Author: Pulse Assent

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Press release: Waste criminal pays up after Proceeds of Crime confiscation order

A man who ran an illegal waste site for 15 months has been forced to sell his home to pay towards the clean-up of land off the A38 at Eggington near Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire.

The Environment Agency took confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 against Robert Murphy, 49, of Carver Road, Burton-on-Trent.

This follows a hearing in May 2015 at Stafford Crown Court when he was sentenced to 7 months imprisonment for operating a site he did not own or have an environmental permit for.

As part of his sentence, a Confiscation Order was made, requiring him to pay compensation of £20,793 to the landowner. The Environment Agency were also awarded prosecution costs of £10,000. Murphy failed to make any payments.

He has since served an additional 12 month default sentence for his failure to comply with the Confiscation Order.

It was necessary for the Environment Agency to enforce compliance with the Order to recover compensation for the landowner who is faced with the costs of site clearance.

This required attendance at further enforcement hearings at Birmingham Magistrates Court. The Confiscation Order and order for costs has now been settled in full.

Between 3 January 2013 and 28 June 2014, Murphy used the land which belonged to a vulnerable and elderly couple to deposit, store and burn large quantities of mixed waste including metal, wood, electrical items and construction and demolition waste.

An Environment Agency officer involved in the case said:

This has been a long and involved case but it demonstrates that the Environment Agency is determined to tackle waste crime.

We hope this case serves as a message to those involved that we won’t stop the fight against this blight, and that it acts as a deterrent against those who undermine legitimate businesses within the industry.

This is a serious issue diverting as much as £1 billion per annum from legitimate business and treasury. Since April 2011 the Environment Agency has invested £65.2 million in tackling it.

We urge any landowners, farmers, members of the public who find these sites to call us immediately on our 24-hour free incident hotline number 0800 80 70 60 or make an anonymous report to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Link: Press release: Waste criminal pays up after Proceeds of Crime confiscation order
Source: Environment Agency

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Press release: Improvements breathe new life into north east park

A partnership project has breathed new life into a local north east park.

The Wear Rivers Trust and Environment Agency have worked together to make improvements to Memorial Park near Stanley.

In the 1950s, Stanley Burn, which flows through South Moor Memorial Park, was diverted into a culvert to make way for a communal paddling pool, which was used for around 15 years and then buried and forgotten.

This new project has now removed the paddling pool and returned the river to its natural channel, creating new high quality habitat for fish and invertebrates while also slowing the flow of the watercourse and increasing flood storage.

Nearby residents of Stanley are also enjoying improved year-round access with a new 300m footpath and two new footbridges. And work is planned in early 2018 to further improve the instream habitat for fish and to naturalise the bankside habitat.

Steve Hudson of Wear Rivers Trust said:

It’s great to be involved in a project which offers so many benefits to the local community. By working alongside multiple partners through the Greening the Twizell Partnership, we have managed to improve instream habitat, reduce flood risk and provide new all ability access routes for everyone to enjoy this previously difficult to reach woodland park area.

The project has cost more than £90,000 and is made up of funding from the Environment Agency, Stanley Town Council, Durham County Council and Stanley Area Action Partnership. It’s one part of a four-part project in the area which has also included wetland and pond creation and natural flood management measures.

Karen Fisher, Biodiversity Technical Officer with the Environment Agency in the North East, added:

The project has been delivered with Wear Rivers Trust and is an excellent example of partnership working that has delivered multiple benefits.

This includes habitat creation, lengthening the watercourse, new bridges and a seating area, creating a green area for the local community to use.

Link: Press release: Improvements breathe new life into north east park
Source: Environment Agency

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Press release: UK House Price Index (HPI) for August 2017

The August data shows:

  • an annual price increase of 5.0% which takes the average property value in the UK to £225,956
  • house prices have risen by 0.5% since July 2017
  • the monthly index figure for the UK was 118.5

The data shows:

  • in England, an annual price increase of 5.3% which takes the average property value to £243,520. House prices have risen by 0.7% since July 2017

  • in Wales, an annual price increase of 3.4% which takes the average property value to £150,258. House prices have fallen by 0.1% since July 2017

  • in London, an annual price increase of 2.6% which takes the average property value to £484,362. House prices have fallen by 1.0% since July 2017

The regional data for England and Wales indicates that:

  • the North West experienced the greatest increase in average property price over the last 12 months, with a movement of 6.5%
  • the North West also experienced the greatest monthly price growth with an increase of 2.3%
  • London saw the lowest annual price growth with an increase of 2.6%
  • London also saw the most significant monthly price fall of 1.0%

The UK Property Transaction statistics showed that the number of seasonally adjusted transactions on UK properties with a value of £40,000 or greater has increased by 6.6% between August 2016 and August 2017. However, between July 2017 and August 2017, the number of seasonally adjusted property transactions decreased by 0.5%.

