Frank Tough’s Post

I'm always interested in reflections on high streets, especially when they come from lovely people that I've had the pleasure of working with throughout the years. Holly Lewis' reflections resonate deeply with the discussions that Roland Karthaus, Tanushree Agarwal and I had as part of the Homes England Learning Programme on town centre regeneration. One of the key questions that came up time and time again was: what is the future of the high street and what uses have done better in recent years? To me, it feels like perhaps we need to reframe that thinking slightly. High streets have always been more than just places to shop—they’re cultural and social hubs, anchors of local identity. If we want them to thrive, we need to reimagine their purpose and strengthen their capacity to serve as vibrant community spaces. As someone who has dedicated over a decade to working on high streets and town centres, I really agree with Holly's emphasis on local partnerships as the key to truly shaping the function that high streets should protect moving forward: spaces where communities can come together. But, fixing our high streets isn’t just about addressing what’s wrong; it’s about fostering long-term resilience. This means creating a vision for high streets that aligns with what people value and need, and ensuring they remain accessible, affordable, and adaptable. Achieving this requires a collaborative approach where landlords, businesses, and the community at large are actively involved in their evolution and decision-making. Giving more agency and powers to local authorities and communities is a brilliant step in their direction. #highstreets #regeneration

As a consultancy that has supported many clients over the years who operate in the retail and leisure sectors and on the High Street, Planning Potential has keenly followed occupier trends, as well as economic and planning policies designed to stimulate footfall and the vitality of the UK’s town centres. In our latest article, Rob Scadding considers the new Labour government's lack of mention of high streets, town centres, retail, or the night-time economy in their recent 15-chapter consultation document on a new NPPF and what it could mean for future high street projects. Discover how the changes (or lack thereof) in planning policy might impact your business or development, and how we can assist you. Read the full article here https://lnkd.in/erxaj2Vi #highstreets #towncentres #NPPF #UrbanPlanning #PlanningReform #planning

▶️ "Investment in our high streets is investment in our communities" ◀️ Check out Holly Lewis (We Made That)'s article for The Guardian on how transforming vacant buildings can turn high streets into hubs for health, education and sustainability — and where government might best focus its efforts and spending. How to start making this happen where you are? As Holly puts it, "This will require convening partners who may not usually work together – health services with market traders or universities with shop landlords – in a place-based model, where differences between groups who may not be used to joining forces are overcome for the sake of a shared location." 🪄 Long-term change and vibrancy will only happen if partners like councils, asset owners and community leaders collaborate, to unlock buildings for amazing ideas that meet local needs (what we call #LocalPropertyPartnerships) 🏘️ https://lnkd.in/ehvjwbhW Mark Robinson Ion Fletcher Naomi Rubbra Frances Northrop Rebecca Trevalyan Amanprit Arnold

Thrive Living is set to kick off construction early this year on a groundbreaking 800-unit affordable-housing complex situated above a Costco store in South Los Angeles' Baldwin Village - a neighborhood with a poverty rate that is more than double the national average. This innovative development will feature amenities like a rooftop pool and fitness center, with 184 units reserved for low-income households. This marks the first U.S. residential project to integrate a Costco. The rent from Costco will enable Thrive to reduce its dependency on government subsidies. If successful, Thrive's founder, Ben Shaoul, envisions replicating this model to help address the affordable housing crisis. The project is targeted for completion by 2027 and may pave the way for similar future initiatives. #Costco #ThriveLiving #HousingCrisis #HousingSolutions #CommunityImpact #InnovativeHousing #AffordableHousing

If it all goes to plan, Los Angeles will be testing a new solution to the housing crisis: stacking 800 apartments, including 184 for low-income households, on top of a Costco. Thrive Living’s $425 million project in Baldwin Village, complete with a rooftop pool, plans to rely on Costco’s rent instead of government subsidies to make affordable housing profitable. If successful, this model could help reshape urban housing development, combining housing with big-box retail to maximize land use and streamline costs. According to the article, Costco approached Thrive. https://lnkd.in/evu49CKY

