Director Dr Roudaina Alkhani attended the Housing 2026 Conference in Manchester on the 23-24th of June, which brought together stakeholders at multiple levels, including government agencies, combined & local authorities, housing associations, developers, tenants, residents, industry leaders, politicians, innovators, and funders, to discuss the future of housing in the UK. The conference addressed different aspects of housing, including housing policy, delivery, partnerships, financing, planning/NPPF, and legal frameworks.
Here Dr Alkhani communicates a summary of issues and takeaways:
The conference provided insightful reflections on the challenges facing affordable housing delivery and tackling homelessness, the progress of retrofitting our housing stock and the delivery of affordable, low-carbon, low-energy homes, and how to scale this up.
The discussion focused on scaling up affordable housing through long-term partnerships, where Pat Ritchie CBE, Chair of Homes England, stressed that partners should think collectively about how to address the need for affordable homes over time and who brings what to the partnership.
Another key conclusion was the need to end homelessness by shifting from crisis response to prevention. Rachel Millward, Deputy Leader Green Party, stressed the need for greater synergy across different levels of decision-making, system change, and an approach that addresses the housing and nature crises together.
Cllr Gavin White, Manchester City Council, stressed the importance to address housing challenges in the context of the cost-of-living crisis and ensure that housing delivery provides mixed-tenure housing alongside schools, parks & other community infrastructure.
There were other excellent discussions on multiple scales, including obstacles posed by ‘viability’ and land prices to the delivery of affordable homes and hashtagS106. The discussion also included the value of community-led housing versus development-led approaches, understood as residents’ increasing engagement in decision, as well as landlord responsibility & tenants’ rights. The role of government in energising the market and providing clarity for investors, including the role of the National Housing Bank, was also discussed.
While addressing housing sector gaps is an ongoing learning, the UK obviously needs a long-term housing agenda that navigates the complexity of the sector and the UK economy, addresses the increasing need for housing that all people can access, and recognises the importance of long-term housing delivery in supporting resilient cities where social value, climate resilience & place quality are protected. These parameters require strengthening integration between planning and housing agendas.
© Dr Roudaina Alkhani
hashtagHousing2026 hashtagPlanning hashtagNPPF hashtagAffordableHousing hashtagHomelessness hashtagHousingPolicy hashtagHousingAgenda hashtagHousingDelivery hashtagClimateResilientCity hashtagSustainableDevelopment hashtagPlaceQuality hashtagGreenGrowth hashtagSustainability hashtagViability hashtagRetrofitting
Royal Town Planning Institute
Platforms for Sustainable Cities and Regions
Photo: Dr Roudaina Alkhani