Building Societies credit ratings downgraded

Moodys, a leading ratings agency, has downgraded nine buildings amid fears of rising bad debts.The downgrades are based on a scenario of a 40% peak-to trough fall in house prices and could make it difficult for the building societies to refinance debts as a result.

The Building Societies Association said the sector had "weathered the storm well" Adding that:"We are fairly disappointed by what Moody's have done and very surprised by it, not least because it is based on a very pessimistic view of future house prices."

The nine societies downgraded include the UK's largest Nationwide, Chelsea, Coventry, Newcastle, Norwich & Peterborough, Principality, Skipton, West Bromwich and Yorkshire building societies.

Swimming Pool in Deep Water

You just want to write good, even great things about our industry, but sometimes we get ourselves in a spot of bother and it becomes a PR battle.

Once again the Olympic Delivery Authority are in deep water following a report prepared by MP's criticising the increase in budget on the iconic swimming pool, the centre piece in the development.

The budget for the pool was at the outset, £75m. It has now risen to £242m with a further £61m spent on a land bridge forming part of the roof.

"[The aquatic centre] appears to be over-designed and an expensive way of providing the facilities for water sports needed during and after the games," it states. "The history of the aquatics centre shows a risible approach to cost control and that the games' organisers seem to be willing to spend money like water."

"The radical revision of cost estimates has been damaging to confidence in the management of the overall programme [and] has exposed the government and games organisers to the charge that the initial bid was kept artificially low to win public support," they state.

According to the committee's calculations, £3.7bn of the budget, more than 30%, is made up of contingency, and the MPs say that it would be a significant failure if the games ran over budget: "The mark of success in financial management of the games will be to have kept expenditure to a level comfortably below the £9.325bn ceiling."

Perhaps it should now be the turn of the ODA to undertake a review of MP's expenditure, and waste even more Public Money..

PM Promises 10 New Eco Towns

Prime minister Gordon Brown pledged to double the number of eco towns in his first speech as Labour party leader yesterday.

Brown announced that the government aimed to build ten of its environmentally friendly co towns ,one in each region,instead of the five he originally promised when launching his bid to become Labour leader in the summer.

Each town will contain 100,000 homes and will be powered by energy from sustainable resources. The new developments will be built on existing brownfield sites and will be designed to reduce Britain's carbon footprint. The new properties will also increase the supply of affordable housing in the market, allowing those seeking their first step on the housing ladder to make a purchase, according to Mr Brown.

The PM said: "we plan to help first-time buyers and we will increase house-building to 240,000 new homes a year in places and ways that respect our green spaces and the environment...My aim by 2010 is two million more homeowners than in 1997.... And for the first time in nearly half a century we will show the imagination to build new towns - 'eco-towns' with low and zero carbon homes.

He also Pledged that he would invest £8 billion pounds into Social Housing a 50 per cent increase in funds previously allocated.

Government Fails Again

Building Magazine carries a report this morning on the findings of the National Audit Office following their review of government's management of their own stock of buildings.

The report has following findings:

• Setting sustainable standards for the construction and refurbishment of buildings that were not being met


• Failing to carry out environmental assessments and failing to achieve the required standards.


• Over 2005 and 2006, only 9% of projects achieved the required standard.


• Failing to meet its own carbon reduction target.

The report suggests a lack of management and understanding of the correlation between sustainability and whole life cycle costs, and this is despite previous warnings

Whilst it is hard to accept and understand the government has failed again....

Strutt & Parker Prepare for Bumpy Ride

The Earl of Malmesbury is currently suing surveyors Strutt & Parker claiming the firm failed to negotiate a rent based on car park turnover at Bournemouth Airport.

The claim, which has been estimated at a cool £100m, centres around a piece of land that was leased for 25 years, with no breaks to National Express at £9,000 per annum. Since agreeing this lease, the land has been used by the airport for car parking, creating a very profitable income stream.

The Earl, James Carleton Harris, issued a writ against Strutt & Parker claiming that by failing to negotiate a rent based on car park turnover, the agents deprived the estate of a realistic income from the land.

Whilst Strutt & Parker deny any liability, their case was dealt a blow yesterday when it was reported in Property Week that the research they undertook was flawed...

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