Planning permission shortages stifle housing growth

Unprecedented challenges ahead

The social sector faces unprecedented level of challenges to deliver the Government’s tough housing agenda Record levels of homelessness are pushing many councils’ revenue budgets to breaking point as the housing system buckles under the strain of unprecedented demand for... View Article

The role of roofscapes

Nick Boulton at the Trussed Rafter Association says that with calls for faster and better housing delivery continuing to shape the sector, making practical progress relies on involving specialists. The demand to build more housing has been a long standing... View Article

Sustainability through placemaking

John Bowden at Keepmoat discusses how housebuilders must approach sustainability in 2026 – advocating a strategy that puts placemaking at the centre of developments. Sustainability in housebuilding can too often be approached as just energy efficiency alone. Whilst essential, it... View Article

Ask the Manufacturer: IDSystems

Housebuilder & Developer’s James Parker speaks to IDSystems’ David Clarke, to discover how the 2021 changes to Building Regulations have driven the specification of better glazing systems for new build and retrofit domestic projects. How have the changes to Part... View Article

Evolving fire risks

Helen Hewitt of the British Woodworking Federation (BWF) discusses the need for developers to increase focus on fire door safety, against new risks like e-bikes. The fire risks facing our homes and public buildings have evolved considerably over the last... View Article

Building a safer future

As the industry enters a new era of rigour in building safety, Ben Towe at the Light Steel Frame Association (LSFA) explores how light steel frame construction can help meet the UK’s housing challenges. Following the reset of national housebuilding... View Article

Connecting ambition and action

03-05 March  Excel, London As the global conversation around climate change intensifies, Futurebuild 2026 is turning shared ambition into tangible action. Returning to London’s ExCel from 3–5 March 2026, it remains the UK’s only built environment event wholly dedicated to... View Article

Tackling transfers of roads & sewers

Alex Cocklin at RS Bonds Surety looks at the complex contractual issues around transferring responsibility for roads and sewers, explaining why securing the required ‘Bonds’ can be challenging in today’s market.  Road and Sewer Bonds are a contractual requirement when... View Article

Why render is the right choice now

Jason Nicholson of K Rend explores the way that modern render systems are helping developers reduce build times and project costs whilst ensuring consistently high standards. With more land released through planning reforms, particularly on brownfield and lower quality green... View Article

The housing sector comes together at Futurebuild 2026

The pressure is on for private housebuilders to deliver on the Government’s 1.5 million new homes target – in spite of rising costs and materials and the implications of tightening design and safety standards. Futurebuild 2026 will be a platform... View Article

The power of supplier collaboration

Ashley Cooper from WMS Underfloor Heating discusses the importance of collaborating with suppliers who are committed to a low-carbon future. The UK’s journey to net zero is reshaping every aspect of the housing sector. While the Future Homes Standard is... View Article

Compliance is about more than fire

Joe Ragdale of Wetherby Wall Systems explores how facade safety is evolving, and that as regulation and sustainability expectations rise, compliance must now extend beyond fire performance. Facade specification has long centred on fire safety, and rightly so. But in... View Article

Retrofit quality is the measure of success

Rob Garner from Warma UK explains why the defining measure of success in the UK’s retrofit journey is not funding or volume, but the quality and integrity of delivery. The UK housing sector is entering one of the most important... View Article

Make indoor air quality a key priority

James Kane of EnviroVent discusses the latest updates to the Social Housing (Regulation) Act and gives some crucial advice to social landlords on how to remain compliant and provide a healthy environment. Awaab’s Law, formally known as Section 42 of... View Article

A smart revolution

Neil Budd from IMI Heatmiser explains how smart technology is now an integral component of achieving comfort at home for occupants. The UK housebuilding market is embroiled in arguably its largest period of upheaval since the post-war building boom. Alongside... View Article
Planning permission shortages stifle housing growth

Social housing needs a new approach

Our regular social housing correspondent Patrick Mooney argues that, with homelessness at record levels and councils pushed to the brink, only a bold new approach can deliver the affordable homes Britain urgently needs. With record levels of homelessness being experienced,... View Article

A flexible future for BNG compliance

Katy Davis at Carter Jonas (London) argues that, a year after biodiversity net gain became mandatory, flexibility is essential to ensure onsite ambition aligns with offsite realities and genuine ecological outcomes. A year after the introduction of mandatory biodiversity net gain... View Article

Building ‘beyond zero’

Rob East of Newland Homes, explains how the Gloucestershire housebuilder took a “conviction-based” decision to redefine its design approach beyond the norm to provide climate-resilient, and even carbon-negative homes. It was our development director, Jeremy Drew, who first raised the... View Article

Suffragette City

A development onsite in London’s Tower Hamlets creates a new neighbourhood on where Suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst first proposed improvements to conditions in the East End, over a century ago. Roseanne Field reports. In Bromley-By-Bow in the London Borough of Tower... View Article