Articles

2017 promises to a big year for the UK housing industry both for private, social and local authority funded projects. The Government has announced ambitious plans to combat the housing shortage, including the recent announcement of 14 new garden villages and 3 garden towns to be built across England over the next few years.

In order to meet the requirement for high quality, environmentally sound homes that are good to live in and economical to run as a result of an energy efficient structure, builders and developers must look beyond current conventional building practices and start to explore new ways of building that meet the twin needs of speed and quality.
Increasingly the use of timber, combined with modern methods of construction, including offsite, is seen as the solution.

Dukeminster Court in Dunstable can accommodate residents with a wide range of needs, including those seeking residential and dementia care. With natural daylight and ventilation having proven positive effects, the Windoor System 1000 Light balcony enclosures were chosen to enhance the residents’ health and wellbeing.

Many of the rooms at Dukeminster Court benefit from inset balconies - the balcony space being inset rather than projecting from the facade - which increase the natural light and ventilation. 

Public sector procurement specialist, LHC, hosted its anniversary event and awards ceremony on Thursday 13th October at The Brewery, London. The event bought together over 320 public sector clients, framework suppliers and partners to celebrate 50 years of excellence.

The lunchtime event, which was co-hosted by Sally Gunnell OBE, celebrated the success of LHC’s stakeholders and included an exclusive pre-event seminar programme for LHC clients, which focused on key topical issues, including Brexit, energy efficiency and off-site construction of housing in the public sector. The seminar sessions were followed by the LHC awards which were delivered to both clients and suppliers who have worked to deliver excellence.

Now in its fifth year, Homes returns to Olympia in November with some exciting new developments.

Homes is the only large-scale housing event taking place in London to bring together local authority, housing association, housebuilder professionals, with their lead advisors, across residential development, asset management and procurement.

Hear from DCLG on Sajid Javid’s and Gavin Barwell’s priorities for the sector, just weeks after the Tory party conference.

Research commissioned by Saint-Gobain UK & Ireland shows the public’s interest levels in the home environment and how the current issues in the home centre around health and wellbeing.

A detailed study of 3,000 people found that 90% of homeowners and renters want a home that doesn’t compromise their health and wellbeing, while almost 30% would be prepared to pay more for a home that doesn’t compromise their health and wellbeing.

Since 2008 the number of new households in the UK has continued to exceed the number of new homes built, giving rise to the current shortage in housing supply, and creating the urgent need for a period of sustained development within new house building.

The Government has set two clear targets in relation to house building supply; to deliver 1 million new homes by 2020, and to provide 240,000 homes in 2016.

In the need to identify suitable land, the safe development of housing on brownfield sites will be fundamental in achieving the objectives set by government. A. Proctor Group Ltd has over twenty years’ experience in providing solutions for the safe development of brownfield land, and has extended its range of ground gas protection products to include Protech VOC Flex, a new and innovative solution in membrane technology, specifically to make the development of these sites safer and easier.