A project to restore a *miniature railway* in a seaside village has been CANCELLED due to planning difficulties. The project’s leader has been left with a ‘broken heart’ after his 400m railway plans were prevented.

Today, house prices have hit a record high. The average home now costs £299,862 – that’s eight times the median annual salary. This means that Britain's homes have become 30% more expensive in the space of seven years 👇

California approved 100,000+ new homes in under 10 years with a massive 81% of the public on-side. How? Here are four graphics on why back garden granny flats (AKA ADUs or residential annexes) are so effective AND popular 👇

News: TWO THIRDS of all Londoners between the ages of 25 and 45 are borrowing to cover housing costs.

Lewisham Council has approved plans to transform an ageing shopping centre into 1,700 high-rise homes. The revamp will also build a new town centre, community facilities and urban green spaces. Here's the before versus after 👇

TODAY: an interesting example of how to add more homes in London. New homes on a former car park in Abbey Wood – but why not three-storey terraces?

CONFIRMED: a retail park in Salford will be transformed into a new community of 3,300 homes. The community will provide 660 affordable homes, alongside vital local infrastructure including a space for GPs and dentists.

The Mayor of the West Midlands has announced £40 million for the Social Housing Accelerator Fund. This is in light of a change in government policy that empowers the Mayor to fund the building of new homes.

NEW: the government has announced a package of planning and infrastructure reforms. It includes a measure to help speed up building the new reservoirs that are vital to delivering new homes in a range of places.

NEW: Last week, the government announced an £84 million injection to tackle homelessness. Nearly £70 million will help prevent rough sleeping, while £11 million will go towards children and families in temporary accommodation to help them access food, travel and laundry.

🚨TODAY: A new article on why homes in the UK are so unaffordable. Following a recent FT article that critiqued the need to build more homes, our latest piece sets out exactly why new homes are the solution to the housing crisis. Here are the key takeaways 🧵

NEW TODAY: two public government housing consultations have opened

NEW! A 6.3-hectare brownfield site with the capacity for over 1,000 new homes and vibrant community spaces has entered the market stage. Once Chelmsford Council finds a development partner, the site will be one of the biggest homebuilding projects in Essex.

NEW! This week, the High Court has thrown out the legal challenge against a new town in East Herts. 10,000 new homes (2,300 of which will be affordable), seven primary and two secondary schools, and over £1.3bn of investment will now go ahead!

Shocking affordability news: This week, the ONS published new housing affordability data. The ONS found that in London, the average home was UNAFFORDABLE for ANY household income decile.

New homes in Bristol? Consultation has opened on plans for 510 new homes on a major Brownfield site! 30% will be affordable — and proceeds will help unlock the new Ashton Gate Sports and Convention Centre.

New from us: A volunteer's blog on what Dublin, London & California can teach us about fixing housing — and why granny flats could be a powerful tool for infill homebuilding. Read it here:

An incredible transformation of a High Street in Southwark:

This week, YIMBY Alliance hosted a TUC fringe on how to build more homes and better places where workers need them most.

What can we learn from the new Housing Secretary’s prior experience in housing? One interesting example is worth studying:. As Lambeth leader, Steve Reed initiated the Myatts Field North regeneration in 2012 — delivering 808 new homes, a park and a community centre.

YIMBY Alliance is excited to host a fringe on worker-centric housing at next week's @TUC! Joining us are: Maggi Ferncombe, UNISON; Matthew Boyd, London GMB Young Workers; Imogen Shaw, Labour Campaign for Childcare Reform

New homes in London? Plans have been submitted to transform the former GSK HQ in Brentford into a mixed-use neighbourhood with around 2,300 homes, including 35% affordable. The site at 980 Great West Road would turn a closed campus into homes and jobs.

Great news for North Yorkshire: Maltkiln, a new village centred on Cattal railway station between York and Harrogate, has cleared a key hurdle with a sign-off for 4,000 new homes!

