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What Changes When the Prime Minister Does
Keir Starmer resigned this morning. Andy Burnham is now the overwhelming favourite to replace him and could be in office within weeks. For those working in development, cost consultancy and investment, it is worth being clear about what that means commercially. Burnham is not anti-development. His record in Greater Manchester is evidence enough: house prices rose 63% over the past decade against London's 7%, and major schemes like Victoria North and Mayfield were delivered on

Joe Garner MRICS
3 days ago2 min read


The Initial Review Is Where Good Monitoring Earns Its Fee
Most people assume the value in project monitoring shows up when something goes wrong. A contractor in difficulty, a programme slipping, a cost plan that no longer adds up. That is when the reports matter, obviously. But the work that makes those reports useful happens much earlier. The initial review is the part we take most seriously. A drawdown pack arrives, often with pressure to turn it quickly, and the temptation is to skim, tick the boxes and move on. We do not do that

Joe Garner MRICS
Jun 152 min read


The AI Boom Is in Your Cost Plan. Most SME Developers Have Not Noticed Yet.
How AI is affecting projects for SME developers.

Joe Garner MRICS
May 263 min read


The Housing Market Doesn’t Have to Get Better, Just Less Bad
Everyone keeps saying UK housebuilders are in trouble. The FT quietly made a more interesting point this week: things don’t need to get “good” for the sector – they just need to stop getting worse. Three reasons why that matters: Planning is finally (slowly) moving.
After a decade of dysfunction, the direction of travel is changing. Mandatory targets are back, green belt flexibility is creeping in, and planning certainty – even marginally – has a big impact on land value and

Joe Garner MRICS
Mar 61 min read
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