Housing associations

So, for the first time Prince Charles, the future King of the United Kingdom, gave the Queens Speech, which provides the government with an opportunity to highlight its main priorities for the months ahead.

There is one bill that stood out for me most. The Energy Security Bill. But, there was also a section in the government’s background briefing entitled “Housing Reform”.

Let’s cover this first.

Given that the country is in the thick of the biggest housing crisis and property affordability crisis the governments “housing reform” announcement borders on being pathetic.

With remedial works being a constant pressure for property managers, it is essential to understand new materials solutions to ensure the best outcomes. Aluminium decking presents an array of benefits in comparison to more traditional materials, so we spoke to Richard Izzard of AliDeck to find out more about a recent balcony deck replacement project in High Wycombe.

Howard Trotter, Business Manager of Birmingham-based window and door manufacturer Shelforce, reacts to the news that three quarters of the fire doors inspected in the UK did not meet the required standard.

InstallerSHOW is back from 21st to 23rd June and it’s bigger and better than ever this year in a new home at Birmingham’s NEC. InstallerSHOW will bring together over 300 exhibitors, 100 speakers and 10,000 visitors over the three days, with a packed exhibition of all the latest plumbing, heating and electrical products, plus a host of ideas and solutions to help the industry decarbonise buildings on the route to net zero.

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.

Managing a portfolio of projects in the housing sector is a skilled juggling act. With so many different targets to hit, competing priorities and limited resources, focus need to be on high impact items. How do you plan and sequence your portfolio to deliver maximum value?
Overwhelmingly, 97% of organisations believe that project management is critical to business performance and organisational success, according to a PwC study. Yet delivering a portfolio of projects successfully is never straight forward and around 70% of projects fail, according to PMI.