Here's a great example of how #HybridWorking can solve three problems at once... 🏢 Surrey County Council has embraced hybrid working and as a result have reduced their portfolio of buildings into four regional hubs 🏠 This created a vacancy in the historic County Hall in Kingston, which has been sold to create 292 new homes in Kingston including affordable housing 👏 Great example of how local authorities are getting creative with unused assets in their portfolio - especially when it helps tackle the housing shortage in the community ✅ Surrey CC teams benefit from the flexibility of hybrid working, at a reduced cost for the local taxpayer... and the community gets much-needed housing 💭 What do you think? Have you seen any similar case studies in your area of office to residential repurposing? #MagnetsNotMandates #HybridWorking HubStar https://lnkd.in/eYY4NTXR

The Built Environment Committee has published its report on High Streets (Life Beyond Retail). Plenty of bedtime reading for those planners, property professionals and decision-makers with an interest in town centres. The report reinforces the widely-held view that retail remains an important part of the UK's high streets, but is now part of a much wider mix of land uses. Plenty of food for thought for local plan evidence base work and future planning applications for retail development. It will be interesting to see what Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government do with this in relation to updates to the #NPPF and the Planning Practice Guidance on retail and town centre planning policy, along with next week's publication of the additional documents around the #highstreetrentalauction initiative....... https://lnkd.in/eM3z8-Cp

Exciting times ahead for the UK house-building industry! Hopkins Homes and Tilia Homes have joined forces to create Untypical. Owned by the Hands Family Office and managed by Terra Firma, Untypical is planning to deliver over 2,000 homes annually. Remarkably, Hopkins Homes and Tilia Homes will still operate as customer-facing brands, allowing Untypical to offer a diverse range of homes from entry-level to premium properties across England's Midlands, West, East, and East Anglia regions. Founder Guy Hands, who has been involved in the UK housing market since 1996, stated, "By building homes based on robust customer insight, we see an opportunity to do things better and bring about positive change." It's an optimistic outlook, and there is an anticipation that Untypical's approach could significantly impact the housing sector. What are your thoughts on the potential of Untypical in reshaping the housing market? Share your views in the comments or visit constructivemoves.com to learn more. #UKHousing #ConstructionNews #ResidentialDevelopment #constructivemoves

Good article on co-living. TLDR version = co-living can make housing more accessible (for some segments of the market) but the value proposition is breaking down in Boston because base rents are so high.

CQMS Limited are delighted to announce a new partnership with untypical, which comprises Tilia Homes and Hopkins Homes Limited.   CQMS Safety-Scheme is proud to announce our partnership with untypical as their sole supplier of supply chain management services. The collaboration will mean that all companies working for Tilia Homes and Hopkins Homes will be required to hold a CQMS Safety-Scheme ‘Advanced’ certificate, demonstrating their compliance with health and safety and corporate social responsibility (environmental, social and governance) practices and standards.   Kerry Howe, CQMS Director, says: “We are eagerly anticipating working closely with each of untypical’s supply chain members and supporting them in demonstrating compliance with the buyer-specific requirements that we have developed with untypical. It is an exciting time to be joining untypical on their journey and we are looking forward to using our expertise and experience to add value whilst streamlining the processes of onboarding, assessing and renewing compliance for their supply chain.”   David Newell, untypical Group Commercial Director, adds: “The health and safety of our staff, contractors, and customers is at the heart of everything we do. The expertise and knowledge that CQMS offers makes them the ideal partner for us. We believe that streamlining our processes to aid full compliance across our supply chain will have a positive impact on our workforce and business. We look forward to working with CQMS and the benefits the scheme will bring.”   About untypical:   untypical combines two trusted UK housebuilding brands – Tilia Homes and Hopkins Homes – and aims to make a positive difference to the UK housebuilding market through an innovative approach and a commitment to excellence. Central to untypical’s mission is its focus on creating sustainable, inclusive communities, delivering homes across the UK that people want to live in and are good for the planet.   Tilia Homes, formerly Kier Living, draws on more than 70 years of construction sector experience to deliver affordable, sustainable new homes across England. Hopkins Homes is the largest privately owned housebuilder in East Anglia. It is recognised for meticulous planning, premium design, and a commitment to sustainable development. #compliance #untypicalgroup #healthandsafety #tiliahomes #hopkinshomes #SSIP #supplychain #partnership