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- Check out IHBC’s new-style ‘CPD Circular’ & feed back: With ‘at-a-glance colour coding’, Director’s CPD Spotlight (ICOMOS-CIF 2026, Granada, 11-13/03), simpler format & more 09/01/2026
- IHBC celebrates SAHGB 2025 Annual Awards, including SAHGB-IHBC Heritage Research Award success at HESPR member Donald Insall Associates 09/01/2026
- IHBC’s ‘Members with benefits’: FREE CPD at London’s LPOC Listed Property Show, Olympia, 30-31 Jan 09/01/2026
- IHBC’s ‘Save the Date’ notice for all Branch Committees: Have your say at our next online Branch Connection Event, 22 January 2025, 2pm – 4pm 09/01/2026
- Designing Building enhances access to 20K+ articles, for all users as graphic links to ‘Construction Knowledge Hubs’ now aid navigation 09/01/2026
- IHBC’s Research Signpost: Heritage Open Days Festival Impact Review 2025 09/01/2026
- IHBC features ‘Heritage from the (Private Eye) doorstep’: Nooks & Corners on the ‘nation’s worsening shortage of heritage skills’ 09/01/2026
- Architectural Heritage Fund publishes Annual Review 2024/25 09/01/2026
- Scotland’s ‘Properties and Collections Strategy: Towards Sustainable Stewardship’ consultation draft out, open to 23/01 09/01/2026
- CITB announces changes to funding and grants 09/01/2026
- Scottish Government scheme launched: Finding new owners for empty homes 09/01/2026
- IHBC features ‘Heritage from the Global doorstep’: CyArk’s Heritage Amplified Grant (Engaging New Audiences …) and Heritage Documentation Training Grant (Empowering Cultural Preservation) to 23/01 & 30/01 09/01/2026
- IHBC welcomes award of OBE to IHBC Chair David McDonald: An ‘extraordinary’ person… 02/01/2026
- IHBC Chair updates on 2026 AGM, calls for proxy vote (accredited members only) ASAP & booking – 7 January 2026, featuring HE’s co-CEO Claudia Kenyatta CBE, from 5.30pm, with 6pm AGM 02/01/2026
- IHBC’s ‘Save the Date’ notice for all Branch Committees: Have your say at our next online Branch Connection Event, 22 January 2025, 2pm – 4pm 02/01/2026
- REMINDER: Lodge your IHBC proxy vote (accredited members only) ASAP & book your online place (members only) for IHBC’s 2026 AGM, 7 January 2026, featuring HE’s co-CEO, from 5.30pm, with 6pm AGM 02/01/2026
- IHBC’s Annual School ‘Save the Date’ notice & Home Page launch: IHBC’s 2026 Newcastle School, 18-20 June, on ‘Adaptive Reuse’ & up to 20 hours CPD – accessible, interdisciplinary, cost-effective 02/01/2026
- IHBC’s 2025 Parliamentary Briefing launches research-led ‘5 Commitments to Help Heritage Skills in Conservation’… From Crafts in Crisis to Rubbish in Retrofit 02/01/2026
- Career conscious & in conservation? IHBC’s ‘Jobs etc.’ spans disciplines, levels & sectors as interdisciplinary conservation practice standards deliver public benefit 02/01/2026
- Lodge your IHBC proxy vote (accredited members only) ASAP & book your online place (members only) for IHBC’s 2026 AGM, 7 January 2026, featuring HE’s co-CEO, from 5.30pm, with 6pm AGM 30/12/2025
- IHBC welcomes latest engineers’ CARE guidance for assessing proposed heritage demolition/partial demolition in UK & Ireland 30/12/2025
- IHBC’s ‘Save the Date’ notice for all Branch Committees: Have your say at our next online Branch Connection Event, 22 January 2025, 2pm – 4pm 30/12/2025
- IHBC issues formal notice for 2026 AGM, online on 7 January 2026, from 5.30pm (with special presentation!) for 6pm start 30/12/2025
- IHBC’s Context 185 under the spotlight: IHBC’s accessible CPD for Conservation Professionals, with ‘A carbon case for indigenous slate’ 30/12/2025
- IHBC’s ‘Professional’ Signpost: Scotland’s APRS – Full Report on ‘Battery Energy Storage Systems and Planning’ 30/12/2025
Tag Archives: housing
Scottish Government scheme launched: Finding new owners for empty homes
A scheme launched by the Scottish Government aims to help return more empty homes to active use starting with a new online portal.
