social housing

When it comes to fire doors, forget the aesthetics – it’s all about the compliance and technicalities of the product. Since launching its fully compliant Fireshel 30-minure fire, smoke and security resistant door in 2020, Birmingham window and door manufacturer Shelforce has been inundated. Here, the company’s Business Manager Howard Trotter talks to Housing Association Magazine about why the testing behind the product is vital for Local Authorities, why they need to understand what they are specifying – and why the Fireshel is proving so popular.

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.

Leading ventilation manufacturer Vent-Axia is hosting a webinar aimed at the social housing sector on the recently launched Building Regulations. ‘Domestic Retrofit Legislation and Guidance for Ventilation’, will update delegates on the recent changes to the legislation and explain how these changes will affect ventilation in domestic retrofit, especially when adding energy efficiency measures to existing housing stock.

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.

When external pipework needs to be concealed and protected from  the risk of accidental damage, and vandalism, Encasement’s Arma metal pipe boxing is a tough and versatile solution that also improves aesthetics and adds a uniform finish to the project.

Already widely used in a range of refurbishment applications, Arma can help improve security and aesthetics on projects where external vertical and horizontal pipework could be at risk from damage, such as low carbon district heating schemes and air source or ground source heat pump installations.

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.  

71 per cent of UK adults think we’re in a large ‘climate emergency’ but serious divides emerge when it comes to levels of personal responsibility for tackling it.
•    71 per cent of UK adults think we’re in a large climate emergency.
•    37 per cent of UK adults feel ‘powerless’; 32 per cent ‘frustrated’; 29 per cent ‘anxious’ about climate change.
•    68 per cent of UK adults think that global action to tackle climate change needs to begin immediately but they are divided over how much personal responsibility they have in helping to tackle climate change:
     - 43 per cent say they have a large personal responsibility.
     - 46 per cent feel they have little or no personal responsibility. Of these individuals, 30 per cent said there are too many conflicting opinions about climate change, 26 per cent said they can’t afford to make any changes, and 16 per cent said they don’t know where to start.
•    In the next five years, 41 per cent of UK adults said they would be willing to reduce how often they eat meat and animal products on a weekly basis to help lower their carbon footprint.