Building schools for the future
This Report
‘Sustainable
Schools: Are we Building Schools for the Future?’ (HC 140-I) examines the
Government’s Building Schools for the Future programme.
Homes for the future
This Green Paper
'Homes
for the Future: More Affordable, More Sustainable’ (Cm. 7191) sets out the
Government's strategy for housing based on three key objectives:
- More homes to meet growing demand
- Better designed and greener
homes, linked to good schools, transport, and healthcare
- More
affordable homes to buy or rent.
Flood defences in England examined
Around 469,000 households and businesses in England are at
risk of flooding with this figure likely to rise in the next century due to
factors such as climate change. The Environment Agency is responsible for
managing the risk from main rivers and the sea in England and Wales.
Thames Gateway regeneration reviewed
The Thames Gateway stretches from Canary Wharf to the mouth
of the Thames Estuary and is the most ambitious regeneration programme in
Western Europe.
By 2016 the Government wants there to be 160,000 new
homes and 180,000 new jobs, all provided in an environmentally sustainable
fashion.
Planning system shake-up proposed
'Planning
for a Sustainable Future - White Paper (Cm. 7120)' sets out the
Government's detailed proposals for the reform of the planning system, in light
of the recommendations made by the
Barker
Review of Land Use Planning and the
Eddington
Transport Study.
Proposals to reduce landfill waste announced
Each year about 100 million tonnes of waste are generated
by UK households, commerce, and industry; it has been estimated that if every
country consumed natural resources at this rate, we would need three planets to
live on.
Most of this waste ends up in landfill where the biodegradable
part generates potent greenhouse gases, while valuable energy is used in
extracting and processing new raw materials.
Better targeting of low cost home ownership scheme
needed
An imbalance between the demand and supply of housing in
recent years has resulted in increasing numbers of people finding it difficult
to afford to buy their own home, with only 36% of new households being able to
afford to buy in 2005 compared to 46% in the late 1980s.
Barker calls for shake-up of planning laws
The Barker Review finds that the planning system affects
our quality of life, from the quality of the urban environment to our homes,
our jobs and our access to the countryside.
The purpose of Barker Review
was to consider how, in the context of globalisation and planning reforms,
planning laws can revised to deliver economic growth while ensuring sustainable
development.
Reforms to tenancy law proposed
This Report contains proposals for reform of the law
regarding the termination of a tenancy by a landlord, due to the tenant having
broken the terms of the tenancy agreement.
Conversion of long leases into ownership
proposed
Some properties in Scotland are held on leases for
'ultra-long' periods of time, such as 999 years. In law, the holder of such a
lease resembles an owner, yet might be subject to "an inappropriate degree of
control" by the landlord, such as termination of the lease without
compensation.