Posted in Sector NewsBlog
Tagged community, government, homes, housing, Scotland
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England’s NPPF update: New consultation on proposed reforms and other changes to the planning system, to 10/03
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is consulting on a revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), notably linked to data centres, onsite energy generation, viability assessments and site thresholds.
Posted in Sector NewsBlog
Tagged communities, framework, government, housing, planning
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RIBA responds to Environmental Audit Committee report on sustainable housing growth
The Environmental Audit Committee report on environmental sustainability and housing growth response by the Royal Institute of British Architects(RIBA) urges the government to accelerate action on embodied carbon and skills.
Posted in Sector NewsBlog
Tagged environment, housing, report, RIBA, sustainability
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CIC Responds to the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget
The Construction Industry Council (CIC) has issued its response to the 2026 Budget.
Posted in Sector NewsBlog
Tagged budget, building, construction, ecosystem, government, housing, investment, productivity, skills
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IHBC features ‘Heritage from the doorstep’: ‘Failings at every level’ resulted in botched insulation scheme, MPs told
image for illustration: IHBC A botched net zero scheme which has caused damp issues in thousands of homes was the result of ‘serious failings at every level’, a UK government official has said.
Posted in IHBC NewsBlog
Tagged building, environment, expertise, government, housing, insulation, planning, skills
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Parliamentary Committee: Nature not a ‘blocker’ to housing; needed for ‘resilient towns & neighbourhoods’, and calls for housebuilding target changes and reduced VAT (for retrofitting)
Nature is not a ‘blocker’ to delivering new housing, but rather a necessity for building resilient towns and neighbourhoods, MPs argue in a House of Commons committee report on ‘Environmental sustainability and housing growth’, with responses from government due in … Continue reading
Posted in Sector NewsBlog
Tagged building, cross-party, environment, expertise, government, housing, planning
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IHBC features ‘Heritage from the Global doorstep’: A town wants to give away its 100-year-old convent: is it a housing solution?
image for illustration: Convent of Jesus and Mary, Gravelbourg by Archyfb, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons Gravelbourg, Sask., looks for a visionary to give historic building a new life, reports CBC.
Posted in IHBC NewsBlog
Tagged building, conservation, environment, expertise, heritage, housing, planning
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Government’s Pride in Place: Strategy update
The Pride in Place Strategy will help build stronger communities, create thriving places and empower local people, argues Government UK.
Posted in Sector NewsBlog
Tagged community, expertise, funding, government, health, housing, placemaking, strategy
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Parliamentary Committee: Nature not a ‘blocker’ to housing; needed for ‘resilient towns & neighbourhoods’, and calls for housebuilding target changes and reduced VAT (for retrofitting)
Nature is not a ‘blocker’ to delivering new housing, but rather a necessity for building resilient towns and neighbourhoods, MPs argue in a House of Commons committee report on ‘Environmental sustainability and housing growth’, with responses from government due in … Continue reading
Posted in Sector NewsBlog
Tagged building, climate change, construction, economics, environment, expertise, government, housing, nature, planning, retrofit
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Housebuilding around train stations will be given default ‘yes’, including in Green Belt, as: ‘Builders Speechless’
Government says that housebuilding near well-connected train stations will receive a default ‘yes’ in future if they meet certain rules, ensuring more homes are built.
Posted in Sector NewsBlog
Tagged building, climate change, commuting, construction, consultation, environment, government, housing, insfrastructure, nature, planning
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TCPA Blog: Review of Homes England’s Healthy Homes Standard: Our homes are not islands
New Government design requirements and guidance for the Healthy Homes Standard (HHS), to be used by Homes England etc. on under the Affordable Housing Programme, is the subject of a Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) blog.
IHBC’s ‘Professional’ Parliamentary Signpost: Lords completes examination of Planning and Infrastructure Bill
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill had its third reading, ‘a chance for members to make sure the eventual law is effective, workable and without loopholes’, on Monday 10 November.
Posted in IHBC NewsBlog
Tagged building, climate change, environment, expertise, government, housing, infrastructure, nature, planning, skills
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Home Builders Federation – ‘State of Play: Challenges and opportunities facing SME home builders’: 89% highlight LA capacity constraints
The ‘SME State of Play’ report details the findings of one of the most comprehensive surveys of Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) housebuilders, conducted by the Home Builders Federation (HBF), Close Brothers Property Finance and Travis Perkins.
