cityam 2012-09-06

David Cameron and Nick Clegg are set to launch a series of economic growth policies in coming weeks ISSUE 1,711 THURSDAY 6 SEPTEMBER 2012 PLANNING laws will be temporarily relaxed to allow home extensions to be built without planning permission in an attempt to boost the flatlining economy , the gove rnment will announce today . Homeowners will be allowed to build sin- gle-storey extensions that stretch up to eight metres beyond their property’s rear wall without having to jump through the existing bureaucratic hoops. At th e mo ment owne rs o f te rraced houses are permitted to build three metres from their back wall without resorting to official procedures and owners of detached proper- ties can extend their home by four metres. The gove rnment ’s proposals wi ll see these limits doubled, although councils may retain some ability to veto development in conservation areas. The governmen t hopes that by substan- tially reducing the amount of paperwork required to build a conservatory, loft exten- sion or garage conversion they can revive the construction industry and help kick- start growth across the rest of the economy. The plan w ould also e nable b usines ses t o expand their shop by 100 square metres and industrial units by 200 square metres without full p lannin g permissio n. Any r elaxatio n of the la ws will be tempo- rary with the waivers likely to end before 2015 in an attempt to make property owners commit to spending during this parlia- ment. Approximately 200,000 planning applications are made for residential improvements every year in t he UK, most of which are approve d – but only after a process that often takes up to eight weeks. There wil l be a swift consultation o n the new measures before they are implement- ed later this year. “This government means business in delivering plans to help people, build new FTSE 100 M5,657.86 -14.15 DOW 13,047.48 +11.54 NASDAQ 3,069.27 -5.79 £/$ 1.59 unc £/€ 1.26 unc €/$ 1.26 unc See Page XX BUT ITS SHARES STILL TUMBLE 13 PER CENT www.cityam.com FREE BY TIM WALLACE Lloyds in new mis-selling probe as FSA plans crackdown LLOYDS is facing an FSA probe into the state of compliance practices which may have enabled mis-selling to take place back in 2011, it emerged yesterday. The revelation came hours after top regulator Martin Wheatley told the industry it has just 18 months to reorganise bonus rules to remove perverse incentives which can promote damaging sales practices. Banks are rushing to meet the tough new regulatory guidelines, yesterday pledging to crack down on mis-selling. If they fail to hit Wheatley’s targets, he will take a “more intrusive” approach, which could see individuals punished. Wheatley’s bold effort to change the whole selling culture within banks represents a major challenge for the embattled industry. Consultants expect banks will have to change the way they recruit and train staff, and spend more on HR and compliance to clamp down on mis-selling if they want to please the regulator, who will soon head up the Financial Conduct Authority . BUS INESS WITH PERSONALITY Certified Distribution 02/07/12 til 29/07/12 is 131,194 WH Y H A VING WI LLP O WE R IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS SEE PAGE 20 NOKIA: NE W PHONE IS B ES T EVER PLANNING RULESAXED homes and kick-start the economy,” the Prime Minister and deputy prime minister said in a joi nt statement. “We’re determined to cut through the bureauc racy that hold s us back. That starts with gettin g the planne rs off our backs. Getting behind the businesses that have the ambition to expand. And meeting the aspi- rations of families that want to buy or improve a home.” In addition to relaxing the rules on home improvements there will also be an exten- sion of the FirstBuy scheme to encourage new homeowners, with funding for another 16,500 new homeowne rs. The prog ramme is a joint initiative between leading house- builde rs and the government, providi ng new buyers with a loan of up to 20 per cent of their new property’s value. The announc ements come after David Cameron completed his first government reshuffle, with a pledge to focus on imple- menting policies to drive economic growth. BY JAMES WATERSON Public encouraged to extend homes to boost economy See Page 22 ALLISTER HEATH: Page 2

cityam 2012-09-06

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