Steve Reed no longer housing secretary
Steve Reed has been removed as housing secretary, following Andy Burnham’s appointment as the new prime minister earlier today (July 20). Reed became housing secretary in September 2025, after Angela Rayner resigned following controversy over failing to pay enough stamp duty on a property she bought in Hove, East Sussex.
HMI Conference to tackle challenges facing housebuilders
The Housing Market Intelligence Conference this autumn is set to tackle the key issues facing the industry in these difficult times, focusing on the challenges confronting both SMEs and bigger builders.
MHCLG announces next phase of local govt reorganisation
The government will streamline 134 councils into 38 unitary authorities, as part of the next phase of its local government reorganisation programme. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said the restructuring would deliver “better, more efficient public services that reflect communities’ needs and freeing up funding to be invested back into local priorities”. Fourteen areas will be reorganised into one to four unitaries.
Draft London Plan published
The new draft London Plan is out for consultation, with proposals including a more flexible approach to affordable housing, brownfield land as a priority and small sites delivery. At the same time, the mayor of London’s proposal to provide 558,000 homes across the London boroughs by 2037 – averaging 55,800 a year - means significantly fewer homes than the government’s standard method of 85,000 net dwellings per annum. The mayor of London was, according to the Greater London Authority (GLA), “very conscious that this does not meet the government’s housing need figure for London”, with more possible “beyond the initial ten-year period”.
MPs call for historic building reuse
Almost half of the government’s 1.5 million new homes target could be delivered through the reuse of vacant or underused historic buildings, according to the Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) Committee. Echoing a report from PJ Livesey earlier this year which pointed to Historic England’s assessment that more than 670,000 homes could be delivered through the reuse of existing heritage buildings, the Committee called for a different approach from the government to heritage, recommending a “heritage-to-housing” scheme to bring vacant and at-risk historic buildings back into residential use.
Crest reports £35 million loss
Crest Nicholson has reported a £35 million loss during its half year as talks with lenders to amend its revolving credit facility continue. During the six months to April 30 2026, the housebuilder fell to a £35.2 million loss against a £9.4 million profit during the equivalent period last year, on a statutory basis. Adjusted pre-tax profit fell from £7.9 million in HY 2025 to a £17.3 million loss.
Barratt Redrow completions up in “challenging market”
Barratt Redrow completed 17,667 homes in the year to June 28th compared to 16,826 last year. The firm expects to complete 17,700 to 18,200 homes in FY27 from 415 outlets compared to 405 this year. Issuing a trading update today, the firm said that this year’s adjusted profit before tax is expected to be in line with expectations (£559.5 million). The firm’s net private reservation rate was 0.64, just above last year.
Govt expands remediation funding to lower-rise buildings
The government has confirmed that remediation funding will be available for unsafe residential buildings under 11 metres. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said that as part of its existing Cladding Safety Scheme, it would prioritise support for buildings “facing the greatest risk” and not focus only on height, also as part of a wider change to its approach to remediation.
William Davis appoints chief operating officer
William Davis Homes has appointed Dan Endersby, formerly of Persimmon, as its first chief operating officer. The Loughborough-based housebuilder has created the role to help lead its growth plans across the East and West Midlands. Endersby joins the business after six years as managing director of Persimmon North Midlands.
Vistry expects first half loss as cfo leaves
Vistry says it expects to deliver a loss before tax in the first half of the year of around £30 million, revealing that its drive to generate cash has cost the firm £50 million in the period. The firm also announced that its chief financial officer, Tim Lawlor, is to step down from his role and leave the company to take up a cfo position in a large privately-owned business in a different sector.
