social housing

Howard Trotter, Business Manager at Shelforce reflects on the rise of the super-regulator, Gateway 2 and the golden thread.

Amid seismic regulatory change, one thing is clear: for local authorities and housing associations delivering social housing, the era of doing things by habit or assumption has passed.

As the manufacturing and supply partner for windows, doors and fire doors working directly with councils and housing providers, at Shelforce we believe this new landscape demands sharper clarity, stronger traceability and a supply chain that can genuinely deliver to the new standard.

For housing associations, maintaining efficient and reliable heating systems across large and diverse property portfolios remains a significant challenge. Ensuring tenant comfort, meeting sustainability goals, and keeping maintenance costs under control all depend on one critical factor — system protection.

Across thousands of homes, even minor inefficiencies can lead to increased energy consumption, higher maintenance workloads, and dissatisfied residents. In almost every heating system, contamination occurs over time, such as rust, dirt and magnetite particles caused by corrosion and if left untreated, these particles circulate through pipework and components, reducing efficiency, increasing wear, and potentially causing costly breakdowns.

Beauflor® sheet vinyl floors go beyond standards to improve the quality of social housing.

In social housing projects ensuring your choice of floor complies with health and safety regulations is an essential part of the specification process. With Beauflor sheet vinyl flooring for social housing, no matter which floor you choose you are guaranteed full health and safety compliance.

With Beauflor sheet vinyl, social housing providers can ensure their tenants benefit from a welcoming floor that gives a better standard of living .

The positive impacts of providing social tenants with good quality flooring throughout their accommodation are well-documented. Along with other furnishings, flooring can help to create a ‘sense of home’, improving well-being, boosting integration and reducing loneliness, lessening financial strain and giving a sense of pride. Social housing providers also benefit, reductions in void rent loss, reduced void turnover and costs, reduced refusal rates and fewer complaints have all been cited as benefits of providing floor coverings. 

Brett Landscaping & Building Products has launched a new range of concrete facing bricks, offering housebuilders, architects, brickwork contractors and Builders Merchants with a UK manufactured product with many desirable qualities.  With vast experience in the creation of high-quality concrete landscaping products, the new brick range represents a natural expansion.

Public sector procurement specialist LHC Procurement Group has appointed Dame Maria Miller DBE as its new chair from 14 October 2025.

A highly experienced professional in the fields of communications, government, and diversity advocacy, Dame Maria brings over 20 years of experience in advertising, marketing, and public relations, coupled with an additional 19 years as a MP, government minister and select committee chair.

Howard Trotter, Business Manager at Shelforce, shares how efficiency, value, and social purpose combine in Shelforce’s fire door manufacturing journey, delivering fully compliant fire doors that won’t break budgets.

Whenever we’re behind the wheel of our car ready for a long journey, the first thing we do is put the sat nav on. Not necessarily because we don’t know the way, but because we want the best way. I want the quickest, most efficient, most cost-effective route from A to B. That’s exactly how we approach fire door manufacturing at Shelforce.