Looking closer at regional levels of the UK, the largest annual growth was in the North West at 6.5%. This was followed by the South West, East of England and the East Midlands, all of which had a growth rate of 6.4% in the year to August 2017. The lowest annual growth was in London, where prices increased by 2.6% over the year. This is the 9th consecutive month where the growth in London house prices has remained below the UK average. See the economic statement.

Sales during June 2017, the most up-to-date HM Land Registry figures available, show that:

  • the number of completed house sales in England fell by 11% to 66,082 compared with 74,259 in June 2016
  • the number of completed house sales in Wales rose by 1.4% to 3,867 compared with 3,812 in June 2016
  • the number of completed house sales in London fell by 20% to 6,768 compared with 8,464 in June 2016
  • there were 618 repossession sales in England in June 2017
  • there were 64 repossession sales in Wales in June 2017
  • the lowest number of repossession sales in England and Wales in June 2017 was in the East of England

Access the full July UK HPI

Price change by region for England

Region Monthly change % since July 2017 Annual change % since August 2016 Average price August 2017
East Midlands 0.3 6.4 £183,762
East of England 0.0 6.4 £288,440
London -1.0 2.6 £484,362
North East 1.4 3.7 £130,731
North West 2.3 6.5 £159,865
South East 1.1 4.8 £324,983
South West 0.6 6.4 £251,984
West Midlands 0.6 5.3 £188,447
Yorkshire and the Humber 1.4 4.8 £158,689

Average price by property type for England

Property type August 2017 August 2016 Difference %
Detached £369,588 £345,629 6.9
Semi-detached £224,894 £213,578 5.3
Terraced £197,746 £187,756 5.3
Flat/maisonette £225,943 £218,078 3.6
All £243,520 £231,173 5.3

Price change for Wales

Wales Monthly change % since July 2017 Annual change % since August 2016 Average price August 2017
Wales -0.1 3.4 £150,258

Average price by property type for Wales

Property type August 2017 August 2016 Difference %
Detached £228,756 £216,982 5.4
Semi-detached £144,390 £139,249 3.7
Terraced £115,786 £113,876 1.7
Flat/maisonette £106,935 £105,233 1.6
All £150,258 £145,382 3.4

Average price by property type for London

Property type August 2017 August 2016 Difference %
Detached £921,881 £889,102 3.7
Semi-detached £582,853 £568,554 2.5
Terraced £505,964 £488,417 3.6
Flat/maisonette £424,385 £415,598 2.1
All £484,362 £471,946 2.6

Sales volumes for England

Month Sales 2017 England Sales 2016 England Difference %
May 60,454 60,179 0.5
June 66,082 74,259 -11.0

Sales volumes for Wales

Month Sales 2017 Wales Sales 2016 Wales Difference %
May 3,544 3,125 13.4
June 3,867 3,812 1.4

Sales volumes for London

Month Sales 2017 London Sales 2016 London Difference %
May 6,551 6,617 -1.0
June 6,768 8,464 -20.0

Funding, buyer and building status for England

Transaction type Monthly price change % since July 2017 Annual price change % since August 2016 Average price August 2017
Cash 0.6 5.2 £228,695
Mortgage 0.8 5.4 £250,987
First-time buyer 0.5 4.8 £204,163
Former owner occupier 0.9 5.8 £276,546
New build 0.7 11.3 £307,725
Existing resold property 0.7 4.9 £239,321

Funding, buyer and building status for Wales

Transaction type Monthly price change % since July 2017 Annual price change % since August 2016 Average price August 2017
Cash 0.1 3.4 £146,648
Mortgage -0.1 3.3 £152,403
First-time buyer -0.4 2.7 £129,456
Former owner occupier 0.3 4.0 £174,605
New build 1.3 10.9 £204,442
Existing resold property -0.1 2.9 £147,204

Funding, buyer and building status for London

Transaction type Monthly price change % since July 2017 Annual price change % since August 2016 Average price August 2017
Cash -1.9 2.2 £504,874
Mortgage -0.7 2.7 £477,807
First-time buyer -1.1 2.2 £423,224
Former owner occupier -0.8 3.0 £547,133
New build 0.0 8.9 £513,785
Existing resold property -1.1 2.1 £482,012

Repossession

Repossession sales June 2017
East Midlands 57
East of England 17
London 40
North East 92
North West 139
South East 66
South West 44
Yorkshire and the Humber 100
West Midlands 63
England 618
Wales 64

Notes to editors

  1. The UK House Price Index (HPI) is published on the second or third Tuesday of each month with Northern Ireland figures updated quarterly. The September 2017 UK HPI will be published at 9.30am on 14 November 2017. See calendar of release dates.

  2. The UK HPI revision period has been extended to 13 months, following a review of the revision policy (see calculating the UK HPI section 4.4). This ensures the data used is more comprehensive.

