1.5m New Homes

A special double-header on “what needs to change to deliver more homes”, with Be First head of consultancy Anna Sinnott and senior project manager Danny Taylor discussing planning and procurement reforms. Instagram- @1.5mnewhomes Facebook- @1.5mnewhomes LinkedIn- @1-5m-new-homes TikTok- @1.5mnewhomes Bluesky- @1-5mnewhomes.bsky.social Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@1.5MNewHomes Thanks to Red L...

We’re at 12 Thames Road, where London Borough of Barking and Dagenham’s wholly-owned development company Be First is “taking a bit of a risk” co-locating 3,500 (100% affordable) new homes with 40,000sq m of light industrial space. Instagram- @1.5mnewhomes Facebook- @1.5mnewhomes LinkedIn- @1-5m-new-homes TikTok- @1.5mnewhomes Bluesky- @1-5mnewhomes.bsky.social Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@1....

The final part of our three-episode report on the reshaping of London Borough of Barking and Dagenham's wholly-owned development company, Be First: today we’re with Paul Nicholls, the new managing director for London at Wates, Be First’s development partner on the highly-regarded Gascoigne Estate regeneration. Instagram- @1.5mnewhomes Facebook- @1.5mnewhomes LinkedIn- @1-5m-new-homes TikTok- @1.5m...

Be First’s newly-appointed interim managing director Caroline Harper describes the company’s new mission: maintain delivery of 750 new homes a year, manage the Council’s £4bn asset portfolio, and reach out to prospective development partners and investors, getting at least one new site to market this summer. Instagram- @1.5mnewhomes Facebook- @1.5mnewhomes LinkedIn- @1-5m-new-homes TikTok- @1.5mne...

Leader of London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, councillor Dominic Twomey, describes the financial constraints forcing significant change at the Council’s wholly-owned development company Be First. Instagram- @1.5mnewhomes Facebook- @1.5mnewhomes LinkedIn- @1-5m-new-homes TikTok- @1.5mnewhomes Bluesky- @1-5mnewhomes.bsky.social Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@1.5MNewHomes Thanks to Red Loft a...

Newly-appointed interim managing director of Be First, Caroline Harper, describes Barking and Dagenham’s unique scale of opportunity to provide new homes for aspirational working Londoners. And with council-backed funding drying up, can the council-owned company find ways of making housing investment attractive to private sector capital? Instagram- @1.5mnewhomes Facebook- @1.5mnewhomes LinkedIn- @...

We are pleased to share the fourth webinar in our series, with Hounslow "What works and what needs to change to deliver more homes. This month featuring, the London Borough of Hounslow." We hope you enjoy and don't forget to follow along on our social media channels so that you don't miss any of our upcoming content: Instagram- @1.5mnewhomes Facebook- @1.5mnewhomes LinkedIn- @1-5m-new-homes TikTok...

Special report from 1.5M New Homes: The Local Government Challenge on community engagement. How do a Councils and Developers align and successfully engage a local community on a development of 1,000-plus new homes? Here’s a case study from London Borough of Hounslow, where Hadley Property Group is redeveloping the GSK campus into a mixed-use area including 1,000-plus new homes. Don't miss the next...

London Borough of Hounslow Assistant Director for Housing Development and Supply Pratima Sood highlights the importance of supportive colleagues and mentors, both inside and outside the workplace, and she recommends a career in Public Sector housing delivery to anyone who loves a good haggle. Don't miss the next video in the series, a special report on community engagement: subscribe and follow ou...

How do councils balance the need for investment and growth - not least in new homes - with local people’s resistance to change - their fear, as London Borough of Hounslow leader, councillor Shantanu Rajawat puts it, of “what will be available for me, in my time of need, if there is so much pressure on the system”? Don't miss the next video in the series, looking at careers in Public Sector housing...

Director of regeneration and growth Peter O’Brien describes how London Borough of Hounslow is responding to the Government’s plans for a modern industrial strategy and to the London Growth Plan by creating a Business Case for Growth, which supports the Council’s investment in its own capacity to deliver economic growth and new homes. “We’ve got an excellent council housing delivery team,” he says....

We’re at Lampton Parkside, where Notting Hill Genesis is building 940 homes on Hounslow Council’s former civic centre site, with 40% affordable and 75 bought by the Council. Director of Growth and Regeneration Peter O’Brien praises his predecessors and for their foresight in "making the best use of the site for maximum public gain”. Follow us on: Instagram- @1.5mnewhomes Facebook- @1.5mnewhomes Li...

