social housing

We kick off this weeks episode with our Regional Specification Managers Paul Barret and Steve Bulley discussing RF. The pair walk through the evolution of the technology, where the future of RF lies and are also joined by Paul Waterman from Charge Electrical Contractors to discuss his experiences with Aico’s RF devices.

Our Regional Specification Manager Alex Parker sits down with Paul Merrifield, Senior Learning and Development Partner for Sanctuary. The pair discuss Pauls role within The Sanctuary Group, skill shortages in the sector and the values that Sanctuary and Aico share.

And finally, we re-join National Sales Manager Daniel Little for the second installment of our panel discussion on the Smart Home Healthy Home Leeds project. Daniel is again joined by Richard Bould Technical Manager for New Builds at Yorkshire Housing, Daniel Hardy Project Lead, Housing of the Future at Leeds City Council, Jess Kuznia Innovation Analyst at Yorkshire Housing and our very own Jordan Toulson Product Manager at HomeLINK. The group ends the discussion on how we can better utilise the Internet of Things to better engage with residents and how to scale the projects in the future.

Fire safety is the key issue of our times. While the new build sector has relatively easily made the transition to using fire safe materials, the issue of combustible material in the external walls of existing buildings has caused major concerns for all stakeholders. We spoke to Richard Izzard, managing director of aluminium decking manufacturer AliDeck, to find out more about successful fire remediation of combustible balconies.

Leaseholders and building owners up and down the country have been caught in an incredibly frustrating and difficult situation across the last 18 months. In the aftermath of the Grenfell fire, mortgage lenders became increasingly reluctant to provide loans on properties in high-rise buildings. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the BSA, and UK Finance developed the External Wall Fire Review scheme (and its EWS1 survey form) in an attempt to provide an industry-led solution.

EffectAble Construction Services are one of the largest independent specialist disability adaptation companies in the UK. During these turbulent and unprecedented times, EffectAble have worked tirelessly along with independent living solutions supplier, N&C Phlexicare to ensure comprehensive stock levels were achieved for unhindered installation of the bathroom adaptations in homes.  

Stockport Homes are upgrading the heating system to low rise apartments in the Lancashire Hill area in Stockport. This has been driven by a requirement to improve system efficiencies and reduce costs for residents, and as part of these works Essco Energy are supplying heat interface units to replace individual hot water tanks in each home.

This social housing scheme features 292 homes that are connected to a district heating network that supplies six buildings, all of which are managed by Stockport Homes. This type of system was originally installed as it operates with lower carbon emissions when compared to individual gas fired boilers in each home.

The FUHR autotronic 834 lock has been added to Carl F Groupco’s suite of SmartSecure electronic door locking and access control solutions. As one of the most important additions to the company’s upcoming 2021 catalogue, the highly versatile hybrid product is a major expansion to the SmartSecure brand. The 834 provides a combination of automatic locking and electronic motor driven unlocking: as such, it is an appealing option that is fully compatible with all existing SmartSecure locking and access control variants.

We begin with a panel discussion regarding the Smart Home Healthy Home project, chaired by our National Sales Manager, Daniel Little. We have some great panellists, including Richard Bould Technical Manager at Yorkshire Housing, Daniel Hardy Project Lead, Housing of the Future at Leeds City Council, Jessica Kuznia Innovation Analyst at Yorkshire Housing, and our very own Jordan Toulson Product Manager at HomeLINK.

Next, our Operations and Learning & Development Manager, Lee Duffy, examines the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the measures taken throughout the distribution network that ensured continuity within the sector. Lee speaks to Andy Crockett Managing Director at TWC Parcel Collection Services, David Brown Managing Director at UPN, Colin Rann Operations Director at APC and Lydia Hopley, QHS&E Administrator about their experiences.

In the last segment, our Relationships Manager Tina Mistry is joined by Lord Porter of Spalding and Robert Chilton of Cratus Communications. Together, they discuss The Hackitt Report, the Golden Thread and Lord Porter’s views on the changing landscape of the sector.

We finish the episode with an FAQ delivered by our Product Development Executive, Samuel Marston, who explains how to remove a product from a SmartLINK Gateway system.

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.