Alongside some welcomed dry weather, the third and final day of #UKREiiF was focused on future opportunities following the announcement of July’s General Election.
Our Co-Founder Director Ros Barclay participated in a workshop hosted by PLACED, bringing together placemakers, designers, planners and stakeholder engagement experts including our client Suzi Winstanley, Director at Turner.Works, Larna Smith, Town Planner at Avison Young, and Debbie McLatch, Assistant Director of Place at Ipswich Borough Council, to masterplan a new residential development with a focus on community amenities and active travel.
With July’s elections front of mind, the challenge was a timely one as all parties will be seeking to prove they have the solution to the housing crisis and understand what communities want and need from their homes. And the result of the exercise? A diverse series of model solutions that marry purpose and profit, considering tenure, mixed generations, and health and wellbeing through public realm. Not bad, in 40 minutes.
In a conversation about whether retirement housing is a silver bullet for the housing crisis, Quod’s Director of Planning, Emma Lancaster, explained that retirees are too often missing from conversations about the housing crisis and community engagement. With rightsizing homes holding the potential to free up over 3 million homes in the UK, the importance of getting retirement housing right for the sake of solving the overall housing shortage is clear.
Jon Rouse, Chief Director for Stoke-On-Trent City Council, argued a change in attitude amongst local governments, and a genuine commitment to understanding the needs and potential of the later-living sector, is crucial to move forward. The benefits for the housing sector, the NHS and social infrastructure are clear, and panellists agreed that the next government (no matter which colour the party) must empower local authorities to dedicate time and resources to delivering retirement housing.
Of course, retirees aren’t the only demographic to be forgotten in the conversations around the housing need, Yẹmí Aládérun, Head of Development, Meridian Water, London Borough of Enfield, reminded us that, owing to rising rents and the gender pay gap, there’s not a single English region where a single woman on an average wage can afford to rent. Clearly, a mix of rental options is key to alleviating pressures on social housing.
Is co-living the answer to affordability? Whilst the panel agreed it certainly isn’t the only solution, and won’t be the right option for every location, they explained why it is an important part of the mix, which is being held back by a lack of education in the sector, as well as slow progress in planning. Re:Shape’s Jermaine Browne argued that discounted market rents (DMRs) – something that has been embraced in schemes in Manchester and Salford, should be given greater consideration in the planning process in London, to speed up the delivery of affordable, quality homes for key workers.
Over the last 3 days, one theme has echoed loud and clear – there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Through strategic public, private sector partnerships, and with the right consultants on board, the sector is best equipped to combine an understanding of local needs and barriers, with viable solutions. Whilst our imperfect planning system, business rates, rising interest rates and economic uncertainty have all contributed to slowed progress across the built environment over the last 12+ months, the message coming out of UKREiiF ’24 was one of optimism, heightened by the prospect of, and hope for a change of pace, whatever the outcome of July’s election.
