Seona Shand’s Post

Old to Leeds, new to UKREiiF... I know Leeds well. I was born in Dewsbury and brought up opposite the Leeds United ground, so an itinerant Leeds supporter. I was fortunate to be able to stay with family, as the hotels were full. Some 13,000 descended on the city, phenomenal! #UKREiiF itself is a busy, slightly chaotic arrangement of tents and stalls, bewildering for the first time - as is arriving in Leeds, with the station in dire need of improvement. There were interesting discussions on timber construction, heat pumps, EV charging, offshore power, transport, housing and how to encourage the workforce to reconvene in the office. One thing that became clear as I listened, walked and talked to people is the lack of funding decisions for big projects. Whether this is because of uncertain times or high interest rates is unclear. I took to my Brompton and did the cycle tour of Leeds I had been planning with the help of a map created with Sarah Simpkin, visiting buildings while the sun was out – glorious! But as a consequence, I missed an art trail I had planned to join with Ailish Killilea of the Townscape Consultancy. The trail, I caught up with later, included Hibiscus Rising: Creating a memorial for David Oluwale with Yinka Shonibare RA CBE. Set against a grey-blue sky, surrounded by archetypal red-brick buildings, it is one of the most striking public artworks. There was rain. Seeking refuge, I signed up for a Perfect Circle event, suggested by Mike Hutt. In London at least, transport infrastructure seems to be self-propagating with development. Southwark and Lewisham gave an impassioned session on #BacktheBakerloo. Interesting how the line first came about, promoted by an American financier. It was established in 1893, tunnelling commenced in 1898, some 5 years later. Perhaps a clue as where to seek financing. Extending the Bakerloo as proposed will require 14 new stations – that’s 14 opportunities for diverse, locally relevant designs. It occurs to me that the older tube lines are becoming the local lines, feeding the communities, and the RIBA Award-winning Elizabeth Line has taken the mantle as London’s new main artery.What a great thing this is to celebrate, let’s do more like it. Roger Madelin, ever the pragmatist, pointed out that a cost to build in the region of £1000-per-sqm makes social housing almost impossible for developers, hence why they often appear to be pushing the massing. We need more subsidies/investment in social housing and infrastructure. Maybe we pay more tax to pay for housing – and stop selling it off? Returning home, I was struck by a massive screen in the station: ‘Made in the UK, sold to the world’ with architect, Simone de Gale. I know Simone and great to see her face up there – a fitting point to end on. Perhaps our fortunes do lie more overseas while we have such little funding within our own economy. Then the PM calls an election as I cycle home to Spitalfields. A change is a good thing…

Spurring Salford’s renaissance    Covering 240 acres of the city, Crescent is poised to transform this part of Salford into a globally recognised destination for people to live, learn, work, play and be active through a £2.5bn masterplan.    Comprising six unique – yet intertwined – zones, the area will provide space for world-class learning and research at Crescent Innovation; unlock the unlimited potential of the University’s Peel Park Campus; facilitate a new transport hub to promote sustainable and active travel; and deliver future-proofed homes which dovetail with the existing built environment and compliment Salford’s rich architectural history.   Nature will be at the heart of the development too, with all existing green space – including Peel Park and the River Irwell – being enhanced and improved to provide valuable recreation space and ecological habitats.   Here’s what Crescent Salford will deliver at a glance:   🏡 More than 3,000 homes 🏬 1m sq ft of office, retail and leisure space 🚲 A multi-modal transport hub 🌳 Vast areas of green space Delivered by ECF - a joint partnership between Legal & General, Homes England and Muse, in collaboration with Salford City Council and The University of Salford, all partners share a combined vision to elevate the city's status and put it firmly on the map as an international hub of innovation, collaboration and world-firsts.   For more information about Crescent Salford, and details of some of the spaces and places being delivered as part of the masterplan, head to - https://lnkd.in/dSC5BKs.   #placemaking #partnership #Salford

There are many incredible regeneration projects currently happening in the UK, and we would like to bring your attention to one in particular: the Barking Riverside project in London. Barking Riverside is one of the largest building developments in London. The site spans 443 acres, and will eventually deliver 10,800 homes for a population of around 26,000 residents. Moreover, seven new schools will be delivered, and a new London Overground station has already been built which connects residents to the City in just over 20 minutes. Urban regeneration projects such as this one bring many benefits to communities, the environment, and the economy. Communities benefit from the enhanced liveability of urban areas following regeneration, as improving the quality of housing, education and healthcare facilities, and transport networks has a positive impact on the lives of residents. Regeneration projects can also have a positive environmental impact by incorporating sustainable practices into the development, improving the biodiversity of an area, and upgrading public transport and active travel networks to discourage car use. Finally, urban regeneration benefits local economies by attracting more investment, employment, innovation, and tourism. By stimulating the growth and development of urban areas, urban regeneration can create more income and opportunities for local businesses and workers. #UrbanRegeneration #Development #Communities #UKREiiF #ECF

