Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has outlined her plan to get thousands of homes built. But will it work? Place North's David Thame digs into the matter.

Plus: Leeds' office market has reason for optimism - and so does the wider shed scene.

Ahead of her departure to take the top civil servant post at Birmingham City Council, Joanne Roney sat down with Place North's Julia Hatmaker and Dino Moutsopoulos to reflect on the past seven years leading the Northern city. For all the latest on the built environment across the North and North West, visit placenorth.co.uk

Before dusting off his golf clubs, the outgoing chief executive of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority sat down with Place deputy editor Dan Whelan to reflect on the seismic role he has played in the growth of the city region.

For all things construction and the built environment, visit placenorth.co.uk

The property industry thinks Labour's manifesto may be hard to deliver, if Angela Rayner's recent UKREiiF speech is any guide. Place North analysis editor David Thame digs into new towns, leasehold reform, and Grey Belt. Plus: Levelling up in Doncaster.

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Welcome to May, a month where the Northern property market is focussed on revenue as the half-year approaches. Place North analysis editor David Thame looks into why revenue is dominating investor mindsets. Plus: mayoral elections and Liverpool entertainment.

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A fortune awaits the bold and the brave who are ready to face the monsters endangering the property market. Place North analysis editor David Thame digs into where the opportunity lies - and what pitfalls face our heroes. Plus: a look at Northern economies and Sunderland's high streets.

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Blackstone's mega data centre has risen from the ashes of BritishVolt's Northumberland dreams. Place North analysis editor David Thame explores the stalling EV revolution and what that means for the push for data centres. Plus: good news all around for Leeds offices and Newcastle BTR.

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An early doors plan for 530,000 sq ft of offices in Preston hints at a wider change in attitudes around investing in regional workspace. Place North analysis editor David Thame digs into the matter. Plus: skyscraper dreams in Liverpool and speedy progress on York Central.

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Despite the weather, the region has become a target for solar energy generation. Place North analysis editor David Thame looks at the North's bright power future. Plus: good news for supermarkets and Doncaster Sheffield Airport. Subscribe for FREE: placenorth.co.uk

The built environment has hit a turning point and the sharks of private debt are circling. In this podcast, David Thame explains why financiers think now is the time to up their real estate game. Plus: a supermarket's decision in Blackburn has wide-ranging repercussions.

New data from the Office for National Statistics shows the power twentysomethings have on Northern cities. Place North analysis editor David Thame digs into what this means for offices and homes. Plus: a snapshot of the industrial market.

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The warehouse sector is more appealing than ever to those with seriously deep pockets. Place North analysis editor David Thame looks at investor appetites. Plus: Planning fast lanes and Leeds' bright future.

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What the sector wants and needs from its industry events was the topic of this frank and honest roundtable discussion about the quality and value of what is currently on offer.

From socials, to conferences, to roundtables, there has never been more events for the property industry to attend, but are they all hitting the mark?

This podcast brought together experts from the worlds of marketing, communications, publishing, and PR to have their say on what makes a good industry event and what factors they and their clients consider when choosing one over another.

Participants:

Dino Moutsopoulos, managing partner and head of commercial, Place North

Lucy Lomas, director, Luma Marketing

Kirsty Jolley, head of marketing, Placefirst

Kate Healey, director, Inform Communications

Is it government? The city region mayors? Transport for the North? Place North analysis editor David Thame digs into why regional transport policy is plagued by inertia. Plus: Have any of the government's regeneration programmes been effective?

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Place North analysis editor David Thame explains why the Competition and Markets Authority getting tough with housebuilders won't change England's residential problem. Plus:  a look at agency profits and debt. Get The Subplot each week for free direct to your inbox when you subscribe to Place North: placenorth.co.uk

Receive The Subplot every week, straight to your inbox for free when you subscribe to placenorth.co.uk

Why does it seem so difficult to build infrastructure in the North? Place North analysis editor David Thame gets to the heart of the matter. Plus: a noisy legal affair and planning tweaks.

