Articles

George Clarke explores the contradictions in government housing policy

So, the government has published a new, draft National Model Design Code (NMDC) to ‘bring back beauty’ to the way new-build homes and estates are built across the country.

Following on from the ‘Building Better Building Beautiful Commission’ that published its report in January 2020, the government has since appointed URBED, a design and research company based in Manchester, to produce a checklist of design principles to consider for new developments covering everything from urban design to street character, facades, building types, environmental design and well-being.

So, the government has published a new, draft National Model Design Code (NMDC) to ‘bring back beauty’ to the way new-build homes and estates are built across the country.

These are exciting times for INCA, the Insulated Render and Cladding Association, the trade association solely focused upon external wall insulation (EWI), a cladding form used in both refurbishment and new build sectors.

In a sector where the demand far outpaces supply, and as the cost of living continues to rise in the UK, housing associations are under increasing pressure to deliver affordable housing. 

Spindogs addresses the challenges faced by housing associations and discusses the opportunities offered by digital. 

Technological capabilities and tenant expectations are rapidly changing, placing even greater pressures on housing associations. Increased demands create an increased need to invest in new technologies to better service users. 

The benefits of an organisation-wide training programme are too big to ignore. It’s an investment in your staff, your organisation and most importantly of course, your tenants. The true cost of choosing not to upskill staff could ultimately be loss of life, as well as loss of reputation, downgrading by the Regulator and the financial cost in terms of legal fees, fines and compensation.

Recent trials of various, older concrete block permeable paving projects following long-term use back-up previous research, endorse current minimal maintenance recommendations and debunk misconceptions about clogging up of joints. This research has important implications for the whole life costs of permeable paving on all types of housing. One of the projects involved also reveals major benefits of permeable paving for green infrastructure, particularly trees. 

In 2018, the Hackitt review required building managers to keep digital building records, from the design and conceptualisation phase through its life cycle. With the boom years of High Rise Residential Buildings (HRRB) development between 1953 and 1972, and with 6544 buildings erected in the half-century following the end of World War 2, nearly all of the remaining 270 HRRBs were built in a pre-digital age.

Thus, in 2021, complying with new design regulations while creating new digital records for those HRRBs presents a major challenge.