  3. Sales volume data is available by property status (new build/existing property) and funding status (cash/mortgage) in our downloadable data tables. Transactions involving the creation of new register information, such as new builds, are more complex and require more time to process. This affects the sales volumes for new builds in more recent months; see Revisions to the UK HPI data for more information.

  4. Revision tables have been introduced for England and Wales within the downloadable data. Tables will be available in csv format. See about the UK HPI for more information.

  5. Data for the UK HPI is provided by HM Land Registry, Registers of Scotland, Land & Property Services/Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency and the Valuation Office Agency.

  6. The UK HPI is calculated by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Land & Property Services/Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. It applies a hedonic regression model that uses the various sources of data on property price, in particular HM Land Registry’s Price Paid Dataset, and attributes to produce estimates of the change in house prices each month. Find out more about the methodology used from the ONS and Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency.

  7. The first estimate for new build average price (April 2016 report) was based on a small sample which can cause volatility. A three-month moving average has been applied to the latest estimate to remove some of this volatility.

  8. Work has been taking place since 2014 to develop a single, official HPI that reflects the final transaction price for sales of residential property in the UK. Using the geometric mean, it covers purchases at market value for owner-occupation and buy-to-let, excluding those purchases not at market value (such as re-mortgages), where the ‘price’ represents a valuation.

  9. Information on residential property transactions for England and Wales, collected as part of the official registration process, is provided by HM Land Registry for properties that are sold for full market value.

  10. The HM Land Registry dataset contains the sale price of the property, the date when the sale was completed, full address details, the type of property (detached, semi-detached, terraced or flat), if it is a newly built property or an established residential building and a variable to indicate if the property has been purchased as a financed transaction (using a mortgage) or as a non-financed transaction (cash purchase).

  11. Repossession data is based on the number of transactions lodged with HM Land Registry by lenders exercising their power of sale.

  12. For England this is shown as volumes of repossessions recorded by Government Office Region. For Wales there is a headline figure for the number of repossessions recorded in Wales.

  13. The data can be downloaded as a .csv file. Repossession data prior to April 2016 is not available. Find out more information about repossessions.

  14. Background tables of the raw and cleansed aggregated data, in Excel and CSV formats, are also published monthly although Northern Ireland is on a quarterly basis. They are available for free use and re-use under the Open Government Licence.

  15. As a government department established in 1862, executive agency and trading fund responsible to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, HM Land Registry keeps and maintains the Land Register for England and Wales. The Land Register has been open to public inspection since 1990.

  16. With the largest transactional database of its kind detailing more than 24 million titles, HM Land Registry underpins the economy by safeguarding ownership of many billions of pounds worth of property.

  17. For further information about HM Land Registry visit www.gov.uk/land-registry.

  18. Follow us on Twitter @HMLandRegistry and find us on our blog, LinkedIn and Facebook

Senior Press Officer

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Head Office

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Press Officer

Paula Dorman
Head Office

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Press Office

Link: Press release: UK House Price Index (HPI) for August 2017
Source: Gov Press Releases

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The Criminal Finances Act 2017 (Commencement No. 2 and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2017

These Regulations are the second commencement regulations made under the Criminal Finances Act 2017 (c.22) (“the Act”), which amends the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (c. 29) (“POCA”) and the Terrorism Act 2000 (c.11) (“TACT”).

Link: The Criminal Finances Act 2017 (Commencement No. 2 and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2017
Source: Legislation .gov.uk

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The A458 Trunk Road (East of Buttington Roundabout, Buttington, Powys) (Temporary Prohibition of Vehicles) Order 2017 / Gorchymyn Cefnffordd yr A458 (Man i’r Dwyrain o Gylchfan Tal-y-bont, Tal-y-bont, Powys) (Gwahardd Cerbydau Dros Dro) 2017

Link:

The A458 Trunk Road (East of Buttington Roundabout, Buttington, Powys) (Temporary Prohibition of Vehicles) Order 2017 / Gorchymyn Cefnffordd yr A458 (Man i’r Dwyrain o Gylchfan Tal-y-bont, Tal-y-bont, Powys) (Gwahardd Cerbydau Dros Dro) 2017


Source: Legislation .gov.uk

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The A40 Trunk Road (Treffgarne to Manorowen, Pembrokeshire) (Temporary Speed Restrictions & No Overtaking) Order 2017 / Gorchymyn Cefnffordd yr A40 (Trefgarn i Fanorowen, Sir Benfro) (Cyfyngiadau Cyflymder Dros Dro a Dim Goddiweddyd) 2017

Link:

The A40 Trunk Road (Treffgarne to Manorowen, Pembrokeshire) (Temporary Speed Restrictions & No Overtaking) Order 2017 / Gorchymyn Cefnffordd yr A40 (Trefgarn i Fanorowen, Sir Benfro) (Cyfyngiadau Cyflymder Dros Dro a Dim Goddiweddyd) 2017


Source: Legislation .gov.uk