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City councils are crafting plans around how much office space they'll need 15 years down the line - but does their math stack up? Plus, Place North analysis editor David Thame gives the BTR market a health check while also reporting some good news for Newcastle. Read and subscribe for FREE at placenorth.co.uk

Are multi-billion-pound local authority asset sales moving closer? Place North analysis editor David Thame examines whether selling - or holding out - is the better move for councils. Plus: the next chapter in the Teesworks' drama and the latest on beds and sheds.

Read and subscribe to The Subplot for FREE at placenorth.co.uk

Hear us out - business rates retention is about to transform the North. Here's why. Plus, Place North analysis editor David Thame takes a look at the Northern shed scene and whether co-living is on the up or down... For the latest on the built environment across the North, visit placenorth.co.uk and subscribe for free.

Place North's David Thame digs into why university financial woes are problematic for the property business. Plus: a look at politics and planning - and some good news for the retail sector. Receive The Subplot directly into your inbox every week for FREE. Subscribe at placenorth.co.uk

Place North analysis editor David Thame breaks down whether or not there's any merit in rumours that Labour may resurrect the old HS2 plan. Plus: is Hull set to be the next Hollywood of the North?

Written edition of The Subplot is available on Place North West, Place Yorkshire, and Place North East.

Town Halls face a difficult 2024, one the property industry cannot ignore. Place North analysis editor David Thame digs into how the situation got so bad and what this means for the future. Plus: student beds and Leeds hotels are on the up.

Receive The Subplot directly to your inbox, subscribe for FREE here: https://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/subscribe/

Vacancy rates are climbing in the North's major office market - but landlords, investors, and agents are upbeat. Why? Place North analysis editor David Thame digs into the numbers. Plus: Why Brits in property should care about the US election.

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From high rates of graduate retention to a lack of green space, experts on this podcast brought to you by Alliance Investments explore the city’s strengths and weaknesses in the eyes of people looking to plough their money into property. 

Arik Agamian, sales director at Alliance Investments, and Louise Emmott, managing director at Kingsdene, sat down with Place North West senior reporter Dan Whelan to discuss what Manchester has going for it and what it must improve on. 

Subscribe to our FREE Daily Briefing newsletter here: https://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/subscribe/

Find out more about Alliance Investments: https://www.alliance-investments.com/

Accelerating the delivery of buildings of all shapes and sizes is imperative if our towns and cities are to thrive and a piece of software developed by VU.CITY is doing just that. 

Claire Locke, commercial director at VU.CITY, sat down with Place North West senior reporter Dan Whelan to explain how Site Solve, the firm’s generative design tool, works. 

They were joined by Dave Lee, director at Clarion Housing Group, who talked about how the tool is helping the housing association’s development arm Latimer streamline its processes. 

Find out more about VU.CITY here.

What are the dos and don'ts of crafting the perfect business development strategy? The latest Place North podcast digs into all things marketing within the built environment, with the help of Civic Engineers' Katrina Davis and our own Dino Moutsopoulos.

Hosted by Julia Hatmaker, editor of Place North West.

From Sheffield to Teesside, Place North’s Neil Tague and Louise Hall discuss the big projects and the big names dominating headlines in Yorkshire and the North East in this podcast episode.

Constant tinkering with the planning system and a volatile economic landscape are two of the biggest issues contributing to the housing crisis. That was the view of Winkworth Sherwood partners Colette McCormack and Lindsay Garrett, who discussed the sector’s challenges during Housing 2023. 

McCormack and Garrett were joined by Jackie Sadek, director at Urban Strategy and a former government advisor, to reflect on a frank and honest discussion with industry leaders that law firm Winckworth Sherwood hosted during the Chartered Institute for Housing’s annual conference. 

On this episode of the Place North West podcast, hosted by senior reporter Dan Whelan, the participants discussed the industry’s biggest gripes, why the planning system should be left alone, and what the future of housing delivery might look like. 

Find out more about Winckworth Sherwood: wslaw.co.uk

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Place North West editor Julia Hatmaker is joined by Onward Homes executive director of property, Sandy Livingstone, and Manchester City Council executive member for housing and development, Cllr Gavin White, to discuss how best to achieve high-quality, affordable homes for all and tackle what many are calling a housing crisis.

