ao link
Twitter
Facebook
Linked In
Twitter
Facebook
Linked In

You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles

Dispatches from Manchester: the Northern Housing Summit

Insight02.11.176.50 AM by Nathaniel Barker

Nathaniel Barker reports from the Northern Housing Consortium’s Northern Housing Summit in Manchester

Linked InTwitterFacebookeCard
Sharelines
Dispatches from Innovate North #ukhousing #NHCInnovateNorth

Representatives from the length and breadth of the North’s housing sector spent a pleasant autumn day at Manchester’s Renaissance Hotel yesterday.

They were there for the Northern Housing Consortium’s Northern Housing Summit, this year titled Innovate North.

With a wide range of speakers, including a clutch of out-of-sector voices, the programme purported an emphasis not just on creative thinking and progressive ideas, but also how housing can respond to the raft of changes in the years ahead.

Inside Housing went along to get a sense of what the day was all about.

Events kicked off with a talk from Sebastian Van Laere, strategic research director at business management consultancy the Future Laboratory.

Mr Van Laere spoke of distrust of public bodies and authorities – including housing providers – and the risk of parts of the North becoming disconnected in a rapidly transforming world.

He pushed those in the room to take a hard look at whether the housing sector is doing all it can to respond to these challenges.

The forward-looking theme continued with a discussion about fresh technology which is shaking up how organisations use data, before items on driving innovation from the Young Foundation and the Homes and Communities Agency.

After lunch, delegates streamed out into breakout sessions.

Inside Housing opted first for a talk on new models of housing delivery, followed by one on combined authorities, of which the North has three.

In the former, Maggie Gjessing, head of housing growth, asset management and regeneration at Leeds City Council, spoke of the authority’s integrated approach and focus on putting resources into working with a variety of partners – from developers, to housing associations, to government agencies.

Steve Matthews, public sector partnerships director at Heylo, then outlined the success of the organisation’s shared ownership programme with the backing of Lancashire County Council.

Later, Paul Beardmore, director of housing at Manchester City Council, charted the progress of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA).

After around 30 years in the making, he said, the GMCA is on course to finally strike a housing deal by January. Mr Beardmore emphasised the importance in having a joined-up strategy – and the recognition from the authority that proper housing growth could not happen without huge investment in transport and infrastructure. He also stressed the value of a strategy to suit the region – in other words, not simply a copy of the Greater London Authority.

The day wrapped up with some hearty debate between Richard Wellings, deputy research director and head of transport at the Institute of Economic Affairs, and Jonn Elledge of CityMetric.

It brought into sharp focus the challenges cities in the North face against those in London and the rest of the South – and the limited levers the housing sector can pull to change them.

Murmurs of agreement could be heard through the room as Mr Elledge summarised: “If Leeds had the same kind of public transport system as London it would be doing a lot better than it is.”

Membership/trade bodyNorth EastNorth West
Linked InTwitterFacebookeCard
Add New Comment
You must be logged in to comment.
RELATED STORIES
By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to the use of cookies. Browsing is anonymised until you sign up. Click for more info.
Cookie Settings