England’s regional development agencies have lost 424  staff in total since the general election in May, Public Property UK can reveal.
The bodies, which are due to be abolished by April 2012 and employ around 2,500 staff, have recently finished a first wave of voluntary redundancies and are set to cut …

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council will begin its hunt for a partner to develop six sites in Hampshire town Basingstoke next Monday.
The council is set to launch its hunt at the Public Property Summit next week. It wants a partner to develop almost 1m sq ft on six sites …

As property braces itself for the Comprehensive Spending Review, Nick Johnstone considers the repercussions of a “once-in-a-century” moment in government property policy.
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A scruffy 200,000 sq ft office block is about to come on to the market in Edinburgh. Its occupier, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), is cutting costs …

Francis Maude has announced that 192  government quangos are set to be axed, and a further 289 to be reformed.
This morning, Cabinet Office minister Maude published the definitive list of bodies to be scrapped including the Infrastructure Planning Commission and development corporations in the Thames Gateway.
The Homes and Communities Agency …

Stephen Hollowood, executive director and head of public sector at GVA Grimley, looks at which parts of the UK will be hit hardest by next Wednesday’s comprehensive spending review:
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The much-anticipated comprehensive spending review will announce funding cuts across all parts of the public sector, although more so for some …

Kier Property could start construction of a 25 acre mixed-use scheme at Romsey Road, Southampton, as early as February, in the first of what it hopes will be a series of government-related projects.
The developer has already been given “resolution to grant consent” for around 400 homes, 40,000 sq ft of …

The government is expected to give the go ahead to up to 26 of the 56 local partnerships that are due to replace regional development agencies.
Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Greater Birmingham are three of the local enterprise partnerships that the government is expected to approve.
These groups will be given powers …

Hastings Pier has been destroyed by fire the day after a community group launched a competition to design its redevelopment.
The Victorian pier was set alight last night, and firefighters had brought the fire under control at around 8am today.
Two men have reportedly been  arrested for suspected arson. Up to 95% …

Basildon Council will next week be asked to approve Barratt Homes and Wilson Bowden as development partner for a major town centre regeneration project.
Under plans for the regeneration of Basildon, 1,900 homes, 560,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space and 580,000 sq ft of offices will be built.
The council …

Gravesham Borough Council has rejected a planning application for the £120m development of the Heritage Quarter in Gravesend town centre in Kent.
At a meeting of the council’s regulatory board last night, cabinet members turned down the planning application by Edinburgh House to develop around 140,000 sq ft of …