Genesis Homes chief executive Nicky Gordon sat down with Place North West to discuss what being a housebuilder in Cumbria is really like, the potential implications of the recent local government reorganisation, and why Barrow is a place to watch.

Place Editor Julia Hatmaker hosted this podcast with Leah Holmes, Utilities Specialist within Smart Energy and Sustainability at Hydrock, and Carol Culley, Deputy Chief Executive at Manchester City Council to discuss the demand and supply of reliable energy in Manchester.

Replacing Section 106 contributions with a single community infrastructure levy could severely impact the delivery of discounted homes, according to Rob Loughenbury, director of strategy at Onward Homes.

Hosted by Place North West senior reporter Dan Whelan, this podcast delves into the implications of scrapping S106, and the continued politicisation of the planning system, and offers up solutions that might better support the affordable housing sector.

Find out more about Onward Homes: onward.co.uk

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Having completed one of London’s smartest office buildings in recent years, MiddleCap’s innovations director Miloš Halečka dives into how his team puts tech at the heart of development.

Southworks, MiddleCap’s first development in the UK, completed in 2021, bringing 70,000 sq ft of tech-enabled, BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ office space to the market. Now, the developer is looking ahead to its second UK project – Seal House – which aims to push the boundaries of tech even further.

Want to learn more about innovation in property? Visit placetech.net, the sister publication of Place North West.

The property industry is keeping a close eye on Labour’s promise to deliver the next generation of new towns. This podcast, brought to you by Brookbanks, explores what actually goes into unlocking and delivering large-scale projects.

Paul Boileau and Fran Taylor, chairman and associate director at Brookbanks respectively, sat down with Place North West deputy editor Dan Whelan to discuss, from start to finish, the process of delivering major residential-led developments.

Subscribe to Place North West for free at placenorthwest.co.uk/subscribe

Paul Unger is joined by Savills' director Jeremy Hinds and applied research consultant Paul Sayers to discuss climate change and how the rise in water levels could affect planning and property.

Sharry's country manager for the US and Canada, Kevin Wilhelm and LinkedIn's senior director & head of global design and build, Victor Sanchez, join Paul Unger, editor of PlaceTech, to discuss... What do we mean by workplace experience?

Kevin, Victor and Paul delve into the trends, what clients want and how software can support the workplace experience.

For more information, visit: sharry.tech

Stay up-to-date on all things #PropTech - subscribe to PlaceTech's FREE weekly newsletter: placetech.net/subscribe

A comms masterclass this week with three directors of Social, a leading ESG and tech PR agency – join Sara Donnelly, Andy Cameron-Smith and Luke Cross sharing their wisdom with PlaceTech editor Paul Unger.

• Why does ESG matter in corporate communications?
• How can tech enable businesses to meet green targets?
• How can companies cut through the noise and be heard on climate messages?
• What role does technology play in the decarbonisation of the property sector?
• Given the growth of the Greentech sector, how can communications enable tech companies to compete?
• How to approach ESG reporting and narrative development

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Paul Unger is joined by Jeremy Hinds, planning director at Savills, and Tom Cheesewright to explore the reasons holding back real estate from taking the radical steps needed to challenge climate change.

• There is a lack of a consensus framework in which to discuss the problems and how to address them
• Without sufficient policy responses individuals will increasingly put forward radical ideas which prompt counter responses and only delay the forming of a consensus
• Requirements to do something about climate change are very challenging – this puts people off
• As timeframes to act become shorter, the responses needed become more radical
• Short-term outlooks of voter-obsessed politicians obstruct the consensus and avoid difficult solutions
• Climate policy should be outsourced and made independent and objective in same way as countries’ central banks often are

Gecina is a French real estate company which owns and operates €20bn of real estate assets, 97% of which are located in the Paris region.

Takeaways

• ‘When we are at the beginning of the journey the most difficult part is spreading the innovation mindset, framework, and skills across the organisation’
• ‘The challenge is to deploy innovation at scale through our portfolio in operation where it makes sense’
• ‘Data management is the next big revolution for real estate. If you look at other industries and benchmarks you can easily realise that real estate is quite behind on this transformation’
• ‘The problem is not about technology, which is already available. The difficulty is the upskilling we have to do to be able to produce value with data’

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Ever thought about growing leafy greens in your basement? On this episode of the Place North West podcast, Chris Bowie-Hill of Hydrock and Chris Lloyd of Glenbrook discuss new and interesting ways to generate income from retail assets.

