Perspectives on the role of UK planning in land and property markets

There is a popular view that land use planning regulations (‘planning’) is hostile to both development and the development industry. Part of the reason for the prominence of this view is the homogenising of the notion of ‘planning’ and its reduction to development control. This paper argues that panning controls in the UK are far more sophisticated and, drawing upon empirical evidence of key property interests proposes a more complex and nuanced view of planning controls that, in large part, has the support of the developers and others

The Changing Effects on Domestic Energy Expenditure from Housing Characteristics and the Recent Rapid Energy Price Movements

The report looks at how dwelling types and lifestyle can affect energy expenditure reveals that those renting in the private sector pay on average £31 more every year than homeowners and £90 more than tenants living in social housing. Those who own their own property are more likely to effectively insulate and modernise heating facilities than private landlords, and consequentially see a direct impact on their energy use and spend. However, a lack of incentives for private landlords to insulate their rental properties and update heating equipment is thought to result in higher bills for their tenants

Improved parameterization of marine ice dynamics and flow instabilities for simulation of the Austfonna ice cap using a large-scale ice sheet model Title,Eos Trans.

The Austfonna ice cap covers an area of 8120 km2 and is by far the largest glacier on Svalbard. Almost 30% of the entire area is grounded below sea-level, while the figure is as large as 57% for the known surge-type basins in particular. Marine ice dynamics, as well as flow instabilities presumably control flow regime, form and evolution of Austfonna. These issues are our focus in numerical simulations of the ice cap. We employ the thermodynamic, large-scale ice sheet model SICOPOLIS (http://sicopolis.greveweb.net/) which is based on the shallow-ice approximation. We present improved parameterizations of (a) the marine extent and calving and (b) processes that may initiate flow instabilities such as switches from cold to temperate basal conditions, surface steepening and hence, increases in driving stress, enhanced sliding or deformation of unconsolidated marine sediments and diminishing ice thicknesses towards flotation thickness. Space-borne interferometric snapshots of Austfonna revealed a velocity structure of a slow moving polar ice cap (menos que 10m/a) interrupted by distinct fast flow units with velocities in excess of 100m/a. However, observations of flow variability are scarce. In spring 2008, we established a series of stakes along the centrelines of two fast-flowing units. Repeated DGPS and continuous GPS measurements of the stake positions give insight in the temporal flow variability of these units and provide constrains to the modeled surface velocity field. Austfonna¿s thermal structure is described as polythermal. However, direct measurements of the temperature distribution is available only from one single borehole at the summit area. The vertical temperature profile shows that the bulk of the 567m thick ice column is cold, only underlain by a thin temperate basal layer of approximately 20m. To acquire a spatially extended picture of the thermal structure (and bed topography), we used low-frequency (20 MHz) GPR profiling across the ice cap and the particular flow units. The measurements indicate that the gross volume of Austfonna is cold. This observation is supported by model results which suggest that regional fast flow occurs despite the lack of considerable temperate-ice volumes. This in turn indicates that fast flow is accomplished exclusively by basal motion in regions where the glacier base is at pressure-melting conditions, and not by enhanced deformation of considerable volumes of temperate ice

The impact of green premium on the development of green-labelled offices in the U.K.

The perceived wisdom in many studies is that the establishment of a premium value is an essential prerequisite for the promotion of green buildings. This green premium is then a driver of the development of new green buildings, as well as an agent of the green transformation of the existing non-labeled properties. In this study, green premium is assessed as a potential driver of labeled office property development. Thirty-two commercial real estate professionals, working for organizations that are involved in the development, sale, letting or management of green offices, were interviewed across four cities in the United Kingdom: London, Manchester, Birmingham, and Edinburgh. The results reveal that after 15 years of an active development of green offices, the existence of a green rent premium remains elusive. Similarly, no evidence was found of a willingness to pay more to occupy greenlabeled offices. The results suggest that a green premium cannot be simply seen in terms of a headline rent but more widely by reference to future income streams. Consequently, we propose a ‘‘green letting premium’’ as the primary motivation for the development of green offices. Our study contributes significantly to how green premium is defined, understood, and valued globally

The impact of green premium on the development of green-labelled offices in the U.K.

The perceived wisdom in many studies is that the establishment of a premium value is an essential prerequisite for the promotion of green buildings. This green premium is then a driver of the development of new green buildings, as well as an agent of the green transformation of the existing non-labeled properties. In this study, green premium is assessed as a potential driver of labeled office property development. Thirty-two commercial real estate professionals, working for organizations that are involved in the development, sale, letting or management of green offices, were interviewed across four cities in the United Kingdom: London, Manchester, Birmingham, and Edinburgh. The results reveal that after 15 years of an active development of green offices, the existence of a green rent premium remains elusive. Similarly, no evidence was found of a willingness to pay more to occupy greenlabeled offices. The results suggest that a green premium cannot be simply seen in terms of a headline rent but more widely by reference to future income streams. Consequently, we propose a ‘‘green letting premium’’ as the primary motivation for the development of green offices. Our study contributes significantly to how green premium is defined, understood, and valued globally

Perspectives on the Role of UK Planning in Land and Property Markets 1

Abstract There is a popular view that land use planning regulations ('planning') is hostile to both development and the development industry. Part of the reason for the prominence of this view is the homogenising of the notion of 'planning' and its reduction to development control. This paper argues that panning controls in the UK are far more sophisticated and, drawing upon empirical evidence of key property interests proposes a more complex and nuanced view of planning controls that, in large part, has the support of the developers and others. 1 This paper is based on a research funded by the UK Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Our thanks to David Adams, Steve Tiesdell and Michael White for their comments and input, the respondents to the questionnaire and those who came to the focus group

The restructuring of the institutional real estate portfolio in the UK

Real estate investment portfolios of financial institutions have seen dramatic changes over the last three decades or more. Historically such property investment decisions have been seen within a portfolio diversification paradigm that has sought to balance risk and return. This paper considers the role of the supply of assets in the determining and constraining the UK institutional portfolio. The supply of real estate assets not only expands during property booms but has also been transformed by a long term urban development cycle as cities adapt to cars and the ICT revolution that has brought new property forms. The research examines long term trends in investment change by disaggregating into ten property forms rather than the usual three land use sectors. It then assesses to what extent investment patterns can be explained in terms of portfolio theory, short term net returns of individual sectors or driven by the supply of real estate assets. It concludes that the supply of real assets is an overlooked explanation

Location, location, location? Analysing property rents in medieval Gloucester

Although medieval rentals have been extensively studied, few scholars have used them to analyse variations in the rents paid on individual properties within a town. It has been claimed that medieval rents did not reflect economic values or market forces, but were set according to social and political rather than economic criteria, and remained ossified at customary levels. This paper uses hedonic regression methods to test whether property rents in medieval Gloucester were influenced by classic economic factors such as the location and use of a property. It investigates both rents and local rates (landgavel), and explores the relationship between the two. It also examines spatial autocorrelation. It finds significant relationships between urban rents and property characteristics that are similar to those found in modern studies. The findings are consistent with the view that, in Gloucester at least, medieval rents were strongly influenced by classical economic factors working through a competitive urban property market