Powerful new research from @jrf-uk.bsky.social demonstrates how a rent cap could save renters over a grand a year (and the government £600m). Unchecked rents are driving renters out of their homes. These are serious proposals - the government should pay attention. inews.co.uk/news/how-ren...

Affordable housing "starts" are up but still well below target in London. www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/housing...

How rent control could save tenants £1,200 a year. New research has found the policy could also help cut the housing benefit bill ... Steve Reed and Matthew Pennycook have poured freezing cold water on the idea that the Labour Government would introduce rent controls. inews.co.uk/news/how-ren...

Proposed 21,000-home new town under threat following Labour defeat in Enfield www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/propose...

Government says the boundary for the Crews Hill and Chase Park new town has not been determined. But if there is no working boundary, how did it arrive at up to 21,000 homes and around 884 hectares? Those numbers did not fall out of the sky. The public should be shown the geography behind them.

After 15 years of Labour control, Enfield needs change. Twenty reasons why Enfield needs new leadership. betterhomes-enfield.org/2026/05/05/a...

Parks and green spaces across Enfield are under increasing pressure. betterhomes-enfield.org/2026/05/04/e...

Is the new town boundary being kept secret until after polling day? The Government’s own environmental assessment suggests the proposal could involve far more than Crews Hill Golf Course and garden centres. betterhomes-enfield.org/2026/05/03/i...

Harry Scoffin, founder of Free Leaseholders: “Londoners are being looted over leasehold service charges, as reflected in collapsing resale values of flats for those able to sell at all. “City Hall must not listen to the disinformation campaign of the vested interests ....”

A lovely review of the Farmstead Road housing scheme on the Bellingham Estate in Lewisham for #PhoenixCommunityHousing by #Metropolitanworkshop which won our award for Healthy Homes last week www.ribaj.com/buildings/fa...

With seven days until polling day, Enfield voters are being asked to believe a series of major housing promises that do not survive basic scrutiny. Erbil’s housing promises fall apart under scrutiny.👇 betterhomes-enfield.org/2026/04/30/e...

One-in-five working-age residents in Enfield claim unemployment benefits Enfield's rate of 21.4% is the highest in London and continues to rise https://enfielddispatch.co.uk/one-in-five-working-age-residents-in-enfield-claim-unemployment-benefits/

Enfield cannot afford to lose more jobs. So why do new town plans treat them as expendable? betterhomes-enfield.org/2026/04/27/e...

Good write-up of our new Alternative London Plan for a Caring City by Pete Apps - scroll down beyond the scary account of the HongKong fire disaster. substack.com/home/post/p-...

Meridian Water was an obvious candidate for the Government’s new towns programme. Yet Enfield Council did not submit Meridian Water to the New Towns Taskforce. Why not? betterhomes-enfield.org/2026/04/22/w...

Help to Buy has been criticised by many experts for inflating prices without boosting housing supply: a report by the House of Lords built environment committee suggested that the money spent on the scheme “would be better spent on increasing housing supply”. www.theguardian.com/money/2026/a...

... the IFS said "Help to Buy made only a limited difference to housing affordability." "Help to Buy policies can help first-time buyers get on the housing ladder, in theory, but can also push up house prices," said Bee Boileau, a research economist at IFS. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

We have published a new report on the proposed Crews Hill and Chase Park new town. Its argument is simple: a proposal on this scale should be backed by clear and honest evidence. So far, it is not. #NoEvidenceNoNewTown betterhomes-enfield.org/2026/04/14/n...

This LabourList article reads less like analysis and more like a lobbying document for housing developers. labourlist.org/2026/04/gree...

Only 10 days to go! Could you be the leader to take Generation Rent forward and secure stronger rights for private renters? If so, we’d love to hear from you! Don’t miss out, the application window closes in just 10 days. Apply here:
www.generationrent.org/generation-r...

Ahead of the local election, the Mayor of London this week called for people to “… vote on the track record of their local councils, rather than using it as a referendum on the imperfections of a Labour government.” So that is what we've done. betterhomes-enfield.org/2026/04/10/e...

Why is Enfield Council avoiding scrutiny of its new town bid? betterhomes-enfield.org/2026/04/08/e...

Why is Enfield Council lobbying for housing developers? Enfield Council's report "“Rebuilding the Ladder: The Definitive Set of Reforms for First-Time Buyers” is not a serious answer to the first-time buyer crisis. It is lobbying for developers. betterhomes-enfield.org/2026/04/02/w...

"Not a good look" Housing Secretary, Steve Reed, went to a “curry night” with major housing developers who paid £2k for seats at exclusive “corporate tables”. The developers stand to benefit from the Government’s housing policies. inews.co.uk/news/housing...

