The Social Network – Reality check

Patrick Mooney, housing consultant and news editor of Housing Management & Maintenance magazine, interrogates Labour’s plan for growing the supply of new housing, and asks ‘how realistic is it?’ Since winning the general election Labour has embarked on an ambitious... View Article

The Climate Challenge – Building a Greener Future

Cassandre Le Galliard of Aggregate Industries discusses the driving factors housebuilders are facing concerning embodied carbon in cement Housebuilders are at the forefront of the move towards creating an eco-friendlier environment, incorporating high-quality materials, low carbon technologies and green energy... View Article

The Industry Advocate – A new era

Labour’s election victory has ended 14 years of Conservative dominance. Brian Berry, CEO of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), discusses the potential impact on the housing industry and whether Labour can deliver on their promises. Labour’s general election win... View Article

Social strength

Patrick Mooney, housing consultant and news editor of Housing, Management & Maintenance magazine asks ‘has the case for an expanded social housebuilding programme ever been stronger’? During the height of council house building in the 1950s, councils built on average... View Article

Clearing the path to timber

The Government’s roadmap for increasing timber use in construction is here, but how is the industry tackling the obstacles? James Parker spoke to Andrew Carpenter, chief executive of the Structural Timber Association. How can structural timber, the ultimate sustainable material... View Article

Economic benefit

Patrick Mooney, housing consultant and news editor of Housing, Management & Maintenance magazine says the social housing market is in the doldrums, after a Budget which missed the opportunity for wider economic stimulus. The domestic housing market is a notoriously... View Article

The importance of backing apprenticeships

As the sector battles an unprecedented shortfall in skilled workers, Tom Dwyer, group production director at Keepmoat discusses how apprenticeships are being embraced to fill the current gap, which amounts to an 30,000 extra construction professionals needed by 2026. I began... View Article

A busy start to 2024 & concerns for what’s ahead

Brian Berry, CEO of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), summarises the last few months for SMEs and looks towards future challenges lying before firms this year A tepid Spring Budget, a bold, if not detailed direction for housing from Labour,... View Article

The rental remedy

The surge in the Buy to Rent (BTR) sector, in the context of rising numbers of unsold housing stock, offers new opportunities to not only investors, but the supply chain too. Louise Walters, commercial director at flooring contractor Designer Contracts, explains... View Article

The Industry Advocate: Looking into 2024

Brian Berry, CEO of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), looks at some of the major issues the industry is already confronting and tackling in 2024. As we start to move through 2024, we can already start to see some... View Article

Exploring solutions for stormwater management

ATTENDEES: Sue Illman, Illman Young  Chris Carr, FMB national president Steve Wilson, Environmental Protection Group Matt Clutton, Cameron Homes Martin Shaw, Meadfleet Ruth Clarke, Innovyze (sponsors) Jamie Gledhill, Brett Landscaping (sponsors) Charlotte Markey, Polypipe Civils and Green Urbanisation (sponsors) Our... View Article

Is the blue fading?

Patrick Mooney, housing consultant and news editor of Housing, Management & Maintenance magazine asks – could home ownership, one of the traditional strengths of Conservatives, be turning into a weakness? In a sign of the times, the Conservative party is... View Article

Electric solutions are paving the way

Callum Whittall, technical and compliance lead at Green Lighting discusses how new regulations are changing the face of the housebuilding industry, and some of the electrical solutions developers should be considering. The recent implementation of Part L and the forthcoming... View Article

Counting the cost of 2023

Brian Berry, CEO of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), assesses the damage after what’s been a turbulent year for housebuilders, and what the new year might bring. Unfortunately for housebuilders big and small, housing output has been in a... View Article

Comment – Do we actually need a housing secretary?

Patrick Mooney, housing consultant and news editor of Housing, Management & Maintenance magazine asks whether a national body controlling housebuilding would be better than an ever-changing Housing Secretary? The prospect of removing responsibility for a policy area as important as... View Article

Comment – Housing benefits politicians

Brian Berry of FMB looks at the political manoeuvrings on housing as we approach the General Election buildup Looking back at my article from this time last year, it’s astonishing how far we’ve come, and what has changed. At this... View Article

A question for the minister…

Patrick Mooney, housing consultant and news editor of Housing, Management & Maintenance magazine asks the ‘64 thousand dollar question,’ after hearing the Housing Minister’s conference speech, namely where will the  UK’s much needed new housing come from? During the recent... View Article

Is housing going downhill fast?

Brian Berry, CEO of the FMB looks at the prognosis for SMEs in a sector in crisis, and how its new guide could help All the data, including our own at the FMB, seems to be suggesting the housing market... View Article