Housing promises, but can the infrastructure support it? The government is attempting to inject life back into the North West housing market. Six areas across the region have been identified as “growth points” for extra housing with a planned 30,000 extra units in Greater Manchester, Carlisle, Central Lancashire and Blackpool, West Cheshire, Halton, St Helens and Warrington, and Mersey Heartlands, which includes developer Peel’s Wirral Waters scheme. Gerard Hughes, planning, development and regeneration partner at GVA Grimley in Manchester, told Insider: “It’s good that the North West has done the best out of all of the regions with the number of bids that have made it through, especially in areas such as Preston and Chester, where there have been restrictions on development in the past. But the issue is whether the region can sustain the amount of new development in terms of the infrastructure needed to support it.” The government has pledged part of a national pot of £100m to fund the infrastructure needed to support new homes, including schools, health facilities and parks.

Manchester law firm Heatons is upbeat about the future with plans to open an office in London. The company, which has a strong client base in the capital, is planning its move by the end of the year. Partner Jim Truscott told Insider that Heatons was “looking at a number of options to springboard into the London market” but that the company would maintain the majority of its resource in Manchester. The firm is also planning to appoint four new partners over the coming months to boost its construction, commercial and international teams.

CTP, which along with Development Securities is behind the Luneside East regeneration scheme in Lancaster, has spoken to Insider following the departure of David McLean from the project. Managing director Guy Illingworth said: “McLean’s had agreed a transaction to buy the residential land, but unfortunately this has fallen out of bed. The deal was conditional on us remediating the site, which will take around 12 months - we are still pursuing this. McLean’s scheme was apartment dominated and we will look at a greater mix of family housing and apartments when progressing dialogue with residential partners at a time when market conditions should have improved."