This sounds like pre-election spin/PR. In reality Enfield Council are marketing new homes to buy-to-let investors on their own flagship development (Meridian Water) - which makes it harder for first time buyers. Say one thing. Do another.

House of Lords committee demands 'galvanising vision' for new towns The government has earmarked Crews Hill and 'Chase Park' as being suitable for up to 21,000 homes https://enfielddispatch.co.uk/?p=24642

"Taken together, the strategic environmental assessment gives a rather different impression of the site from that presented by the council leadership. Whatever happens with the new town, decisions should be based on solid evidence, not opinion"

This is ridiculous. We can't have a Chair of the planning committee who behaves like this. She should resign.

We have told the government that the proposed new National Planning Policy Framework is an abomination justspace.org.uk/wp-content/u...

The leader of Enfield Council has deleted a social media post containing multiple false claims because of the “volume of complaints” – but still refuses to apologise for it: enfielddispatch.co.uk/ergin-erbil-...

Ergin Erbil finally deletes misleading social media post about golf club However the council leader has still not apologised for spreading misinformation about the Green Belt enfielddispatch.co.uk/ergin-erbil-...

Extreme heat is becoming an increasing issue in London, with more than a tenth of the 3,271 heat-related deaths in 2022 – which saw record temperatures across the UK – in the capital. "Dr Joel Callow ..., said current regulations had trapped designers “in a system with contradictory aims”.

Temporary Accommodation: A False Economy How government underfunding, high rents and policy failure are driving homelessness in Enfield and across London betterhomes-enfield.org/2026/03/08/t...

My latest piece on Meridian Water, one of the biggest regeneration sites in London, reveals Enfield Council has broken a key pledge it made when the project began 👇

"Too often, new-build flats in London are sold to investors, pushing up prices and shutting out first-time buyers. Enfield Council said Meridian Water would be different, and that homes would not be marketed to investors. That commitment has now been broken."

Buy-to-let investors eye up Meridian Water homes Civic centre leaders previously pledged to avoid marketing new homes at the council-led regeneration site to landlords and overseas buyers enfielddispatch.co.uk/?p=24341

HMO licence approvals in Enfield hit new high, latest figures show Enfield Council says it is working to make sure "people living in HMOs in Enfield have safe and secure homes" enfielddispatch.co.uk/?p=24300

"Public polling and visual preference surveys show that Londoners broadly agree on what good design looks like – with up to 80% backing low or medium-rise buildings with coherent looks that fit local character, as opposed to a random array of high-rises."

Shelter "Rather than focusing on quick fixes, the government must tackle the problem at its root. It must deliver at least 90,000 social rent homes a year for 10 years, and urgently unfreeze housing benefit to end homelessness."

Construction of major Edmonton estates rebuild set to start this summer A revised phasing plan aiming to "speed up" delivery of the 2,000-home redevelopment of Joyce and Snells was agreed by senior Labour councillors this week enfielddispatch.co.uk/?p=24216

Cockfosters Station car park scheme approved: 373 homes. Good to see social rent now included. But will those social rent homes actually be delivered, or watered down later through “viability” arguments?

Cllr Erbil needs to spend more time reading the expert evidence commissioned by the Council he leads, and which it submitted as evidence to the local plan examination. The evidence clearly shows the sites importance for nature conservation, not just for Enfield - but for London.

Eight years. 600 pages. Over £7 million. Enfield’s Local Plan is edging towards adoption (maybe), just in time to be overtaken by major changes to national planning policy and a new London Plan.

We have a housing crisis, yet nearly seven years have gone by since pre-app discussions started on this scheme and there is still a long way to go before it delivers its first home.

This is an excellent report - well worth reading - picks up on a lot of the key housing issues/challenges/thinking.

"Sources with knowledge of Criterion’s business say that the ultimate plan is to evict almost all private tenants and redeploy hundreds of flats as temporary accommodation units that can be rented to local councils for far more money."

There’s been a sharp increase in the number of empty homes in Enfield over the last four to five years. Around 750 homes could be brought back into use if "long-term" and "Council-owned" empty homes were reduced just to the average vacancy rate. betterhomes-enfield.org/2026/02/11/t...

A thousand trees planted at Meridian Water. That's less than 1 per full-time blue-collar job LOST when the site was cleared for housing (which could not be built, as the land is protected employment land).

Council criticised over maps which omit Whitewebbs Park An empty white space in the area of Whitewebbs Park is shown on the council-produced map supposed to be highlighting public green spaces enfielddispatch.co.uk/council-crit...

Shared ownership homes should not be classified as "affordable" for planning purposes in London - it's highly misleading and means less genuinely affordable homes get delivered e.g. social rent