Tag Archives: house-builders

A Ruralise ‘Reader’

It’s been a while since my last post, the final installment of my Forest Village epic. The piece was well-received: specifically one international journal has picked up on it and I have done a re-write for publication, hopefully in their … Continue reading

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We Need More…But Not More of the Same

Given the imminent arrival of the Leveson Report, Planning Minister Nick Boles’ foray into the difficult territory that is UK green-field development did well to make Newsnight last night. During most of the day I had been following the opening … Continue reading

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Self-Building Bridges

In a previous post I suggested that mainstream commercial developers and the major house-builders regard selling development land as serviced self-build plots as nothing more than a lot of hassle and a lost profit margin – and that the new … Continue reading

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Tayler and Green #11 – Critical Regionalism?

A pervading narrative in UK housing-design is that of ‘local distinctiveness’. The idea that new homes should ‘fit in’, or ‘reflect local character’, is enshrined in national and local planning guidance. For house-builders – and most of the local authority … Continue reading

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Challenging Times for Affordable Housing

I attended a very good event on the future of affordable housing in Norfolk last week, hosted by Saffron Housing. Chief Executive Adam Ronaldson gave a sobering account of the impact that the credit crunch and recent government policy are … Continue reading

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Normal…or Just Mediocre?

An interesting piece in BD this week by Owen Hatherley in their ‘Opinion’ slot, touching on the special/normal issue that I’ve come back to repeatedly on Ruralise (start here if you’re interested). ‘Every generation’ Hatherley notes ‘ manages to get … Continue reading

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Time Out #3 – Tibby’s Triangle

Black buildings are a common site in the Norfolk countryside. Most often this involves black-painted weatherboarding on a timber-framed barn or more lowly shed, and sometimes it’s black-painted brick (see last post). Black tar-based paints were used widely used during … Continue reading

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The Wide-Fronted House #4

In a recent post I described how the square-on-plan semi, with front and back living rooms became ‘universal’ during the inter-War period. Private house-builders built three-quarters of the 4 million news homes produced in the period, mostly without the help … Continue reading

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Tesco Self-Build?

A piece on one of BD Online’s blog today was stressing about the prospect of Tesco getting involved in the UK self-build market, and idea which Housing Minister Grant Shapps has been toying with this week according to Building Design … Continue reading

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The Wide-Fronted House #3

The terraced house was the norm for new homes during the late nineteenth century up to the First World War (see previous post), but thereafter it was the semi-detached house that emerged as the standard format for council-housing and private … Continue reading

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