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House prices set to be cut by 30% for first time buyers across the UK
Good news for first time buyers.
Buying your first house will become a little easier in the UK, as the government is set to announce new plans to lower house prices by 30%.
The government is set to announce later today new plans that could make it easier for first time buyers.
First revealed as part of the budget, the first time buyers discount is set to feature in the White Paper, and will save first time buyers tens of thousands of pounds.
The new First Homes that are set to be discounted will stay at a lower price for all future first-time owners.
Key workers such as nurses and police officers will also be given priority in the scheme.
The pilot of the scheme will contain 1,500 First Homes. Once the scheme is up and running 25% of an affordable homes development must be First Homes.
After the 30% discount is applied, the price will be capped across England at £250,000 and £420,00 in London. Similarly, those buying First Homes will be subject to a household income of £80,000 (or £90,000 in London).
A list of non-first-time buyers who are also eligible is yet to be confirmed.
For those who are after cashing in and selling on with a hefty profit in a few years, the government are putting a ‘restrictive covenant’ on the price. This means that ‘the original level of discount, are passed on to future purchasers’.
Many people are concerned that the plans will harm the environment and see Tories ditch a requirement for big developments to contribute to infrastructure around new developments. This, protesters say, could pile more pressure on cash-strapped councils.
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick claims the major overhaul will speed up the house building process and ‘cut red tape but not standards’.
Jenrick added that the project will ‘protect green spaces’ while making it easier to build on ‘brownfield land’.
The planning system will propose three categories of land in the White Paper; earmarked for growth, renewal and protection. However, campaigners said this risks a ‘disconnected landscape, one in which wildlife continues to decline because nature doesn’t slot into neat little boxes’, according to the Mirror.
The plans are on going, and Jenrick says it takes seven years to agree local housing plans and five years before any work will begin.
He added: “These once-in-a-generation reforms will lay the foundations for a brighter future, providing more homes for young people and creating better quality neighbourhoods and homes across the country.
“We will cut red tape, but not standards, placing a higher regard on quality, design and the environment than ever before. Planning decisions will be simple and transparent, with local democracy at the heart of the process.
“As we face the economic effects of the pandemic, now is the time for decisive action and a clear plan for jobs and growth. Our reforms will create thousands of jobs, lessen the dominance of big builders in the system, providing a major boost for small building companies across the country.”
Tom Fyans, deputy chief executive of CPRE (Campaign to Protect Rural England), said: “The key acid test for the planning reforms is community involvement, and on first reading, it’s still not clear how this will work under a zoning system.”
Director of campaigning and policy at The Wildlife Trusts, Nikki Williams says ‘tree-lined streets’ are not enough.
She added: “Parks, green spaces and all the areas around our homes must be part of a wild network of nature-rich areas that will benefit bees and birds as much as it will enable people to connect with on-your-doorstep nature every single day.
“We live in one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world.
“Protecting isolated fragments of land is not enough to help wildlife recover nor will it put nature into people’s lives – something that is now recognised as vital for our health and wellbeing.”
Commuters could be facing the steepest rise in the cost of train travel in more than a decade just months after prices were already increased.
It has been predicted today that train prices across England and Wales could rise by nearly 5% before the New Year.
The 2021 rise in prices was delayed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic when train travel was at an all-time low, however, tickets still saw a price rise of 2.6% in March.
Abhijit Tembhekar / Flickr
And this morning, the Retail Prices Index for July 2021 was confirmed as 3.8% by the Office for National Statistics, meaning passengers could see fares rise by 4.8% in 2022, which would be the largest hike since 2012.
This means that the cost of rail travel could increase twice within ten months, and would see a Manchester-Glasgow off-peak return rise by £6.30 to £94.90, according to Metro.
Though all hope isn’t yet gone – changes to the fares in 2022 are still yet to be confirmed.
Jon David Houghton / Wikimedia Commons
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “No decision has been made on national rail fares.
“The government is considering a variety of options and we will announce our decision in due course.”
This news has come as train travel in Manchester and beyond is on the rise – earlier this month, we reported that zero cases of Covid were found in Manchester Piccadilly Train Station, despite thousands of commuters using the station’s services as offices reopen.
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