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Short on time? Tuesday’s housing news in five minutes
A round-up of the top stories this morning from Inside Housing and elsewhere
Top story: Grenfell Inquiry suspended due to coronavirus outbreak
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry has suspended hearings “until further notice” following the escalation in the country’s response to the growing coronavirus crisis. Sessions held via video link are being considered as an option, inquiry chair Sir Martin Moore-Bick said in a statement.
It also emerged yesterday that inquiry panel member Thouria Istephan, who considers the evidence alongside Sir Martin, had fallen ill. A statement said she had “symptoms similar to those of COVID-19”.
Meanwhile, a woman who was tasked with developing a fire safety strategy for Grenfell Tower before it was refurbished in 2012 spent just 15 hours on the project, the inquiry heard yesterday.
Cate Cooney, who worked for fire safety consultant Exova, never visited the building in person and only ever made a first draft of the strategy, which contained a lot of “unknown” information.
The hearings will proceed at a later date with more evidence from other Exova employees.
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More than 1,250 housing association mortgages in London on hold as EWS falters
Data given to Inside Housing by the G15 revealed that more than 1,250 sales, staircasing attempts and remortgage applications have been put on hold due to lenders being unwilling to strike deals with leaseholders over cladding fears.
The figures shed some light on the scale of the mortgage crisis gripping the sector, which has been caused by a series of government advice notes issued in the wake of Grenfell.
It also provides evidence that the EWS (External Wall System 1) form, which was set up by the Royal Institution of Surveyors earlier this year as a solution to the growing crisis, is doing little to speed up the process of selling for trapped leaseholders.
Lunchtime long read
As the coronavirus pandemic worsens across the globe and much of the British population begins working from home, Sinead Butters, chief executive of Aspire Housing, reflects on what the crisis means for her housing association.
Quote of the day
“Failing to renew the scheme at this point would be a huge waste of the money that the government has already spent.”
Last week’s Budget may have contained a lot for housing, but the one thing that missing was the renewal of funding for community built homes. Sue Bird, co-founder of community land trust Yorspace, asks chancellor Rishi Sunak: “where is the Community Housing Fund?”
In the papers
Picture: Getty
Much of the national press is focused on coronavirus and its impact on various sectors.
The Independent has a story about how foodbanks are being forced to close due to a decline in volunteers and shortage of food donations.
Meanwhile, the Construction Enquirer writes about warnings from the construction sector’s two biggest trade bodies that sites will close due to the virus.
Local news
Picture: Getty
In non-coronavirus news, the Bristol Cable has written a feature about Housing First and asks whether it could provide a solution to housing the “unhouseable”.
Housing association Torus is planning to invest £75m in developing more than 500 homes in Warrington, the Warrington Guardian reports.
Meanwhile, council chiefs in Hartlepool have outlined plans to increase housing delivery after falling behind the council’s target of 410 homes per year, the Hartlepool Mail reports.
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