What's New

Cross Sector Customer Driven Strategy for Housing Construction

The Housing Forum Board has begun work on a strategy for all sectors of the housing construction industry, their supply chains, customers and stakeholders, based on the delivery of quality homes achieving high customer satisfaction.

Update on the Housing Forum Working Groups

The three working groups established by the Housing Forum Board have held their first meetings and begun to scope the work to be presented at the Housing Forum Conference in Spring 2006:

Increasing Innovation in the Supply of New Homes, Chaired by David Birkbeck, Chief Executive of Design for Homes. This group will produce newsletters and arrange visits to new production units for Housing Forum members. It also plans to hold a number of events and industry workshops to explore specific issues. Click here for the first prototype newsletter "Who Innovates Wins"

Design and Customer Satisfaction, Chaired by Barry Munday, Chairman of PRP Architects will look at customer expectations and satisfaction across all sectors (home owners and renters), dwelling types, providers and occupants by exploring exemplars of customer satisfaction as well as comparisons with other industries and other countries.

Improving the Existing Housing Stock, Chaired by Dave Smith, Director of Wates. The group has initially decided to focus on the public/ social housing stock across LAs, RSLs, LSVTs and ALMOs. It will explore current procurement innovations and issues including developments in partnering, collborative procurement and lessons to be learned from PFIs and JVCs.

Sustainable Training for Sustainable Communities

Membership News

Joint Members Convention

The merger between Be and Constructing Excellence in April 2005 brought together three membership streams. All Housing Forum, Be and Constructing Excellence members will be invited to a Members Convention to be held on the 21st September 2005 in London. The agenda will run from 9.30am until 5.00pm and will include the announcement of the new membership package for Constructing Excellence in the Built Environment including Housing Forum members. Formal invitiations will be sent out shortly.

The current package of benefits for Housing Forum members is set out in "Housing Forum: a prospectus for the future within Constructing Excellence 2004 - 2006" click here to download

To download the Housing Forum Membership form click here

For Information

The draft findings of the MMC group in response to Barker will be launched at the Housebuilding 2005 Conference on the 7th and 8th September. The National Audit Office will also be reporting on their work looking at using modern methods of construction to deliver homes more quickly and efficiently using the findings from a series of workshops run by the Housing Forum.

For Information

The National Housing Federation Guide to the EU Procurement Rules written by Anthony Collins Solicitors, gives essential guidance about when and how EU Procurement rules apply- taking the reader through vital procedures of compliance as well as depicting what happens when the rules are not met. The reality of breaching funding conditions or the regulatory code shows how important this topic is- it is critical that housing associations have knowledge of the subject to stay within the law. The guide is available from the National Housing Federation website. Please click here for more information

Events

HOUSEBUILDING 2005 CONFERENCE

7th and 8th September 2005, Building Design Centre, London

Part L - Understanding the impact of changes to Part L on housebuilding

Skills - Meeting the skills challenge in housebuilding

MMC - Increasing the use of MMC - Is it right for your business?

THE HOUSEBUILDING INNOVATION AWARDS

7th September 2005, Savoy Hotel, London

The Housing Forum is sponsoring the inaugural Housebuilding Innovation Awards (Category: Most innovative use or application of technology.)

CONFERENCES ADVERTISED ON BEHALF OF THE HOUSING FORUM NETWORK

FLEXIBLE HOUSING: CURRENT PERSPECTIVES AND FUTURE POTENTIAL

22nd September 2005, Sheffield

Flexible Housing is housing that can adapt to user requirements at design stage or over time. Leading policy makers, housing providers and architects will discuss how flexible housing meets current demands for sustainability, lifetime costing, user choice and construction efficiency, how flexibility future-proofs housing in times of changing technologies and demographics.

Contact details

The Housing Forum, Constructing Excellence, Warwick House, 25 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 0PP.

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