David Cross

The sun is out and the wraps are off the apartments at Olive Lane. Just 4No 2Bs here with amazing views with the Waverley skies. 100% sold.

So true…bdonline.co.uk/opinion/houseb…

@OS_Architects @createstreets @CIVIC_SQUARE Great work as always. Love what you are doing.

We received planning permission last week for an apartment scheme in Manchesters historic castlefield on a site that’s been vacant for a number of years. @createstreets @CIVIC_SQUARE

Meet Sky-House, Smithfelds. thestar.co.uk/lifestyle/home…

Check out my latest article: Sky-House Co submits plans for new 24-Home Scheme at Shalesmoor linkedin.com/pulse/sky-hous… via @LinkedIn @SkyHouseCo @CrossDavidB #Sheffieldissuper

On the drawing board…

@afneil @peteratcmc Lab inherited a planning and building system reshaped by the Tories: Building Safety Act (2022) Biodiversity Net Gain (2024) Tougher Part L & new Part O (2022) Water & nutrient neutrality. All in place before Lab took office and they slowed housing del long before they arrived

During Labour’s first 15 months in office 175,000 homes were completed in England — well short of the 300,000 homes a year needed to meet the government’s target of 1.5m new homes in this Parliament (which Labour ministers still claim, incredibly, they’re on target to meet). It’s a 14% decline from the previous five quarters and is worsening. Completions in the three months through September dropped to 31,000, the weakest quarter since the depths of the pandemic. Based on Q1-3 2025, England is set for its worst year for housebuilding since 2014 at just over 130,000. But Labour has been in power for only 20 months, I hear you say, what about housing starts? Fair enough. They’re stuck on around 30,000 a quarter, nowhere near enough to meet the 300,000 a year target. But let’s take net additional dwellings — a broader definition including not just new completions but conversions, refurbishment of old properties fallen into disuse etc — minus demolitions. Between July 2024 and January 2026 net dwellings rose by circa 300,000 — again a run rate which is far too low to hit 1.5m by 2029. However you cut it that Labour 1.5m housing target is toast.

@Paul_SLG @PhilipBarnes_ Policy is totally divorced from reality. SMEs will continue to exit the market and policy makers, councillors and MPs will keep making higher and higher demands on development. It’s been Armageddon for 2-3 years but this overall position was on the wall since the GFC

A really good piece on development viability from @PhilipBarnes_, entirely unsurprisingly. Two graphs to keep in mind when you read it: developer margins are down; land values have flatlined and dissociated from house prices. philipbarnesblog.wordpress.com/2026/02/17/via…

Sky-House, Olive Lane now on site.. 46no 2/3B homes in the heart of Waverley. Sales launch soon!

@yimbyalliance @jburnmurdoch Has anyone asked the builders why?

The number of new homes built in London has fallen to a historic low. A new piece by @jburnmurdoch finds that London has become an outlier in the developed world, as the cost of building new homes continues to soar above construction inflation. ft.com/content/05faba…

🚀 Sylvalox is officially live online! We’re excited to announce that the holding page for Sylvalox — our upcoming residential community in the heart of Loxley Valley, Sheffield — is now live 👉 sylvalox.co.uk

@Sam_Dumitriu Because we’ve regulated construction beyond viability.

In other news, the ONS reports construction activity is down 2.1%.

@tomhfh We’ve managed to over regulate and make the delivery of housing essentially unviable across the whole of the UK through a combination of Planning Policy, Building Control and Building Saftey Act.

They said they would back the builders, not the blockers.

Porter Island Works, Sheffield S1. 31 new ones, 1 new apartment and one 1 new commercial space and village square.

Coming soon! thestar.co.uk/lifestyle/home…

@IwanDoherty98 It’s an ‘end special’ or corner turner. It will book end with roof gardens and a public open space

@CrossDavidB Did the architects get bored for the last one? All great till then

On the drawing board. Another infill plot for 24no 2/3/4 bed Sky-House’s in Sheffield City centre. Full app by the end of Feb.

“Once in a lifetime”. Sylvalox by ⁦⁦@SkyHouseCo⁩ coming soon Loxley Valley.

Green belt: Planning permission submitted for £43m luxury Center Parcs style eco-development in Sheffield trib.al/beoRc8p

Mixed-use eco-development proposed for Loxley Valley - "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create one of the most exciting developments in the region" insidermedia.com/news/yorkshire…