“Build to Rent Booming” says RIBA 30% p.a. Regional Growth Build-to-rent development is ignoring the vagaries of the wider housing for-sale market, particularly in the regions, where the number of new homes in planning has increased by over 30% in the past year to almost 30,000 outside London. The regions are now rapidly catching up […]

How to Avoid Future Flood Threats The RIBA’s report The Value of Flood Resilient Architecture and Design, outlines steps the UK government must take to safeguard future homes and communities from the threat of flooding.

TINA It used to be said of Margaret Thatcher, but according to Andrew Carpenter, Chief Executive of the Structural Timber Association, ‘There is Only One Answer’ (TINA) to satisfying government housing targets, and it is why offsite’s key players are lining up to take centre stage explains- innovative timber construction.

Collaborative Central Hub The world’s leading building science centre, BRE, has launched a Centre for Smart Homes and Buildings (CSHB) to exist as a collaborative central hub for industry, academia and the government. It will work to facilitate and improve the use of smart products and services within the built environment. Working with a range […]

Great Expectations? Despite our media-saturated world of Grand Designs, people still aspire to a modest house. People want to live in a robust, quiet home that’s cheap to run, provides sanctuary and is a place to raise their family. Expectations may not be high, but are they even achievable?

Central Bedfordshire College and a private developer have chosen ZEDPods, ready-made, quality starter-homes for a new development of 23 homes on college land. The one and two-bedroom houses, a break-through development in low cost, low carbon and high-quality homes, are fabricated off site. Their modular construction allows them to be rapidly erected on pieces of […]

Central Bedfordshire College is putting up 23 prefabricated starter-homes in its grounds in Dunstable.

Sommar Place, Milton Keynes Here the latest smart home technology comes fitted as standard, but looks remarkably normal. That’s the point. These are not fantasy homes for millionaires or homes of the future. These are affordable homes for growing families, and the interconnected technology will soon be expected as standard. (Showhouse) CLICK TO READ MORE

New Regulations The California Energy Commission, a State Agency, has voted unanimously to require all homes built from 2020 be fitted with photovoltaic panels as part of its Building Energy Efficiency Standards. The decision followed more than two years’ work with stakeholders to develop the technical requirements – CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE

New Regulations New regulations for local authorities asking for pre-commencement conditions ahead of the granting of planning permission will come into force on 1 October. Regulations were signed off by former housing minister Dominic Raab earlier this month with the key change being the need to obtain the applicant’s written consent to the terms of […]

Science & Industrial Strategy Prime Minister Theresa May has pledged that the energy usage of new buildings will be halved by 2030. The pledge was outlined in an extensive speech on science and the industrial strategy, delivered by May on 21 May at the Jodrell Bank radio telescope observatory in Cheshire.