Breakfast Club Briefings’ Post

Very much looking forward to the launch of this collaboration - the shared vision and ambition was simple - exploring practical and implementable solutions to the social rent housing crisis - its been incredible to work with so many experts and partners all committed to the same sense of purpose. My own view is that there are real solutions to the UK's structural deficit in social rent housing - what is now needed is a co-ordinated multi agency partnership and strong leadership around credible plans. Whilst we are not suggesting the playbook is a panacea to the wider housing crisis (far from it) we are clear that an ecosystem approach that works within the realities of our current restraints (land/ supply chains / planning / funding) and clearly maps the roles and responsibilities of different partners to bring shared leadership is an important and critical step to urgently increase more social rent housing and start to address the Temporary Accommodation challenges facing local government - a human and economic emergency. We look forward to acting together at pace.

Yesterday’s CP Planning Affordable Housing Solutions Lab felt like an old school multi-disciplinary charette/salon with next-gen ideas, technology, and representation. Was honoured to present latest insights from Urban Land Institute Toronto TAP Panel Report on #ETOD and scaling Rental Apartment #affordability #renewal and #preservation by #10X Steffan Jones brought new but road-tested models to Ontario leveraging philanthropy for affordable housing #LastMile Impact Financing Amina Yassin-Omar came in like a #Boss and showed what leadership in the space looks like. She also confirmed structural gaps preventing NGOs from playing a greater role in solving this housing crisis. They say where transit comes in Toronto, affordability goes. We can #DoBetter and #DoSomething for thousands of renters displaced by #TransitExpansion NYC has a robust NGO developer/financing eco-system and Washington DC wrote the book on #EquitableDevelopment Plans. Leaders from both cities flew to Toronto to join our March 2024 ULI Toronto #ETOD Panel and their insights are reflected in our report and presentations - see links in comments. Now #EquitableTransitOrientedDevelopment programs have launched in Chicago and Austin with incentives, affordable housing envelopes, and density bonuses. Let’s #KeepPace and show how Toronto can lead with #ETOD Gracias Cheryll Case. The attendee list was fire and vibe was solid. Things are getting #NIFTY and #Agile around here. #WatchThisSpace

How can we create solutions if we haven’t asked what the issues are? And how might we properly promote the positives if we don’t know how residents perceive a place? It was great on Friday to review responses from nearly 1,000 town centre users and a third of businesses collected by the Dovercourt High Street Partnership. At The People & Places Partnership Ltd. we find that such evedence-gathering and engagement is a fundamental step in revitalising town centres. We are always surprised when town centre initiatives miss this step. By keeping initial survey questions very broad, we find it’s a great way of gauging the relative importance of issues. It’s also informative to compare the perceptions of businesses and residents alongside other key measures. Today the Dovercourt Partnership will be using the findings to help determine project priorities as part of the pilot High Street Accelerator programme backed by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. More than this though, we hope this evedence base will help the partners to frame other ongoing initiatives in the town and set longer-term priorities for the partnership. Showing how such understanding of issues helps determine projects, drives further engagement and demonstrates success, we find is key to creating a local sense of progress. This work in Dovercourt is part of my work as a High Streets Task Force expert and complements design input from David Hills and guidance from Alfie Temple Stroud as part of the Better Places Programme. We like to think of it as a glue of local understanding that binds different elements together. #towncentres #citycentres #economicdevelopment #communityengagement #stakeholders #dovercourt #harwich #tendring #essex

[Social Housing Cleaning Case Study] We’ve been working with HousingFirst Ltd for five years, supporting their mission to provide secure, welcoming homes for over 1,200 families and individuals across Melbourne. This week, we reflected on that partnership through a new case study, highlighting how cleaning goes beyond the surface: ✅ Maintaining shared spaces that foster respect and calm ✅ Addressing complex challenges with empathy and professionalism ✅ Supporting HousingFirst with real-time maintenance reporting to save time and streamline operations As HousingFirst’s Chief Commercial Officer, Clive Bowden, put it: “Crown Property Services don’t just provide a cleaning service; they’re working with us to create safe, dignified spaces for our tenants.” We’re humbled to play even a small role in making social housing feel truly like home. To learn more about this partnership and the impact of compassionate cleaning in social housing, check out the full case study.

🎬 NEW VIDEO | How do we supercharge sustainable housing delivery? There is a lot of work to be done if there is any hope of achieving the government’s goal to build 1.5m homes over the next five years. Property professionals from the public and private sector gathered in Liverpool to debate the best way forward in this roundtable discussion hosted by Onward Homes. Participants Tracy Gordon, lead officer for housing partnerships at Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Simon Humphreys, director of regeneration and place at Starship Tahreen Shad, partnerships director at Lovell Partnerships Ltd Catherine Holmes, assistant director for markets, partners, and places at Homes England Darren Muir, planning director at Pegasus Group Nicola Butterworth, corporate director of neighbourhoods and housing at Liverpool City Council Sandy Livingstone, executive director of property at Onward Homes Victoria Millward, director at Paddock Johnson WATCH 👇

Some key takeaways from the first of our round table sessions about #offsite manufacturing's place in the social housing sector: 1. Cat 1 (modular) construction, despite nearly unanimous optimism, isn't delivering. 2. Most Housing Associations don't consider off-site construction to be challenging - most already use a blend of timber and steel frame alongside traditional brick and block. 3. Accountability is paramount. Lots of hurdles to take down, then, and lots of riddles to unpick - but it's really encouraging to hear that the knowledge, the will and the enthusiasm for clever construction systems is already in place!

Definitely a session you should find time for. click below to read more and book!

LARGER TOWN SQUARE IN THE HEART OF THE CITY CENTRE A larger town square, with more accessible parking and road access that can also serve as additional space for community events, feature in the revised master plan for the first phase of Mount Barker’s City Centre project. Council and Burke Urban Investments (BUI) have released the updated plan with changes made to incorporate community feedback and in response to the decision of project partner Community Living Australia (CLA) to withdraw from the development while they await outcomes of NDIS reform which will shape the future of the organisation. Both the council and BUI remain committed to the City Centre development, which will create a high quality, mixed-use development precinct that will deliver significant community and economic benefits for Mount Barker’s future. The revised master plan retains earlier commitments for new community spaces, offices, retail areas, accommodation, a council-owned civic building and substantial car parking areas. READ MORE > https://lnkd.in/gbqjjwHR

In a major move forward to accelerate city centre living and housing regeneration across the city, we've selected GRAHAM Group as our long-term private sector partner to work alongside Council to deliver residential-led, mixed-use, sustainable developments across multiple sites. With an overall development potential of c£630m, this initial partnership phase leverages strategic Council-owned city centre sites with a development value of £280m, which will deliver mixed tenure homes to help meet the needs of those wishing to live in the city. This innovative approach will help drive forward city centre living and housing-led regeneration across the city. It follows a period of active engagement with the private sector and investment market through a public procurement process. Appointing GRAHAM will allow us to bring forward development at scale with placemaking, people and connectivity at its heart to help meet the city’s growth ambitions. You can read more at https://lnkd.in/eq7uSaEa #Housing #Partnership #Regeneration #Growth

By leveraging the appeal of dynamic downtowns, the Downtown Development Districts Act aims to strengthen neighborhoods and attract diverse residents and businesses. Learn how this initiative is shaping vibrant, thriving downtowns. #EconomicDevelopment #DowntownRevitalization https://hubs.ly/Q02PfbGF0