affordable homes

Delays with local searches can be a significant headache for affordable homes providers, leading to missed deadlines and lost rental income.
Registered providers of social housing can face all sorts of hold-ups when part-selling properties to customers under Shared Ownership Schemes – but local searches are the most common cause of unnecessary setbacks.

As we stand on the brink of potentially a major re-focus for the social housing sector and a new emphasis upon delivering affordable homes to meet an ever-growing demand, we must not lose sight of the need for maintaining quality, regulatory and environmental standards.

In the realm of fire safety, Vicaima has established itself as a leading manufacturer of timber doors and door kits, setting a benchmark in the industry with comprehensive certification and third-party accreditation. With a commitment to design quality and performance, Vicaima has consistently demonstrated its ability to produce doors that not only meet the needs of current living, but forever look to the future.  With an unwavering attention to sustainability goals, Vicaima products integrate seamlessly with the needs of the social build environment.

Since 2002, Hispec has stood as a figure of reliability in the UK wholesale market, offering an array of fire safety, emergency lighting, air quality, and lighting products. Our journey has been characterised by a commitment to excellence, rooted in the provision of reliable solutions that have garnered the trust of our customers. Through our dedication to quality and service, we’ve become the preferred choice for those seeking life-critical safety solutions.

George Clarke explores the contradictions in government housing policy

So, the government has published a new, draft National Model Design Code (NMDC) to ‘bring back beauty’ to the way new-build homes and estates are built across the country.

Following on from the ‘Building Better Building Beautiful Commission’ that published its report in January 2020, the government has since appointed URBED, a design and research company based in Manchester, to produce a checklist of design principles to consider for new developments covering everything from urban design to street character, facades, building types, environmental design and well-being.

It’s perfectly understandable that many people are struggling to feel the Christmas spirit, as yet another year is added to the number of years of failure in housing policy. 2020 will definitely be one for the history books. Of course, the Covid pandemic naturally stole our focus, but in truth, there still exist a myriad of issues afflicting the housing sector that were around before the virus and will continue to make people’s lives difficult going forward if we do not come together as an industry to solve them. Housing Association Magazine’s Joe Bradbury takes a look at what the social housing sector needs in 2021.

With more than 85 years’ experience, Sidey is in the top 10 of the UK’s biggest fenestration companies. With all round expertise in commercial, new build, trade and domestic windows, doors, glazing and offsite construction, Sidey works with Housing Associations around the UK to deliver affordable homes to rent and buy.

Regeneration specialist Urban Union has been wholly acquired by Robertson Group, one of the largest family-owned construction, infrastructure and support services businesses in the UK.

Urban Union, established as a 50/50 joint venture in 2011 by Robertson Group and McTaggart Construction, was created in response to a substantial Town Centre Regeneration opportunity in Glasgow. Several similar opportunities followed, and Urban Union now delivers affordable and private housing in key regeneration areas across Scotland. It currently operates four developments – Laurieston Living and Pollokshaws Living in Glasgow, Pennywell Living in Edinburgh and Muirton Living in Perth.

The company is also working in partnership with Robertson and Queens Cross Housing Association delivering a 600-unit mixed tenure development at Hamiltonhill in Glasgow.