We’ve seen already a very clear departure from the Cameron/Osborne way of government, including on policy and approach.

May has confidently positioned herself as a Prime Minister that advocates ‘substance over style’. She has already broken away from several policy agendas and although the political and economic landscape continues to be dominated by Brexit, there are still some issues that refuse to go away regardless of who is at the top.

Airport expansion

The Prime Minister was accused of dithering over a new runway for London and the south east after it was announced this week that a final decision will not be revealed for a further 18 months. She has shown before (Hinkley Point) she is not afraid to take her time and make the right call.

This move to delay a Heathrow decision is a tad surprising. However, could it be that May is simply trying to minimise the scope for judicial review by allowing for this extended consultation period? If so, delaying the final decision at this stage could actually speed up the overall process, whilst simultaneously reaffirming support for the choice of Heathrow over Gatwick.

Let’s hope a decision is made sooner rather than later. We need to get going on investing in and building new and much-needed infrastructure.

As a follow up to my previous ‘The Myth of Land Banking’ article, concerning the House Builders Federation’s recently published report, I have looked at the House Building: March Quarter 2014, England statistical release by the Department for Communities and Local Government. This report outlines the seasonally adjusted housing starts and housing completions for the 2014 March quarter. Below I have summarised the key points:

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has good intentions - there is no doubt about that – but often they directly contradict themselves. While the CPRE often calls for affordable housing in rural areas, it has this week objected to new Government proposals that would make it easier to convert farm buildings into housing.

3030

All this used to be fields... ( Some rights reserved by ☺ Lee J Haywood)