The Housing Forum is writing to all main party candidates standing in the General Election in England, urging them to place quality house building at the heart of their political agenda.

Addressing politicians representing Conservative, Labour and the Liberal Democrats, a manifesto issued by The Housing Forum sets out the steps necessary to solve the country’s housing crisis.

Titled “A Quality Home for All”, the manifesto calls for an effective ...

The Housing Forum hosted a Development Partnership Forum in the Leeds City region in September focusing on ‘Building Homes for Growth’ – providing insights to the supply chain working on housing and regeneration in Yorkshire.

Delivered in partnership with Kirklees Council, the event included an update on the Homes England Strategic Plan, the housing strategy for Wakefield and the growth of community housing initiatives.

It also featured an ...

Exploding the myths: public procurement, structures and MMC – part one

Since the promotion of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) as a way of meeting housing demand, many myths have arisen. Fears over a lack of quality, difficulty in securing finance, and confusion over contracts, have all been cited as problems.

Many within the industry have accepted these issues as facts. But this isn’t the case. Katie Saunders, David Cordery and Rebecca Rees from ...

Catch up on the latest news, events and outputs from The Housing Forum in our quarterly newsletter.

Our October newsletter includes:

• 'MMC for affordable housing developers' guide launch

• Initial findings from our annual membership survey

• Upcoming events

• Freiburg study trip with the CIH

• The Housing Forum National Conference 2020

• The Housing LIN extra-care survey

• New members in the spotlight

View Newsletter

Launch of The Housing Forum’s MMC Guide for Affordable Housing Developers

“Modern Methods of Construction – the key to increasing the supply of affordable homes in the UK”

Last month, we hosted a breakfast briefing in London to launch MMC for Affordable Housing Developers – a guide to overcoming the hurdles associated with modern methods of construction (MMC).

It aims to bust the myths associated with ...

From 16-18 October, The Housing Forum will be joining forces with CIH SE for a study trip to Freiburg, Germany.

One of the greenest cities in the world with a record of sustainable housing development, Freiburg is a must-visit destination for those interested in how we develop places and homes to meet the challenges of climate change, affordability, health and wellbeing.

The agenda for the trip is full of insights; from Freiburg’s environmental and urban ...

About The Housing Forum's Local Council Housebuilding Practitioners Panel

The Housing Forum is a national network of organisations involved in the commissioning, design and building of affordable homes.

We have welcomed the opportunities for local councils to become direct providers of new homes and as The Housing Forum is committed to collaboration and sharing of best practice, we are working with Foot Anstey at this event to develop a programme of practical ...

Mythbusting guide to MMC seeks to solve the affordable housing crisis

A new guide argues that modern methods of construction (MMC) are key to increasing the supply of affordable homes in the UK.

Published by The Housing Forum, MMC for Affordable Housing Developers, aims to help public sector organisations navigate the procurement, planning, design and post-build stages of MMC projects.

It includes a detailed section on mythbusting, highlighting common ...

Quality continues to be a major challenge to our industry and levels of performance must be raised for our customers, for safety and for legacy.

The Housing Forum is holding a dedicated autumn conference to identify actions to commit to quality throughout the supply chain. The theme of this conference is at the heart of one of the key pledges of The Housing Forum.

We will be welcoming 80 delegates who will hear from high profile speakers covering key themes such ...

The Housing Forum’s Manifesto for Housing:

Achieving increased supply of the right homes and raising the quality of new homes are heavily impacted by wider economic conditions and the approach taken by the Government through supply and demand-side measures. The impact of Brexit and policy and investment decisions have the potential to immediately stimulate or contract market forces.

Unlike investment in other infrastructure, Government can commit to capital ...

We are delighted to announce that our new guide 'MMC for affordable housing developers' will be launched at a special Breakfast Briefing on Friday 27 September.

Modern methods of construction (MMC), the catch-all phrase for non-traditional means of building, including major housing elements produced off-site in factories, is not a new concept. Some of the key drivers for the adoption of MMC have converged in recent years though and they now make MMC a feasible, attractive and ...

Have your say!

The Housing Forum’s annual membership survey is now open.

Our membership is at the heart of what we do and your valuable feedback helps us to plan our activities and improve our ways of working.

We want to continue to relate, listen and engage with members to ensure our programme and services remains topical and relevant in this ever-changing climate. By completing the survey and sharing your views, you can influence the future content ...

The Housing Forum is holding its next Development Partnership Forum in the Leeds City Region. It will be relevant to all working on house building and regeneration in Yorkshire and the North, focusing on Building Homes for Growth.

The Forum will cover Housing Partnership Policy and a case study featuring Dewsbury Riverside Delivering 4,000 New Homes, as well as a walking tour before concluding with a networking lunch.

Date and Time:

Friday 20 September ...

The Housing Forum has established a specialist Older People’s Housing Working Group in a bid to tackle what has been coined a “Silver Tsunami” as a growing proportion of the population lives into their 80’s. How to make this a happy and productive time of life can create real challenges for individuals and for health and for housing professionals.

Tom Titherington Chair of the working group and Executive Director, Development and Commercial at Sovereign ...

The Housing Forum’s key purpose is to encourage partnerships, increase supply and encourage quality outcomes in housing development.

Building influence with national and local government using our collaborative expertise is a major aim in our strategic plan. To support this, we have set up a new work stream aimed at local councils who have ambition to build homes.

Member organisations including Baily Garner, Ark, Trowers & Hamlins and NHBC contributed to our ...

The Housing Forum at Housing 2019

The Housing Forum joined organisations from across the housing supply chain last week at Housing 2019, Europe's largest and most inclusive housing festival and the Chartered Institute of Housing's annual conference.

