Latest letters
Stop viewing AI as an operational risk
Editor: I found the article ‘High hopes for AI technology’ beneficial in understanding the sentiments of the real estate industry in regard to recent technological developments. A statistic that is worth highlighting is that only 8% of respondents selected artificial intelligence (AI) as the most promising digital technology in the ...
Ignore the potential of new technology at your peril
Editor: I echo the enthusiasm expressed in your recent interview piece, ‘Covid’s legacy isn’t the end of offices’. I would like to suggest another key factor to consider: the strategic deployment of technology.
Green-belt narrative has to change
Editor: In PMQs late last month, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer claimed that housebuilding had “collapsed” – a sentiment felt by many in our industry. Indeed, the target of 300,000 new homes a year has not come close to being reached over the last decade.
Logistics needs to reach a more diverse talent pool
Editor: The recent announcement that the Generation Logistics campaign, which aims to improve recruitment and retention in the logistics workforce, has secured another year of government funding is welcome news for the sector, where there remains a critical need to expand the labour pool.
Gove must clearly lay out Cambridge 2040 plans
Editor: Housing secretary Michael Gove’s Cambridge 2040 plan, the attempt to turn the city into the UK’s version of Silicon Valley, has been met with trepidation. While it makes sense to capitalise on the dominance of Cambridge in the UK life sciences and wider tech sectors, it is vital the ...
EPC model is fundamentally flawed
Editor: I write in support of Property Week’s Get Set for Net Zero campaign and to provide some observations based on our experience of the issues raised in your recent leader column about the shortcomings of Energy Performance Certificates – or EPCs.
It’s time to think beyond ownership
Editor: A recent report by the Centre for Cities found the UK housing market was missing 4.3 million homes. Against this supply backdrop, buying a place to live is now beyond the reach of many people.
Progress on energy use is essential
Editor: I agree with your latest leader column that the Climate Change Committee’s negative assessment of progress in decarbonising buildings is deeply worrying.
Investment at local level key to improving planning
Editor: On 4 July, the Local Government Association released some analysis, timed to coincide with its annual conference, showing that local authorities across England were facing a £2bn funding gap in the coming year due to continued high inflation.
Design buildings to stand test of time
Editor: Visitors to our studio in Wapping are drawn irresistibly to the large wharf doors, giving a panoramic view across the River Thames. Their gaze is inevitably drawn eastwards, towards the crystalline powerhouse of Canary Wharf shimmering in the distance.
Government must act to improve London tourism
Editor: Amid macroeconomic uncertainty, with one prominent fund manager describing London as a “backwater” of global markets, is the capital ready to compete against the likes of New York, Paris, Berlin and Hong Kong?
Finnish model can end homelessness
Editor: This week it was encouraging to see lots of positive coverage of the Prince of Wales’s plans to end homelessness for good. The proposed programme will emulate the Housing First model adopted in Finland and parts of the US, which aims to build apartments for homeless people and gradually ...
