable professionals available to do the work.
Finally, on page 9 we look at VAT on Furnished Holiday Lets and what could be a useful bit of information for those of who own them.
