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The Church of England is taking steps to set up a national housing association which will enable the Church to become a major provider of social housing. It will pioneer a shared land management and development service to develop skills and capacity across its network of dioceses.
In February 2021, the Archbishop’s Commission on Housing, Church and Community published The Coming Home Report, naming the scandal that around 8 million people in England live in overcrowded, unaffordable or unsuitable homes. One year on from that report, Church and industry leaders gathered to review progress and set out plans.

It is an inconvenient truth, but some developers do not want or like to build affordable homes. Many claim they will suffer from significantly reduced profit margins – taking their earnings below 20% - and this is the prime excuse given at the planning stage to try and avoid the issue, according to Global, the country’s fastest growing supplier of home warranties – but says the company - it does not have to be like that.
Most developers do not have a choice and planners will insist that they will have to include some element of affordable properties into the mix, but with the pressure on margins it is inevitable that some will cut corners and deliver poor quality. This in turn can put even more of a strain on margins – a situation, claims Global, that could be avoided by getting it right first time.
Current planning conditions state that developers building between five and nine homes must ensure 20 per cent of them are affordable - more than nine, then this figure rises to 30 per cent. That figure can further rise to 40 per cent for greenfield sites.

Last year’s Heat and Buildings Strategy set out the UK’s route to net zero, when it comes to our buildings, and decarbonising buildings is one of the topics in the spotlight in the elemental content theatres at this year’s InstallerSHOW – including a keynote delivered by Business & Energy Minister Lord Callanan to open the event on 21st June.

Following on from the opening speech, visitors can listen to expert speakers in the free-to-attend theatres addressing issues including large-scale social housing retrofit, local renewable energy generation, the Future Homes Standard and much more.

Commencing on Thursday 26th May, Aico will host five conferences, examining the use of Internet of Things (IoT) technology to create healthier and safer homes.

With the uptake of technology rapidly increasing within the housing sector, these events will explore the benefits of IoT and how it contributes to resident wellbeing, indoor environmental health, sustainable buildings, and the transition to net zero.

Keynote speaker, Professor Tim Sharpe, Head of Architecture at Strathclyde University, will discuss how the push to net zero is one of the greatest and most important challenges faced by society, and why the potential negative effects it can have on indoor environmental health should also be considered.

A partnership between housing association Cottsway and Cotswold District Council will bring 15 new low-carbon homes to Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire.
Following an exchange of contracts, the new development located at Davies Road, will be built by Helix Partnership Homes and will provide 15 homes for social rent, including a mix of one, two and three-bed properties.

Recent research from the Home Builders Federation (HBF) highlighted that people moving house are increasingly looking for homes that are energy efficient, giving them more certainty over fuel bills and affordability. This focus on the energy performance of our homes comes as Building Regs are updated and the industry prepares for the Future Homes Standard in 2025.

The expert speakers in the free-to-attend elemental content theatres – taking place alongside InstallerSHOW at the NEC in June – will be addressing these issues and more, shining a light on the route to net zero for built environment professionals.

Solar Windows Ltd, exhibiting at CIH Wales (26-27 April, stand number 40), is joining forces with door seal specialist Norseal, to bring a new fire door inspection service for Fire Doors by Solar.  Using Norseal’s Inspect application, Solar Windows will offer a complete fire door supervision programme, helping to maintain compliant installation, management and maintenance of fire doors and maintain the all-important golden thread.