James Riding
@jamesriding.bsky.social
840 followers 200 following 86 posts
Living Markets Editor at Inside Housing | Book reviews in The Times | Press Awards 30 Under 30 2024 | [email protected]
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jamesriding.bsky.social
“Ever since that [act], both the main parties constantly associated the two: that we can’t progress race equality without then also controlling how many immigrants we have in this country"

Fascinating piece in Inside Housing today from @sajeraj.bsky.social

www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/60-y...
60 years on: the story of the Race Relations Act 1965
This Black History Month, Inside Housing looks back at the Race Relations Act to consider the legacy of the first anti-racism law in England.
www.insidehousing.co.uk
Reposted by James Riding
cjayanetti.bsky.social
It's My Party and I'll cry if I want to
jamesriding.bsky.social
Deputy mayor Tom Copley says “I’m quite confident, particularly as we go through this year, we’re going to see an uptick in terms of affordable housing delivery, and we are coming up with the next London Plan, which is going to absolutely have housing and growth at its heart."
jamesriding.bsky.social
The rise of single-family housing – institutional investment pouring into new-build houses in the suburbs – shows that private capital is willing to invest in housing. It’s just not willing to invest in high-rise flats because of all the risk.
jamesriding.bsky.social
“On the one hand more is demanded [of developers], but on the other side of the equation there’s less that can be offered, because the buildings that we’re producing now are a lot more complicated than they were 10-15 years ago,” says development consultant Nick Cuff
jamesriding.bsky.social
Higher interest rates and build cost inflation since 2020 eroded developers' profits. But one of the biggest challenges is the post-Grenfell Building Safety Regulator in 2024. The regulator has struggled to work through a backlog of applications and rejects over 70% of them
jamesriding.bsky.social
Sadiq Khan oversaw a boom in private housebuilding in London that peaked in 2019-20, with 45,676 net additions

Now the boom is over. Net additions are estimated at 31,800 for 2024-25 and will fall further as dire starts translate into completions
jamesriding.bsky.social
Shockingly poor housebuilding figures emerged from London over the summer

Just 2,158 private homes were started in the first half of the year according to Molior: the lowest figure since 2009

I spoke to developers and deputy mayor Tom Copley to find out where we go from here 🧵
jamesriding.bsky.social
Definitely a contender for best list of Alternative Names on a Wikipedia page
Reposted by James Riding
john-self.bsky.social
“For all his reputation as an elder statesman of solid literary fiction, Ian McEwan’s 50-year career has been characterised by eccentricities and surprising left-turns.”

Me on McEwan’s strangest novel yet, What We Can Know, about poetry, murder and the long view of human development:
Ian McEwan is back — and he’s had fun with his strangest book yet
The acclaimed writer’s latest novel, What We Can Know, is a literary hotpot of poetry, social history, dementia and murder
www.thetimes.com
jamesriding.bsky.social
William Boyd’s new spy novel is full of JFK conspiracy theories. Who does he think is the most entertaining culprit for the president’s assassination?

Here’s my review for @thetimes.com - link below
jamesriding.bsky.social
I reviewed the first ever Fitzcarraldo novel on the Booker Prize longlist: One Boat by Jonathan Buckley, a tale of guilt and grief on the Greek coast.

It’s intermittently absorbing with flourishes of beauty - but it evaporates in the memory.

Link to my Sunday Times piece below
Reposted by James Riding
jamesriding.bsky.social
A street in Mayfair where William Blake once lived is being refurbished and turned back into housing - including 11 affordable homes.

I took a look round and spoke to the developers about the “mind-forged manacles” of conservation policy

www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/how-...
How a deep retrofit project is creating affordable housing again, after 200 years
The Duke of Westminster’s property company is using deep retrofit to turn an 18th-century London street into affordable housing. James Riding visits the project
www.insidehousing.co.uk