Whilst at the conference – in addition to exhibiting - we examined and debated some of biggest challenges facing the industry, featuring sessions at the conference on:

Hackitt Review response consultation ...

The Housing Forum is delighted to be joining forces with the CIH SE International Group to offer a study tour of one of the world’s greenest cities.

16 - 18 October 2019

Overview

One of the greenest cities in the world with a record of sustainable housing development, Freiburg is a must visit destination for those interested in how we develop places and homes to meet the challenges of climate change, affordability, health and wellbeing.

As ...

The Housing Forum will shortly be launching our latest Working Group Report – “MMC for Affordable Housing Developers”.  This guide to design, procurement and delivery of smart construction is aimed at busting some of the myths about MMC and providing good practice advice on how to adopt it.

Date: Wednesday 26 June, 8:20 - 9:00

Speakers will include:

• Dave Sheridan, CEO, Ilke Homes
• Katie Saunders and David Cordery, Trowers & ...

Catch up on the latest news, events and outputs from The Housing Forum in our quarterly newsletter.

Our June newsletter includes:

• Housing 2019 
• New Chair Announcement
• Upcoming Forums
• Working Group Updates
• Forum Outputs
• Affordable Housing Commission
• Freiburg Study Tour
• Members in the Spotlight

View Newsletter

Register for a free visitor pass to Housing 2019 as a valued member of The Housing Forum.

The visitor pass will give you access to seven theatres of free content including the MMC stage, TECH@Housing and the award-winning fringe, plus hear the Ministerial session in the tepee and attend the happy hour drinks receptions.

You can also hear from Andrew Mellor of PRP on what the Hackitt Review response consultation means for the industry, in addition to an update from The ...

How will the extensions to Brexit impact on the supply of housing when the long term reality is that more homes are needed to benefit local communities?

This question formed the basis of discussions at our latest CEO Forum hosted in partnership with United Living in Sheffield.

Encouraging the delivery of affordable housing in quality communities has been a core purpose of The Housing Forum which is the cross-sector forum for the entire housing supply chain.

The ...

The Housing Forum's 2019 National Conference will explore how the housing industry has risen to the challenge of increased demand and changing expectations - where quality outcomes and partnership working achieved success.

For over 20 years The Housing Forum has been associated with a commitment to quality and innovation in the affordable housing space. Our National Conference is our flagship event, attracted senior leaders from landlords, local authorities, contractors, ...

Hear from Richard Jones of Arcadis on his well-informed assessment of the continuing uncertainty and impact of Brexit on housing development, and Alistair McLeod of Waterstons on using data to build in resilience in housing businesses.

This Forum will also feature:

• Professor Janice Morphet’s up to date findings on new house building by local councils
• GLA’s approach to land intensification for housing development
• An in-depth examination of Clarion’s ...

Our annual breakfast event during MIPIM returns to the Radisson Blu on Wednesday 13 March. 

This year’s panel discussion will centre on the role of local authorities in delivering new homes and the panel will include:

• Pat Ritchie, Chief Executive, Newcastle City Council
• Tom Walker, Deputy Chief Executive, Homes England
• Steve Partridge, Senior Partner, Savills
• Richard Sterling, Development Manager, Willmott Dixon

As well as enjoying a buffet ...

Whatever the political uncertainty, one thing is certain we need to build more housing and do so urgently. The first Development Partnership Forum of 2019 will examine how a new town is being developed and explore new house building opportunities available in the East of England.

Achieving sustainable and economically successful communities at scale is a significant challenge. This Forum will focus on the housing ambitions in the East of England and the creation of new ...

Whatever the political uncertainty, one thing is certain we need to build more housing and do so urgently. The first Development Partnership Forum of 2019 will examine how a new town is being developed and explore new house building opportunities available in the East of England.

Achieving sustainable and economically successful communities at scale is a significant challenge. This Forum will focus on the housing ambitions in the East of England and the creation of new ...

“A new deal for social housing”

Green Paper from MHCLG August 2018

Consultation period to 6 November 2018

Selected questions for response set out in bold

Chapter 1- Ensuring homes are safe and decent

1. Are there any changes to what constitutes a Decent Home that we should consider?

The introduction of the Decent Homes Standard made a significant difference to the quality of existing stock. However, the component based approach does ...

After a year of major announcements on housing supply and build quality, the final Development Partnership Forum in 2018 will examine the new opportunities available to the sector. 

This Forum will explore how larger housing associations have a significant role to play through Strategic Partnerships with Homes England. In addition, selected case studies will demonstrate how more local councils are finding ways to form innovative partnerships to develop ...

Over 40 delegates from across the housing supply chain and local authorities joined Kingspan at their Yorkshire base for an Innovation Forum on Quality Homes through Off Site Manufacture.

At the Forum, Homes England set out their approach to equity investment for MMC partners. The Forum also heard how the new development at Ice house Road for the Goodwin Trust uses the Kingspan TEK system and how Hull City Council have supported access to development capital for this inner ...

Wider diversity of housing supply is critical as housing continues to be a major political and social issue. Our Development Partnership Forum in June had a major focus on Estate Regeneration and developing additional homes and for those setting up new housing companies.

The Development Partnership Forum is an initiative from The Housing Forum to bring government and industry together to share best practice and support new entrants into housing development. It is ...

The National Conference is a major event in The Housing Forum’s annual programme, bringing the house building supply chain together after an exceptional year of growth and expansion in a challenging climate.

Our 2018 National Conference will explore the theme ‘Building the Future’; with a range of expert speakers from across the sector. Topics will include:

• Leading for the future
• Accelerating housing delivery
• Quality & skills in modern ...