From dark kitchens and last mile logistics to battery storage and EV charging, there are countless ways in which surplus space in a single building or entire shopping park can be used to increase a property’s money-making potential.

As retail declines and the high street continues to change, landlords are looking at how they can maximise their assets in a way that responds to societal and environmental shifts.

Don’t miss a single Place podcast episode. Subscribe to our series on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Anchor, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Stay up to date on the latest in the property industry by subscribing to our free newsletter, delivered to your inbox just in time for lunch every weekday.

Get inside the US National Association of Realtors’s property tech ventures with Dan Weisman, director of emerging tech trends; Natasha Terinova, director of accelerator programme Reach UK; and Tyler Thompson, managing partner of its investment fund Second Century Ventures.

With 1.3m members, the NAR is the largest trade organisation in the US. On this episode you can hear how a 100-year-old organisation got into digital transformation and its significant progress to date.

• NAR venture fund Second Century Ventures was an early investor in DocuSign
• SCV and its accelerator arm Reach are fully funded from returns on past investments
• Cream will rise to top as economic downturn bites over next 18-24 months
• Priority areas to watch
• Tyler wants SDCV to help tackles affordability, how can tech solve the global housing crisis and help renters move towards owning property
• Property companies can take advantage of AI, using data and today’s sizable computer power to produce clear data points that are critical to success
• Dan says NAR wants to lead and not be reactive when it comes t spottinbg tech efficiencies in real estate
• Natasha’s companies to watch include Fyma – ‘unlocking data from video feeds’ – and Mökki – ‘logistics hubs for the circular economy’

One of the leading players in ESG data for real estate globally, Matt Ellis was a sustainability adviser at CBRE before he set up Measurabl in 2013.

He is also a fine writer and his ‘From Green to ESG’ book sets a compelling argument for transparency in markets and casts doubt on the objectivity of green building certificates.

Mike sat down with Paul Unger to look beyond the doom and gloom that often surrounds climate crisis conversations and to focus instead on reasons to be cheerful.

Subscribe to PlaceTech for FREE at placetech.net/subscribe

Craig O’Donnell, group innovation director of the global property developer, talks to Paul Unger about future-proofing businesses and testing out new ideas.

Discover more on placetech.net

Hear invaluable insight from directors Michael Tsourounis and Roger Poirier of Toronto-headquartered Hazelview Investments, exploring their dual approach to backing the right tech solutions and embedding them across the group’s portfolio.

Find out more, at placetech.net

Take a peek into the ups and downs of the next few years of regional policy with a trip to Huddersfield, West Yorkshire's potential wonderland. Let Place North analysis editor David Thame be your white rabbit. Plus: Renaker lawsuits and press release squabbles.

In this PlaceTech podcast, Tanguy Quero, investment principal at JLL, and Kingma Ma, head of UK at venture capital firm Proptech1, join Paul Unger to delve into the relationships between venture capital firms and their property investment partners.

Find out more about PlaceTech: placetech.net

Retrofitting is a necessity as the UK forges ahead with its plan to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. So how should we approach retrofitting to produce the best possible results? Civic Engineers director James Bruce divulges his three top tips for retrofits and delves into several case studies to show what his tips look like in practice. If you are considering breathing new life into a beloved building, this is an episode you will not want to miss.

Find out more about Civic Engineers: civicengineers.com

In the latest Place North West podcast, ITS’s Dave Ferry and Liverpool City Region’s Lorna Rodgers break down what ‘full-fibre’ means, why it is important and what is being done to futureproof the region.

Innovation director Philippe Boyer is responsible for the tech solutions in a portfolio worth €27bn across France, Germany and Italy, specialising in offices, hospitality and residential. He spoke to Paris-based journalist Blandine Laffargue to get behind the buzzwords in corporate real estate.