The article in The Times, headlined ‘Cambrige College in housing dispute’ (Sarah O’Grady, Saturday, 26 April 2025) opening sentence tells us all. It confirms the shallowness and the ignorance which attaches to so much media commentary about the housing market. It opens with ‘Angela Rayner could force the ultra- wealthy Cambridge college attended by the … Continue reading Housing ignorance

In the previous blog, ‘Phoney freedoms, lost opportunities’ I used Wokingham as one example of historic failure. The scale of myopic planning failure in Wokingham has become even clearer. So it worth returning to it as a measure of the consequences of spatial failure. Once again by the way I am indebted to the Wokingham.Today … Continue reading Wokingham’s spatial policy failure.

‘Wokingham Borough was created with a desire to remove the inefficiencies of duplication of district and county councils….’ says Cllr Pauline Jorgensen (Wokingham.Today; 20 April 2025). The Borough was formed in 1998, following the abolition of Berkshire County Council. Jorgensen was until recently leader of the Conservative controlled borough. She says local Conservatives want to … Continue reading Phoney freedoms, lost opportunities

The government’s passion for economic growth is led by its drive to build lots more new homes and infrastructure fast. Following four decades of housing policy failure few who worry about our nation’s, and children’s future will lack this passion. The price of new homes is far too high. So are residential rents. The ability … Continue reading Why 1.5 m new homes is bosh

The contortions Sir Keir Starmer’s government to preserve the existing call for sites (CFE) and local plan system (LPS) , in order, whisper it, to disguise confrontation with opponents of local spatial change is impressive and embarrassing. SPS’s and SDS’s are the latest example. Common sense, decades of experience of grim land changes of use, … Continue reading No zoning? Try colour coding instead.

Good piece in Thursday’s (10 April 2025) FT by Miranda Green, Deputy Opinion Editor. It talks about a newly released 2025 Youth Poll by the John Smith Institute, a non-aligned charity in Scotland that promotes young people’s engagement in politics across the UK. Go to page 85 for an eye- catching headline. It says ‘In … Continue reading Hope

Wiltshire Council says a new town is required to meet their housing needs. This is rare, and far-sighted thinking by a local council. But hopelessly inadequate too! To hit their homes targets they will also need 300 new homes from the new town, wherever it is built, by 2038. The expiry date of their draft … Continue reading Wiltshire Council is sleeping