Confident, inspiring & honest - the success of the SRL Precincts may very well depend on ‘certainty to the market’ of the Government’s intent, however today at the Property Council Victoria - Precincts and Cities Outlook our panel described a broader range of dependencies – many of which require the property sector to develop responses to. Tom Mackellar spoke about lessons learned for Lendlease development at Elephant and Castle in London, lessons that should be brought to SRL precinct thinking by industry; -      Blending social housing with full cost using ‘blind tenure’ design approaches. -      ‘Always on’ community engagement, and -      And ‘incubating’ independent retail businesses as though they were tech start-ups. Meredith Sussex AM had a long list of lessons learned from Fishermans Bend, many very hard-won, that again need to be repeated and brought into future precinct planning and development, although one of her astute observations really stuck out; “Urban character is developed from multiple decisions, large and small, by many people, public and private, over years and decades”. Vicinity's David Waldron’s insightful observation, albeit borrowed it’s not less true, that space + purpose = place. The challenge for precinct makers is to bring purpose and meaning genuinely to a ‘space’ to create a place. Lissa van Camp gave us one of the most positive and confidence-instilling overviews of the SRLA’s progress to date and recognised the shared challenges ahead for Government and the industry. Matthew Chun shed more light on the very exciting opportunity to leverage one of the CBD’s most valuable assets, open up the waterfront, and get stuck into the ‘main course’ of redeveloping Harbour Esplanade. However, Sarah Horsfield really stole the show with her research on the approval rates for high-profile precincts with recently completed Structure Plans. #cities #innovation #melbourne #property #infrastructure

Attending the PCA Residential Outlook gives both a sense of optimism and a reality check of the challenge ahead. We're in the midst of some of the most important housing policy making in decades, representing a shift that will have long lasting impact. "Cities are not museums". "Density done right" is the key. Well done to Schandel Fortu for moderating a panel of experts, each with a clear message. Ethos Urban

Great to be part of this discussion about alternative housing models, hosted by Rothelowman. As different models of housing, including mixed tenure, co-living and BTR are being delivered we need to keep sharing the learnings. We should be listening to developers, architects, building managers, asset managers and residents for what is important to get right. There are some valuable principles for the design of housing from the shared economy when trading off size of living spaces for more communal facilities and public amenity, in the right locations, to suit different stages of people’s lives.

🏡 KENT HOUSING GROUP CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS! ✨ Keith Owen and Dan Town are at the Kent Housing Group Conference at the Kent Event Centre today making sure OSG ARCHITECTURE LTD are part of the discussion on the challenges and opportunities facing the public and private housing sector in #Kent and #Medway today and into the future. Leader of Kent County Council, Roger Gough opened with the question ‘What can we do better?’ setting the tone for some interesting discussions to follow. The overarching message we have taken from the conference is the need for collaboration, sustainability, and a holistic approach to address the diverse challenges in housing development in Kent. Here are our Top 10 Key Takeaways from #KHGConference2024: 1. Focus on Health & Wellbeing for effective housing delivery. 2. Strategy for elderly - housing in communities for independent living. 3. Financial pressures are impacting local projects; housing affordability is a challenge. 4. Fire safety concerns in rural developments due to climate change; changes needed in urban design. 5. Collective thinking for sustainable infrastructure, with a focus on Lower Thames Crossing. 6. Better utilisation of community infrastructure for a zero-carbon future. 7. Developers urged to include healthcare facilities in plans. 8. Positive steps in environmental strides with BNG requirements, but concern over impact on availability and delivery of affordable sustainable accommodation. 9. New housing standards and updates are imminent to improve poor conditions in the private rental sector. 10. Consistent planning needs a county-wide vision amidst changes. Addressing challenges in funding, planner shortages, and prioritising infrastructure and affordable housing are key. Thanks to Kent Housing Group, Birketts LLP, Counties & Capital Consulting Ltd., Stantec and all the speakers and panelists who made the event so worthwhile. 👏 #KentHousingConference #housing #netzero #sustainabledevelopment #wellbeing #equalitydiversityinclusion #affordablehousing #collaboration #sustainability

🌍 Yesterday marked the 75th anniversary of World Town Planning Day, and to celebrate, I joined an early-morning webinar on "Delivering Housing Differently." Hosted by Dorset Young Planners as part of RTPI’s World Town Planning online programme, the session centred on innovative housing solutions in the UK and beyond. CEO of Redtale Holdings, Malcolm Curtis began by emphasising the importance of inclusive planning that considers everyone, not just direct stakeholders but the entire community impacted by developments. Next, we heard from Sam Goss from Barefoot Architects. He highlighted how codesign and cohousing go hand in hand. He advocated for car-free developments, which profoundly influence how we connect and spend our time. I asked the extent to which the changing climate is considered in the design process and Sam outlined the ways in which developers are now exploring sun shading, water runoff management, and permeable surfaces to face the upcoming climate challenges. Finally, Jake Heath from Niche Studio joined from Australia, discussing Victoria’s housing crisis and the role of small, secondary dwellings as flexible, affordable housing options. This raised some questions about the housing market and the risk of “Airbnbification” in Australia, prompting some further research on my part. It was a very interesting webinar and a privilege to hear from a wide range of people and backgrounds 🏡. #WorldTownPlanningDay #RTPI #HousingInnovation #CommunityFirst #ClimateResilientDesign

🚶♂️🚲🚆 How often do we consider transport when building new housing schemes? In the UK, many new developments are still being constructed on greenfield sites with minimal consideration for transport infrastructure. A quick search on Rightmove for new housing developments in South Wales showed that rail links are almost non-existent. Instead, descriptions emphasise proximity to city centres and major roads. The Plasdwr ‘Garden Village’ development in Cardiff, for instance, is a community of 7,000 homes with only a reserved space for light rail stations – if a line is ever built. This highlights a need for better integration of transport and housing to create sustainable, accessible communities. Let's push for more thoughtful planning that includes reliable transport options from the outset! 🌱🏡 #UrbanPlanning #SustainableDevelopment #TransportInfrastructure (Read our blog "Track and Field: Merging Transport and Land Planning" https://buff.ly/3yPKSPH )