Author | Lightnews

Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 5h

This isn't about planning. It's about the market-delivered housebuilding model we have. You know, the broken market.

Govt providing infrastruture won't work in UK; municipalities don't have tax raising power & utilities privatised. Govt building houses not possible at scale.

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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 6h

"... leads me to the conclusion that this government, like all those before it, will at some point panic and decide that a little house price inflation is exactly what we need"

Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 7h

'Planning does need reform, but the reason why not enough homes are being built is because not enough homes are being bought'

@resi-analyst.bsky.social on what conventional wisdom about supply and demand gets wrong

giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

New homes: even if you build them, there’s no one to buy them

We’re often told housing demand exceeds supply — so why are new homes struggling to be built and bought?

giftarticle.ft.com

Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 6h

Hallow-e'en coming
Do I hear ghost of help-to-buy future rattling their chains?

I recommend also reading:
housingevidence.ac.uk/project/hous...

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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 1d

Have had temporary PD/policy before in emergency.
Let's try it with modest self builds - that's be a lot of housing and a lot of economic activity.

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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 1d

Take that land, 9 self build plots at £30k, council basic LDO for principle. How many regular people (not grand designers) would jump at chance to sort their own housing out.
Things are collapsing - time to try something new.

50 Shades of Planning @50shadesofplanning.bsky.social · 1d

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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 1d

So that's Surrey done. Still greenbelt intense, but perhaps a bit less of the exceptionalism will be apparent in future local plans.

www.gov.uk/government/c...

Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 1d

In nullschool use MSP (sea level pressure) as the overlay - click on it and you can see that hurricane has pressure of 973 - very low

Going to be some fairly high seas (not tides as such, but wind driven surge and low pressure bounce - wowza)

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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 2d

I say to my folk spend more time in the "Carbon Based World"
Cause when I say "all those things stressing you out on line aren't really real" I get agro responses about nature of reality FFS
Carbon based experience can be nature, a library, a nightclub, etc - all bettter than Silicon wormholes

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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 2d

We'll Eat Again 🎶

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Reposted by Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦

Eos @eos.org · 3d

There are more reporting surface weather stations in the country of Germany than across all of Africa, leaving many African communities without accurate forecasts. eos.org/features/bui...

Building Better Weather Networks - Eos

A lack of weather data often leaves African communities vulnerable. Convergent efforts to improve observational networks throughout the continent are slowly filling the gaps.

eos.org

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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 3d

Havent read cause paywall, but I note it is 4,823 m2 GIA and band H council tax is £2,034
No property tax, obvs.

Broken approach to housing etc etc

Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 3d

My fag packet says in priciple policy support in NPPF or PD route would deliver 1000s of homes within first two years
no downsides (except stuffy old neighbour dropping monocle in his claret) @labourhousinggroup.bsky.social

/END

Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 3d

5- Russel's post has got it all
I'd have even simplified to EPC-A, <130m2 GIA, <200m2 plot, new dwell same of smaller box dimensions of neighbours/ where rear garden, new dwell smaller. or some such... 4/n

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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 3d

4 - Right to Build leg wanted to open self build opportunities for average builds. Many Planners/councils have control issues - numbers of self builds supported in face declining despite legal requirements
(PINS complicit - needs a broke modest self-builder to JR something, yeah, right.) 3/n

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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 3d

2 - Tories removed all support for garden infill / gentl density when they came in (stockbrokers didn't like "garden grabbing" - the hoi polloi solving housing needs)
3 - Tories created a culture of garden infill = bad in the NPPF (PDL glossary def) 2/n

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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 3d

Great post from @russellcurtis.com

I've been banging on about this
1 - Para 84 comes from gummers modern mansions - retained in NPPF. Result: only self builds going are > 200m2 monsters with super big budgets. 1/n

russellcurtis.com/2025/10/18/g...

Going Solo - Russell Curtis

"Micro" development: the case for a new category of planning application to remove the planning barriers for single family homes.

russellcurtis.com

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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 3d

And yet landlords claim they'll sell up due to renters rights act
Broken housing market gonna break?

www.theguardian.com/money/2025/o...

Private rent in Britain now swallows 44% of the average wage

Monthly cost jumps to record £1,385 outside London, and £2,736 in the capital, with hotspots showing hefty rises

www.theguardian.com

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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 3d

♥️🇨🇦

🇨🇦 👊🇨🇦 @sorry-iamcanadian.bsky.social · 3d

Kind-hearted #BlueJays fan gives young Yankees fan the Judge home run ball he caught.

That’s us….just spreading joy wherever we go. 😂

That is why he hates us so much, we are the antithesis of him. 🇨🇦

#Canada

Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 4d

As the US govt shutdown begins to bite, what are the numbers of federal workers who should now cancel all such subscriptions (including amazon prime) as part of 'economising'

Could be a short, sharp economic signal - not need to wait for mortgage defaults and bankruptcys.

Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 4d

This is several days old. But amidst so much else id missed it. That’s a stunning number. No wonder they about-faced. Reminder of the power of consumers in oligarch era, not subject to the same kind of targeting.

Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 4d

👀If found somewhere Jenrick and Pochin might be comfortable. Actually, almost any planning objection meeting outside inner city will be almost exclusively white and well-housed.

Photo of a 'packed' public meeting at stoke on trent local plan meeting from Stoke on Trent Live.

Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 5d

Reform fails from today's iPaper:

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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 5d

How many ppl joined labour during the Corbyn era, specfically to vote in someone focused on boring responsibilities of good government? I know a handful.

Powell/Phillipson is bit of noise for these people - no motivation to vote. I don't read much into it (but reporters need to make headlines)

Reposted by Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦

Sam Stafford @samuelstafford.bsky.social · 5d

🚨🚨🚨

Episode 151 of 50 Shades of Planning is available now via this link or from the usual podcast platforms.

Planorama.

pod.co/50-shades-of...

Planorama - 50 Shades of Planning

In between movin' and shakin' in The Big Smoke recently Sam Stafford took the opportunity to meet a few friends of the podcast at Soho Radio Studios to pick out the highlights from another exciting fe...

pod.co

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Reposted by Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦

Tom Forth @tomforth.co.uk · 6d

I've written about the worst city in the Netherlands. It's just 3000 words. A quick read. What Lelystad teaches us about new cities, why you probably shouldn't build them, what to do if you must,... and why you might need to. ps. Lelystad is actually good. tomforth.co.uk/newcities/

The worst city in the Netherlands.

Lessons on New Cities from Almere and Lelystad.

tomforth.co.uk

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Mary Elkington 💙💛🇺🇦 @maryindevon.bsky.social · 6d

I think you'll find him broadcasting an AI video of himself dumping a load of feces on voters confirms he doesn't care about citizens or voters