Posted in Sector NewsBlog
Tagged builders, building, construction, expertise, housing, report, skills
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IHBC’s Practice Signpost: TCPA update blog on ‘The battle for Healthy Homes continues….’, as it notes ‘Planning is not the problem’
A new Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) blog looks at the state of play as the Lords report stage of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill process has closed and the Bill returns to the House of Commons before receiving … Continue reading
Posted in IHBC NewsBlog
Tagged building, construction, environment, government, health, housing, planning
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Parliament on PAC on ‘Housing developer levy funds’ failure ‘due to systemic problems’: Councils hampered by ‘asymmetry of skills’ with developers
The system designed to create new affordable housing and infrastructure through developer contributions is not working properly, reports the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), as asymmetry of skills also means that councils often find it hard to challenge developers’ claims.
Posted in Sector NewsBlog
Tagged building, environment, expertise, government, housing, local government, planning, skills
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Government’s ‘Pro-growth package unshackling Britain to get building’
Pro-growth changes to the government’s landmark Planning and Infrastructure Bill to get Britain building faster have been announced by Government UK.
Posted in Sector NewsBlog
Tagged building, climate change, economics, emplyment, expertise, government, housing, localauthority, planning, skills, water
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IHBC features ‘Heritage from the doorstep’: Sean Bean says houses plan for land where he played as a child is a ‘tragedy’
Hollywood star Sean Bean has backed a campaign to save green belt land where he played as child, saying proposed housing developments would be a ‘tragedy’, reports The Times and Star.
Posted in IHBC NewsBlog
Tagged conservation, construction, environment, heritage, housing, planning
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IHBC’s ‘Practice’ Signpost: Traditional and historic buildings – a new Retrofit British Standard, an update from IHBC’s John Edwards, with joint CPD webinar 14/11
‘BS 40104: 2025: Retrofit Assessment for Domestic Dwellings – Code of Practice’, was officially published at the end of September and here Prof. John Edwards, IHBC’s Technical Panel Secretary and lead on the heritage/traditional buildings workstream, updates NewsBlog readers on … Continue reading
Posted in IHBC NewsBlog
Tagged BSI, building, climate change, conservation, environment, expertise, heritage, housing, IHBC, planning, retrofit, skills, STBA
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Interim Chief Construction Adviser appointed, to ‘… provide expert, independent advice to… government on building safety and regulatory reform’
A new interim Chief Construction Adviser has been appointed by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
Posted in Sector NewsBlog
Tagged architect, building, communities, construction, expertise, government, housing, local government, safety
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Expert Taskforce recommends locations for new towns
The New Towns Taskforce has recommended locations for the next generation of new towns.
Posted in Sector NewsBlog
Tagged building, climate change, community, construction, environment, expertise, government, housing, nature, planning, towns
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New LGA analysis shows nearly 28,000 affordable homes lost due to permitted development rights
New Local Government Association (LGA) analysis has spurred campaigners to sign an open letter calling on Government to scrap permitted development rights (PDR) that have cost thousands of affordable homes.
Posted in Sector NewsBlog
Tagged building, environment, expertise, housing, local government, planning
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40,000 people to get skills in new Technical Excellence Colleges, using ‘hub and spoke’ model
Tens of thousands of future construction workers to be trained up in high-demand construction skills by 2029, delivering growth and helping build new homes, Government UK has announced, operating on a ‘hub and spoke’ model.
Posted in Sector NewsBlog
Tagged building, construction, expertise, government, housing, skills, work
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IHBC features ‘Heritage from the doorstep’: Historic Park Hill Housing development model photos found in attic
A remarkable collection of historic photographs documenting the planning and development of Sheffield’s famous Park Hill housing estate has been discovered in an attic, revealing intimate details about one of Britain’s most significant post-war architectural projects, reports SayArt.
Posted in IHBC NewsBlog
Tagged architecture, building, conservation, heritage, housing, photgraphs
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IHBC’s ‘Research’ Signpost: ‘Empty Spaces to Homes’…
image for illustration: Joanna Theobald ‘Repurposing Empty Spaces: Research to Address the Housing Crisis’, is a new piece of research, exploring the current opportunities available in reutilising socially owned vacant buildings and spaces, for use as?accommodation?for those at risk of?homelessness??across … Continue reading
Posted in IHBC NewsBlog
Tagged accommodation, building, government, homelessness, housing, local government, planning
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Parliamentary Group for Excellence in the Built Environment asks: ‘How can we build 1.5Mn quality homes… this Parliament?’
The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Excellence in the Built Environment (APPGEBE) has been reformed and has announced a new inquiry into ‘How can we build 1.5 million quality homes in this Parliament?’.
Posted in Sector NewsBlog
Tagged building, construction, design, environment, expertise, housing, placemaking, planning
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