New from us: how ‘granny flats’ could be the key to new homes in our towns and cities. In our latest article, we look at California’s 15,000% increase in permits for residential annexes. So how did they do it, and could we replicate this wave in the UK?

Exciting news for Newcastle: A £121.8 million package has been approved to unlock Forth Yards, transforming the city’s last major central brownfield site into a new neighbourhood with up to 2,500 homes!

Exciting news for Newcastle: A £121.8 million package has been approved to unlock Forth Yards, transforming the city’s last major central brownfield site into a new neighbourhood with up to 2,500 homes!

NEW: Housing stats released. Today’s Glenigan construction review paints a worrying picture for planning approvals, and while housing starts are up in many UK regions, they’re on the decline in London.

New ONS data out today: the median private-renting household spends 36.3% of income on rent in England (vs 25.9% Wales, 25.3% NI). That’s far above affordable levels: rent is generally considered affordable only if it takes up less than 30% of income.

NEW: disused coal-fired power station site to be transformed into a new neighbourhood! This exciting brownfield redevelopment in Staffordshire is planning to build 2,300 homes, five hectares of employment space, a new school and extensive public green space.

NEW: West Ealing restarts estate renewal programme! Green Man Lane’s final phase of renewal is restarting after a two year pause. With 507 homes already built, this news means a further 413 homes will be built alongside vital community infrastructure.

An important new report from @goodgrowthfdn.bsky.social explains the housing crisis and what we can do about it: 🧵

NEW: The Government has announced changes to the Building Safety Regulator to clear the large backlog of delayed applications and speed up delivery of homes!

NEW: the head of the Building Safety Regulator is to stand down, as the regulator faces criticism over lengthy delays in reviewing applications!

NEW: the plan to pedestrianise London’s famous Oxford Street will go ahead, says the London Mayor!

Severance (of car parking in Paris)

NEW amazing article by @AnyaM8_ of @PricedOutUK for @WorksInProgMag: the little-known scheme that accounts for over 30% of Japanese urban development, as well as other countries including Taiwan, Korea and Germany. 🧵

UK to launch trials of driverless taxis next spring!

NEW: Rachel Reeves to announce £39 billion housing boost in spending review shake-up!

NEW: Rachel Reeves to announce £15bn for trans, trains and buses outside London!

NEW: the Government has today announced plans to streamline planning requirements for smaller builders! Sites with up to nine homes will be decided on by planning officers, and those with up to 49 homes will be exempt from the Building Safety Levy and have simpler Biodiversity Net Gain rules.

Important job at the Greater London Authority working to get more homes built: www.london.gov.uk/se...

NEW: a study found that working from home has failed to level up the UK economy, underlining the critical importance of building more homes with connections to good jobs (Guardian)

NEW: measures in the London Plan (not due to be changed before 2028) and other rules can have the unintended effect of reducing the number of new homes by OVER HALF, finds a new report from @CentreforCities. 🧵

NEW: in a *major* policy shift, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan will today announce plans to build hundreds of thousands of homes on the London green belt!

NEW: “Not a single spade hit the ground in 23 of London’s 33 boroughs in the first three months of the year. That’s right - developers didn’t start a single home in all but ten boroughs.”

NEW: Government reforms just announced will slash the time to deliver infrastructure! These are big changes:

The Hackitt Final Report on building safety proposed changes that would not slow down the build of much needed new housing, but would lead to significant increases in productivity and reductions in ongoing costs. Has it been correctly implemented?

🚨 We’re hiring! If you're passionate about fixing the housing crisis and want real impact — whether through policy or campaigns — we want to hear from you. Help us build a future with more homes for all 🏘️👇

NEW: we're looking to hire a Campaigns Officer! Do you know someone passionate about housing who would be a great fit? Please send them our way! (link in next post)

Fun live 3D map of the London Underground, showing buildings too: www.londonundergroun...