Kind & Co’s Post

Engaging Communities for Future Planning 🏗️ As the UK government puts planning reform at the top of the agenda, ISG’s UK Construction managing director, Mark Cesenek, shares his belief that to make this happen we need to bring communities on the journey. This requires a behavioural and cultural shift, with greater collaboration between key stakeholders, including local authorities, planners, developers and their occupiers. 🗨️ “Local authorities are ideally positioned, through an informed understanding of constituent needs, to ensure true value is added to communities where it will have the greatest impact. Greater collaboration with planning teams can better inform and tailor Section 106 agreements that foster community support and provide an unambiguous directive for developers. “We need to change the conversation around recognising the significant positive contribution that major development schemes have on local communities, and the wealth and skills creation they can bring.” Read the full article here ➡️ https://ow.ly/RKQH50SRVW6 #UKConstruction #CommunityEngagement #BuildingTogether #BuildingTheFuture

Construction News: Swindon Borough Council has approved plans for a district centre for its expanding Wichelstowe development. http://dlvr.it/THGt7g #BDP #west #Wichelstowe

🌟 Welcome to this edition of APTUS Industry News — your weekly update on key developments across design & planning, engineering, construction, and property! This week, we’re spotlighting: ✨ NSW’s Construction Wellbeing Campaign — a new initiative supporting mental health in the construction sector. 👷 Queensland Seeks New QBCC Commissioner — recruitment is underway to lead the state's construction watchdog, with a focus on industry reforms and streamlining processes. 🚧 Victoria’s $1B Road Safety Investment — major upgrades to improve safety and infrastructure across the state. 🏡 Renewed Investor Interest in Melbourne’s Western Suburbs — a positive sign for the housing market recovery. 🌿 Perth’s Pioneering Timber High-Rise Proposal — blending sustainability with innovative design. 💡 What industry trends or stories have caught your attention recently? Let us know in the comments! #Engineering #Construction #Property #Innovation 📰 Sources: NSW Construction Wellbeing Campaign https://lnkd.in/gMjFXsdJ Queensland QBCC Commissioner Recruitment https://lnkd.in/ggXpqRvk Victoria’s Road Safety Investment https://lnkd.in/gi22Nj-W Melbourne’s Western Suburbs Investor Activity https://lnkd.in/gN5mnWVW Perth Timber High-Rise Proposal https://lnkd.in/gbpzDJ3a

Morgan Sindall Construction has completed work on a development that will increase independent supported living provision across Leeds. The Sycamores, which features 62 one- and two-bed self-contained apartments, is the construction company’s second Extra Care scheme for Lovell Later Living, Leeds City Council, and integrated housing and care provider Home Group. The £13.4m scheme — designed by P+HS Architects — will maximise the independence of people requiring on-going care and support, such as those with health conditions and older people. Morgan Sindall undertook a comprehensive social value programme to ensure the community benefited from project, which included employing 33 apprentices and a local labour spend of 75%. Also, £2.67 was reinvested in the Leeds economy for every £1 spent on the project (figures calibrated using the LM3 methodology), while there were also over 60 hours of educational engagement. Morgan Sindall deployed its Intelligent Solutions approach on the project to reduce waste and save cost. Innovations on site resulted in 33.7 tonnes of CO2 being saved during the construction process. https://lnkd.in/eeN5YyGw #extracare #independentliving #supportedliving #constructioncompany #council #newbuild #development #housing #socialvalue #apprentices #sustainability #carbonemissions #builtenvironment

A student’s perspective on diversity and inclusion highlights a familiar issue: efforts in schools often feel performative, lacking genuine impact. This mirrors what’s happening in the UK construction industry, where diversity initiatives sometimes fall flat. If both sectors are struggling with the same challenges, we need to ask—what are we missing? Real change demands more than just checking boxes; it requires deep, sustained commitment and authentic action. Let’s push for meaningful progress. #DiversityAndInclusion #ConstructionIndustry #Sustainabilityinconstruction

Last month, we attended the Architects Action for Affordable Housing (AA4AH) workshop event that brought together architects, planners, local councillors, and industry professionals to debate and discuss the campaign’s five affordable housing priorities that will be presented to Labour and the MHCLG team in the coming weeks. We felt it was important to bring a different perspective on the challenges specific to North of England, especially around land value and viability, vacant and sub-standard homes, and the disparity between the north and south. The workshop produced five key priorities to lobby the government: 1. Treating affordable housing as critical infrastructure 2. Implementing a new national procurement model 3. Reforming NPPF for more community-led housing 4. If Passive House standards should be enforced for all new affordable housing 5. Decentralising control to local councils for affordable housing delivery We at FSA, believe through greater collective practitioner cooperation we can lobby for positive change and the creation of better and more affordable housing. #FrankShawAssociates #FSA #Affordablehousing #HousingCrisis #AA4AH #Housing