A housing success story? Director for regeneration and growth Peter O’Brien kicks off our London Brough of Hounslow season, describing a borough that has over-delivered on housing targets, shrunk its TA list and still has the potential for 7,000 new homes on the Golden Mile (Great West Road) alone. Instagram- @1.5mnewhomes Facebook- @1.5mnewhomes LinkedIn- @1-5m-new-homes TikTok- @1.5mnewhomes Blu...

Retaining talent is one of the big challenges facing Councils, so we asked Ben to describe how he’s built and sustained a career in public sector housing delivery, from his early years in education and then as a sustainability consultant, through to helping Cambridge deliver its thousandth home. Don't miss the next video in the series, a special report on investment partnerships. Subscribe and fol...

A special report from 1.5M New Homes: The Local Government Challenge on how investment partnerships have unlocked housing sites for development in Cambridge, and where else they might be appropriate. Don't miss our next episode in the series, featuring Hounslow council. Subscribe and follow our socials to stay up to date: Instagram- @1.5mnewhomes Facebook- @1.5mnewhomes LinkedIn- @1-5m-new-homes T...

Attracting talent is a big challenge for councils delivering new homes, so we spoke to some of that talent: Cambridge City Council Project Manager Molly Savino told us about her role in delivering 120 council homes, a community centre, library and other facilities and commercial space at East Barnwell. Don't miss the next video in the series, looking at sustaining a career in housing delivery. Sub...

We talk about the local politics of delivering new homes with Cambridge City Council executive councillor for housing Gerri Bird. In particular, she describes the impact of disruption and change on tenants, and how the Council eases that process for them – and her insights as a council tenant herself. Don't miss the next video in the series, looking at starting a career in housing delivery: subscr...

In this episode we visit East Barnwell, where Cambridge City Council wants to build 120 new homes, a community centre, library and other commercial units in the city’s most deprived ward. What’s stopping it? Benedict Binns, assistant director for development, lists the chief blockers to delivering more homes in Cambridge. Don't miss the next video in the series, focusing on the local politics of d...

Welcome to 1.5m New Homes, the Local Government Challenge. With Cambridge City Council celebrating its thousandth new homes, we visited one of its benchmark schemes, Ironworks, developed on the city’s old Mill Road rail depot, to understand the ingredients for its success. Don't miss the next video in the series, looking at what needs to change to build even more homes in Cambridge: subscribe and...

Welcome to 1.5m New Homes, the Local Government Challenge! Kicking off 2025 we have our interviews with Cambridge City Council. Setting the scene for visits to two housing development sites in the city, we spoke with Cambridge City Council assistant director of development Ben Binns. Join us throughout January as we learn the ingredients for successful delivery and what needs to change to build ev...

We are pleased to share the second webinar in our series, with Ealing Council. "What works and what needs to change to deliver more homes. This month featuring: Ealing". This webinar features: David Culliton- Pre-construction Direction at Bugler Group Joanna Hills- Assistant Director Housing Asset Management at Ealing Council Emma Osmundsen- Assistant Director Housing Regeneration at Ealing Counci...

Our visit to Ealing coincided with the Government’s announcement that it will build 32 Homebuilding Skills Hubs ( https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ne... ) So we asked Red Loft’s Danny Sutcliffe and Emma Osmundsen of Ealing Council how this might support the delivery of new homes.

This is 1.5m New Homes, The Local Government Challenge, sponsored by Red Loft and Bugler Developments. In this episode, host Toby Fox speaks to Ealing Council Strategic Director of Economy and Sustainability Peter George about his role, his reflections on sustaining a career in public sector housing delivery, and on retaining talent in councils. Peter describes why he gets so much satisfaction fro...

Welcome to 1.5m New Homes, the Local Government Challenge, sponsored by Red Loft and Bugler Developments. Attracting talent is a big challenge for councils delivering new homes, so for our regular segment on starting a career in public sector housing, we spoke to some of that talent: Ealing Council’s Alison Mayer and Esra Abd Elrahman talk us through how they developed the skills needed to move a...

Special report from 1.5M New Homes: The Local Government Challenge on how contractor sector vulnerability is impacting housing delivery. During our visit to Ealing this month, one factor impacting councils’ ability to deliver more homes was clear: the vulnerability of the contractor sector. So we asked Andy Bugler from Bugler Developments and Ealing Council’s Emma Osmundsen how they see the proble...