Latest News

Local councils should be given the legal authority to enforce higher standards of air quality in homes, schools and public buildings, according to the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA).

The Association believes the government should use its Environment Bill, which will have its second reading in the House of Commons tomorrow, to beef up local rules on indoor air quality (IAQ) in light of alarming new evidence about the impact of pollution on child health.

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) and the Royal College of Physicians carried out a wide-ranging survey of buildings that revealed shocking rates of asthma and other allergic conditions including conjunctivitis, dermatitis and eczema were directly linked to poor IAQ.

“Too many of our homes and schools are damp and poorly ventilated – this is adversely affecting the health of children,” said RCPCH paediatric respiratory consultant Jonathan Grigg. He added that it was welcome that the country was finally paying attention to the quality of outdoor air, but that the indoor issue was not receiving the attention it needed.

Inholm, the second phase of Northstowe and one of the UK’s largest modular neighbourhoods gets the green light.

South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Planning Committee has today 12th February 2020 approved plans for Inholm, a contemporary Fenland village and the second phase of Cambridgeshire’s new town, Northstowe. Once complete, Northstowe will comprise 10,000 new homes. The new village of Inholm will be the largest in the UK to be manufactured offsite using modern volumetric construction. 
 
It is being brought forward by the innovative modern house builder ‘House by Urban Splash’, a new company backed by regeneration specialists Urban Splash, Homes England and Japan’s biggest house builder, Sekisui House. 

This May sees the return of ASCP’s annual conference, exhibition and Awards ceremony - the unmissable event dedicated to supporting safety and compliance professionals within the social housing and facilities management sector.
The two-day event, taking place on the 20th and 21st of May and hosted at the prestigious Celtic Manor in Newport, will incorporate the AGSM National Conference and AESM LIVE, with over 600 attendees expected to walk through the doors. The event will also host the annual ASCP Safety and Compliance Awards. Rewarding individuals & organisations who go the extra mile, finalists will attend a gala awards evening on the 20th May.

Housing associations from across the country have joined forces to transform lives. 

Johnnie Johnson Housing, Karbon Homes and Anchor Hanover have collaborated over the past year to create a new business which will future-proof housing stock and support people to live independently in their homes for longer.

Invisible Creations® Limited is a new start-up business founded to create inclusive and attractive home adaptations and new ranges of innovative product solutions, to aid mobility and better support people as they age. 

Yvonne Castle, Chief Executive of Johnnie Johnson Housing, and Chair of the new company, said: “At Johnnie Johnson we’re absolutely delighted to be working with partners to lead the way in revolutionising adaptations. It’s been great to work with likeminded organisations like Karbon, Anchor Hanover and the National Housing Federation to make this happen.

A NEW collection of 24 pioneering homes which aim to transform the lives of people with disabilities – including technology which can open doors and adjust the height of kitchen worktops at the touch of a button – is being built in Glasgow.
 
Leading care and housing provider Blackwood has revealed that the next phase of its revolutionary Blackwood House is being developed at Glamis Road in Glasgow.
 
The new development, in the Helenvale area, will be made available to tenants later this year and follows the hugely successful launch of the Blackwood House in Dundee.
 
Helenvale will consist of 24 wheelchair accessible two-bedroom flats, which have been carefully developed with accessibility in mind. By combining innovative construction with the latest technology, Blackwood aims to help disabled people live their life to the full by providing housing and care services which are tailored to their individual needs.
 

Essex housing association CHP has today taken management of 30 new homes available for shared ownership in Thurrock. These are the first properties to be handed over to CHP as part of its new partnership with Legal & General Affordable Homes.
 
The 30 new flats are located at the new Renovo development in West Thurrock and will be followed by a further 30 which CHP will take management of in the summer. The apartments are a mix of one and two-bedroom properties.
 
CHP is one of 14 organisations chosen nationwide to manage properties built by financial services firm Legal & General under their new affordable homes initiative. The new partnership represents a shared vision that an affordable home is the cornerstone of a healthy and good quality of life.

Energy Billing, a provider of pre-payment and energy metering products and services, is encouraging organisations to tackle the issue of legacy systems, providing more accurate energy readings and eradicating the problem of debt.
Some district heating systems have been installed for more than twenty years now. As with any system, over time performance can decline, but for these systems it can mean energy readings could become inaccurate.