Work is underway on a £18.9 million zero-gas affordable housing development at Newstead in South East Sheffield. North of England contractor, Esh Construction, is delivering 77 new homes with enhanced sustainability credentials on behalf of Sheffield City Council. Read more: https://bit.ly/4it6lRa #housing #development

🚨 Housing Supply Crisis or Immigration Problem? 🚨 After reading the NSW Productivity & Equality Commission's report on housing supply barriers, I couldn’t help but reflect on Matt Barrie’s keynote. It feels like the real issue isn't just about housing supply. Shouldn't we be asking bigger questions, like how our immigration intake is affecting supply? 🤔 These were my key takes from the report... 1) Barriers the Government Needs to Address: - Labor shortages: NSW needs about 30,000 more construction workers to hit targets, and yet, labor costs are skyrocketing. Shouldn’t immigration be fixing this? Barrie’s “Put Another Aussie on the Barbie” keynote explains why it’s not. 🏗️👷♂️ - Planning and regulatory delays: Bottlenecks in the development assessment process and endless regulatory requirements add delays and costs. Are our local & state governments getting in their own way? 🏛️⏳ - Construction costs: Materials like steel and timber are pricier than ever, and land acquisition is a huge hurdle. How can we drive these costs down? 💸 2) Key recommendations from the report 📊🏠 A) Free up construction capacity 🏗️: - Prioritize capital spending to free up construction sector capacity, especially by sequencing infrastructure spending that supports rapid home delivery. 💸 - Remove barriers to density in feasible areas well-serviced by infrastructure. 🚆 - Fast-track requests to add extra floors to existing Development Approvals (DAs). 📈 - Resolve post-consent requirements delaying approved projects. ⏳ B) CONTROVERSIAL: Be sparing with subsidies for developers 💥: - Avoid excessive tax breaks and subsidies for developers, focusing financial assistance on targeted relief for people in housing stress. 💡🏘️ C) Streamline the development process ⚙️: - Develop concierge and clearinghouse functions to rapidly resolve bottlenecks in the development assessment process. 🚀 - Expand exempt and complying development to reduce minor DAs and free up resources for significant applications. 🔄 D) Create a pro-housing regulatory environment 🏙️: - Relax design-related requirements in the Apartment Design Guide (e.g., car parking, solar access, and minimum apartment size) to improve feasibility. 🏗️📐 - Restrict the use of design panels and competitions unless they deliver clear benefits. 🎨 E) Help the construction sector deliver 👷♂️👩🔧: - Shift migration intake to better support construction needs and improve recognition of overseas qualifications. 🌍👨🔧 - Promote construction careers and training for workers to address labor shortages. 🎓🛠️ What are your thoughts on the report? I think it's a positive step that the government is actively reviewing and addressing these issues, so kudos to them for taking action! 👏

The NSW Productivity and Equality Commission’s final report on housing supply challenges is now available, offering 32 recommendations to increase housing completions and address the shortfall. With a target of 377,000 new homes by July 2029, the State faces serious obstacles in delivering these numbers, which affects us all. Key barriers include development feasibility, stretched construction capacity, regulatory delays, and workforce shortages. The "Review of Housing Supply Challenges and Policy Options" outlines some necessary reforms such as streamlining approvals and boosting construction capacity. It will be interesting to see how the recommendations will be received and acted upon. Watch this space.

Ahead of Tuesday’s Homes for Queenslanders Implementation Taskforce meeting convened by the Queensland Government, QS Executive Director Fiona Caniglia has today made the following statements - “We are encouraged by proposals from community housing providers to build thousands of homes through State and Federal funding streams and via new planning pathways. These homes will make a significant difference, but we also need to revisit what can be done immediately to add to housing supply.” “This is particularly important in the context that the construction industry is facing huge constraints with rising costs and workforce challenges” says Caniglia. As a member of the Homes for Queenslanders Implementation Taskforce convened by the State Government, Q Shelter will propose a clear focus on actions that respond to the current housing shortage while medium to longer-term housing projects are conceived and eventually delivered. “We know that latent supply has already been adapted to social housing which is incredibly positive. We just need an even greater focus on finding more latent supply and to facilitate optimal utilisation of existing homes and buildings.” “We have also strongly advocated for greater deployment of modular home builders to achieve more supply as quickly as possible and further exploration of prefabricated building materials. We need to put things in place to achieve the infrastructure needed to industrialise construction in the future which has the potential to increase and diversify the workforce, decrease cost and speed up delivery.” “We all need to be at the table considering anything additional that can help address construction industry constraints right now”. The Taskforce convenes on Tuesday. Department of Housing, Local Government, Planning and Public Works #housing #homelessness #homematters #bettertogether #queensland