CONTENTS

regularS

5 Comment Shared Prosperity

6 news

£60m for councils to revive brownfield sites new masterplan for Stafford Station Gateway £2bn OSHA MMC framework Futurebuild

8 achieving net Zero Homes

Steph Willis, a Data Scientist at Sero, presents an alternative approach to fabric first

10 industry Comment

Matthew Warburton, Policy Advisor at the Association of Retained Council Housing (ARCH), discusses the action being taken on damp and mould

SPeCial rePortS

11 Driving opportunities for local authorities

Dave Garner, Senior Associate Sustainability Consultant at Stantec looks at the potential avenues for traditionally wasted public sector land

15 Houses Fit for the Future

New regular column from Nigel Sedman, Executive Director of Homes at ForHousing, which this issue looks at redefining standards for new homes

18 added Value

Clare Chamberlain, Head of Construction Category at Crown Commercial Service, discusses the importance of social value in construction projects

Stantec offers advice on how local authorities can maximise wasted public sector land and turn them into true assets

HouSing & regeneration

19 Building for the Future with Passivhaus Principles

Cruden Group discusses a project with Hanover Scotland to construct 15 new properties to Passivhaus standard

22 Make a Connection

How connected technology can support the health, safety and wellbeing of social housing residents

24 Housing targets

The consequences of an absence of housing targets on levelling up

26 round-up

Heating & reneWaBle energy

29 real time Demonstration: Storing energy resilience

How battery storage can help councils build energy resilience while maximising budgets and meeting eco targets

30 the road to net Zero

Vital Energi’s partnership with Westminster City Council to decarbonise the council’s public estate

32 Putting energy into green improvements

How the installation of solar and battery storage solutions can help save tenants’ money on energy bills

34 Supporting role

Q&A with Simon Tarr, National Projects Director at Worcester Bosch

36 round-up

Ventilation & air ManageMent

38 Changes to Part F

Advice on complying with the revised Part F of the Building Regulations

40 Prevention is Better than Cure

The role of mechanical ventilation systems in reducing damp, mould and condensation

42 round-up

Worcester Bosch on the future of heating

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In January, as part of Round 2 of the Levelling Up Fund, more than 100 projects were awarded a share of £2 1bn, however, concerns have been raised over how the funding has been distributed, with some local authorities only receiving shortterm amounts of money for local projects

On the 25th January, Mayors, civic and business leaders from across the North of England convened at the Convention of the North, in Manchester, calling for the Government and Opposition party to commit to ‘hard-wiring’ levelling up into UK law’

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, says: “The Government handed twice as much funding to London and the South East than to Yorkshire, laying bare the fundamental flaws in its levelling up agenda We need a real plan for levelling up, enshrined in law that requires decent living standards for everybody across the UK This would mean trusting local leaders with long-term funding pots to make decisions on what is best for the communities they know and serve ” welcome step in the right direction as it seeks to support regeneration projects, boost local economies through job creation and deliver 5,800 new homes by March 2027

Mark Powell, Managing Director of EDAROTH, welcomes the Government’s recognition of the role brownfield sites have to play in helping to tackle the housing crisis, but says the funding: “is barely a drop in the ocean, especially compared to the £1 6bn spent on temporary accommodation from 2021 to 2022, according to government’s own figures” f a va r i e t y o f re g i o n s o u r i s h , t h e w h o l e c o u n t r y i l l p ro s p e r. ”

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Speaking via video broadcast at the event, Carsten Schneider, the Minister for East Germany and Equivalent Living Conditions in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’ Government, spoke of his country’s model of levelling up and the importance of regional equality: “Regional structural policy has long been a cornerstone of German politics The goal of creating equal living conditions everywhere in Germany can even be found in our constitution There are good reasons for it If regions are drifting apart, it is bad for everyone, including for the growing regions If a variety of regions flourish, the whole country will prosper ”

If the Government wants it’s levelling up agenda to bring about genuine transformational change for communities across the country and succeed in driving economic growth, then it needs to close the gap, empower local leaders, address regional inequalities, and ensure no areas get left behind

As a means of tackling the housing crisis, modern methods of construction such as offsite are growing in popularity as homes can be built quicker and to a specified quality standard with greater cost certainty Mark Powell believes “MMC represents a real opportunity to accelerate the delivery of new homes across the UK”

Many in the industry recognise this and an increasing number of MMC frameworks are being introduced In January, the Off-Site Homes Alliance announced the volumetric and panelised home manufacturers who’d successfully won a place on its new £2bn MMC framework

At the time of writing (30th January), the DLUHC shared news that developers have been issued with a six-week deadline to sign legally binding contracts obligating them to repair unsafe buildings I’m sure the sector will be paying close attention to how this news unfolds

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As well as the Levelling Up funding, government has also made available £60m from the Brownfield Land Release Fund 2 to unlock disused brownfield sites and bring them back into use The additional funding for councils is a

The sector faces ongoing challenges, such as the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on residents, rising costs of construction materials and development, building safety, talent retention and labour shortages I’m keen to hear how local authorities and housing associations are tackling these challenges and levelling up within their communities, please do get in touch

New masterplan for Stafford

Plans to deliver new homes, business, hotel, and leisure facilities in Stafford have progressed following approval of a new masterplan The endorsement by Stafford Borough Council’s Cabinet follows extensive engagement with the town’s residents and businesses

The masterplan known as the Strategic Regeneration Framework for the Stafford Station Gateway was approved at the Cabinet meeting on Thursday 19th January The Stafford Station Gateway is being delivered through a partnership between Stafford Borough Council, Staffordshire County Council, and placemaking and regeneration expert LCR

Bid to secure decarbonisation funding

Dacorum Borough Council has teamed up with the Greener Herts partnership housing associations B3Living, Settle and Watford Community Housing in a bid to secure £13 5m from the Government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) for energy-efficiency improvements to more than 1,400 social housing properties

The bid, which has been submitted in the second wave of the SHDF, could see homes across all four organisations receive energy-efficiency improvement works including loft insulation, external wall insulation, draught proofing, installation of solar panels and lowenergy lighting

The funding bid is in addition to a combined pledge of £25m from Dacorum Borough Council, B3Living, Settle and Watford Community Housing The results of the bid are due to be announced in spring 2023