According to reports, plans will be abandoned in light of backlash from southern voters and MPsThe government is reportedly backpedalling on its commitment to overhaul planning laws in order to accelerate infrastructure projects with a target of buildi…
‘Housing should be boring… and cheap’ – developer explains his success
Pocket Living boss explains why his business model of building smaller flats is ideal for the UK housing crisisProperty developer Marc Vlessing says he would be happy to be put out of a job. In an attempt to attract first-time buyers who might otherwis…
We can’t build our way out of the environmental crisis | George Monbiot
New infrastructure projects are all the rage, post-pandemic. But who benefits from a rising tide of concrete?Dig for victory: this, repurposed from the second world war, could be the slogan of our times. All over the world, governments are using the pa…
Build on the past for a net zero future | Letters
Sue Miller and Sean Tompkins on the importance of retrofitting and reuse of materials in construction in order to reduce the UK’s carbon emissionsYour article on the importance of retrofit and reuse of buildings over new-build is most timely (Editorial…
The Guardian view on high pay: the fat cats are still there | Editorial
Vast disparities in income may have lost some of their power to shock. But they remain a gross injusticePublic anger about the vast salaries extracted from business by the highest-paid people surfaces less often than one might expect, given highly cons…
Retrofitting: why carbon-reducing renovations are going to be big business
Draughty homes contribute to 14% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, but a wave of eco-refurbs is changing thatUK government ‘failing to help local leaders achieve net zero’When Boris Afinogenov moved to Liverpool from Lithuania in 2011, he knew that…
Taylor Wimpey profits show what a waste Sunak’s stamp duty giveaway was | Nils Pratley
The housebuilder and its rivals did not need help from the taxpayer to get through the pandemicFrom where Rishi Sunak sits, he might regard Taylor Wimpey’s bumper set of first-half figures as a triumph of policymaking. The chancellor threw subsidies at…
Taylor Wimpey lifts profit target after building record number of homes
Company constructed more than 7,300 houses in first half of 2021 after Covid hit earnings a year earlierCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageTaylor Wimpey, one of the UK’s biggest housebuilders, has returned to profit and upgrade…
The Guardian view on adapting to global heating: risks must be faced | Editorial
Investment in flood defences is overdue. But progress on climate resilience requires confronting vested interests too Nothing about the climate crisis is easy. The challenge of adapting to global heating and the climate disruption it causes is particu…