Photo: ONS Like its peers, Barratt Developments has benefited from a number of Government policies designed to get more first-time buyers on the property ladder. This includes the extension of Help To Buy until 2021, as well as the launch of a Help to Buy Isa to top up first-time buyers' savings for a deposit. Meanwhile the Starter Homes Scheme, announced in the Government's Autumn Statement last year, aims to provide 200,000 new homes at a 20pc discount for first-time buyers over the next four Read more [...]

For a select number of families in the 19th Century North East, one magical ingredient would transform their fortunes - coal. William Lawson, from a farming family, was one who was blessed. The coal beneath his land enabled him to commission leading regional architect John Dobson to design him a grand home in Northumberland. The result was Longhirst Hall, near Morpeth, with the foundation stone being laid in 1824. Longhirst, described as Dobson’s finest classical design, followed soon after another Read more [...]

When you submit a planning application for a big new building you can expect a few letters of objection from annoyed residents – but not perhaps a detailed condemnation of your plan from one of Britain’s most celebrated architects. That is what has happened to the Paddington Place scheme – a huge development around the eponymous London station intended to include a 72-storey tower designed by Renzo Piano, the Italian architect who created the Shard. Related: The 'Paddington Shard' row shines Read more [...]

HERITAGE bosses have criticised major plans to build 700 homes at a quarry in Bradford as some of the houses will be built close to two neighbouring listed buildings. The Marshall family, which owns the Bolton Woods quarry, submitted outline plans for the 70-acre site in November. The land is next to a site already earmarked for a new £150 million urban village, including 1,000 homes. They are looking at alternative uses for the quarry, which supplies Yorkshire stone, Read more [...]

The first emergency alert mentioning Yarloop by name was issued just 25 minutes before a bushfire razed the Western Australian town, with earlier alerts just listing the names of roads that encircled the town, the state’s fire authority has confirmed. Residents of the heritage-listed town, 125km south of Perth, have criticised the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) for failing to warn them that the fire front was coming on Thursday night, with some saying the only warning they received Read more [...]

A new housing development in Didsbury will be named after the village’s first recorded building - St James Park. A state-of-the-art primary school and 93 homes are due to be built at the former Manchester Metropolitan University site on Wilmslow Road. Developer PJ Livesey was given the green light to start work on the scheme by council planners in July and construction work is due to start in February. Bosses at Beaver Road Primary School will also build a new school for 420 pupils at the former Read more [...]

Places like Leeds are well known for their historic pubs, but with our drinking habits changing what does the future hold for them? Mike Waites reports. LANDLADY Angela Spencer admits her pub has seen better days. As an 18-year-old in the area where she grew up, she remembers it being “absolutely packed solid” but now it is struggling to pull in customers. Teddy boys bopping on the dance floor at the Wykebeck Arms in Leeds in 1974. A refurbishment is Read more [...]

Places like Leeds are well known for their historic pubs, but with our drinking habits changing what does the future hold for them? Mike Waites reports. LANDLADY Angela Spencer admits her pub has seen better days. As an 18-year-old in the area where she grew up, she remembers it being “absolutely packed solid” but now it is struggling to pull in customers.A refurbishment is planned and, after taking over at the pub in the summer, she believes it has the potential Read more [...]

"No one is willing to help," said Mr Palin, 38. "They have had no bungalows the size that we need. "It has to have plenty of rooms and we need somewhere we can get a lift in or that has a downstairs bedroom." The family-of-five currently live in a small terraced house where Amber, who suffers from cerebral palsy, has no other option but to drag herself from room to room due to the lack of space. "She is supposed to get through the house with a walker but can't and she can't walk so Read more [...]

A six-bedroom house in Bolton was the most expensive house sold in Greater Manchester in November, selling for an eye-watering £1.8m. The stunning home at Knowsley Grange, Heaton, in Bolton, is set in lush green gardens and has its own cinema and bar. It was an expensive month for some housebuyers in the region, with the top 10 dearest houses all selling for over £770,000. According to the Land Registry, 26,571 residential sales have been registered across the UK from November 2015. Across England Read more [...]