Miller’s light

Miller Homes chief executive Tim Hough is looking to take the UK’s biggest privately owned housebuilder back into profit through steady growth and high quality customer service. He talks to Ben Roskrowabout the downturn, today’s market, and the controversial decision to take Miller out of the industry’s customer satisfaction survey

 

Queensgate takes off

It is back to basics for Inland Homes with Queensgate, its mixed use scheme featuring simply-built family homes. Suzie Mayes reports on the development under construction next to Farnborough’s historic airfield

 

A view from the east

Four years ago ex Charles Church md and CDC2020 boss Nick Smith(right) took up the challenge of overseeing the building of a pioneering project in Oman. Here he gives a flavour of what it is like to work in the Middle East

 

Good result

Steve Morgan is back in the industry and he has a lot to say – about the mistakes of the past, today’s planners, trendy design critics, the Tories and Wolves doing the double over Spurs. Ben Roskrow chats to the bullish Redrow boss who also happens to own Wolverhampton Wanderers FC

 

Piling power

 

Seeking solutions to consumers’carbon concerns

Housebuilders have long been mindful of the lack of warmth among the public for the zero carbon agenda

 

Home builders in viability trap

The state has backed the home building industry into a viability trap which is incompatible with the government’s desire to see a large increase in housing completions

 

Time for a proper debate on design

HBF executive chairman Stewart Baseley argues that the recent intense criticism of housing design is not justified. If there is to be a debate on this key issue, he says, it should be done properly and avoid populist knee jerk reactions

 

Private pain

Publicly listed housebuilders have been required to keep us constantly informed of their troubles during the past two years. But what of the private firms? It has taken a while for details of their dealings to emerge, but now they have and, as Steve Menary reports, they do not make happy reading

 

Housebuilders call for energy fund solution to zero carbon challenge

 

Call for the industry to take up Hope Challenge

 

Tories planning policies a “high risk strategy”

 

Miller Zero to reveal details of life with low carbon

 

Rental initiative

 

Alan Cherry memorial service

 

Fred Snowdon

 

Barratt north east boost

 

Zero’s welcome

 

Openminded

Kevin Stanleylooks at what 2010 has in store for the doors and windows market. With the Code for Sustainable Homes under review, the energy efficiency agenda is stepping up – how is the sector preparing itself? And what other factors are moulding the market ?

 

Lending a hand

Steve Menary takes a look at the market for development finance and finds that more lenders are slowly starting to emerge but with caution and a selective approach to the type of schemes they want to be involved with

 

The Last Word - We need to act now to ensure the lights don’t go out

Professor Sean Smith of Edinburgh Napier University (pictured) argues that if we do not now act on energy use then we could see the lights going out across the UK in just three years time. To prevent this we need a co-ordinated approach between academics and industry