Building for the Future Webinar
26 June 2025
PlaceShapers allows social housing providers to think differently and build upon innovative ideas presented by other industry leaders.
As a newcomer to the social housing sector having been with Cornwall based association Coastline Housing for under two years, networking with experienced professionals can feel daunting. Wider discussions with PlaceShapers members have helped me to feel connected to a broader community of like-minded housing professionals, offering support, shared learning, and a sense of belonging beyond my local context. Cornwall’s distinct identity, rich traditions, cultural pride, and strong but disparate communities shape Coastline’s work, and our exclusive focus on Cornwall allows us to more deeply understand and try to meet the unique needs of our customers and communities.
The recent Government Spending Review appears to have given the confidence and certainty that the housing sector has been calling for. As social housing landlords, we look to build on the current housing offer and are not just interested in the arbitrary numbers of new homes. We are instead looking to build homes for the future that alleviate the housing, climate and cost-of-living crises, whilst being well integrated into our communities. By embedding sustainability and accessibility into design from the outset, we can ensure affordable housing meets current needs and supports future generations.
In the Building for the Futures webinar, part of PlaceShapers’ focus on physical place-shaping, we heard from Paul Read, Director of Sustainability and Investment at Magna Housing, and Christina McGill, Director of Social Impact and External Affairs at Habinteg, who shared how their organisations are future-proofing homes.
Paul Read emphasised the importance of community engagement in sustainable development, sharing a compelling case study of two Magna Housing tenants who initiated and supported the construction of eight new builds on the paddock behind their home. By building up the capability of Magna and focusing on scoping reductions (especially Scope 1), they were able to improve the quality of their buildings using Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) and generate social value. This allowed them to ‘get things right first time’, using urban designs which are net zero ready and taking a ‘fabric first’ approach. Now Magna have a pipeline of MMC category 1 and 2 sites, giving greater control over Scope 1 emissions by bringing construction to a factory level.
Christina McGill discussed accessibility within sustainable development, creating inclusive housing which in its nature is more sustainable. At Habinteg, 25% of all construction is wheelchair accessible, with aims to deliver homes to meet the needs of the population based on demographic drivers such as age and disability. Christina outlined the cost-benefit-analysis of inclusive homes, advocating for the M4(2) "Accessible and adaptable dwellings" standard as a national baseline. While balancing energy efficiency and retrofit costs can be challenging, Habinteg, like Magna Housing, is embedding accessibility and sustainability into the design process from the start. Again, much like Magna Housing, the social value and individual benefits to tenants, such as inclusion opportunities, higher disposable income from not having to self-fund disability adaptation works, and removing or reducing the need for healthcare, are their drivers for MMC.
At Coastline Housing, we have recently partnered with HACT to understand our social value, looking at both the traditional community investment and economic benefits of our services, but also within our construction and procurement processes. This is something I feel is a vastly increasing area of interest across the industry and also an area which can help to guide and drive decision-making on future-proofing homes. Coastline is an advocate for M4(3) homes and 25% of new homes must be M4(2) compliant in Cornwall under planning permissions. We remain open to MMC concepts, but the remoteness of Cornwall and limited suitability of our highway infrastructure networks have so far seemed to provide too much of a barrier.
PlaceShapers allows social housing providers to think differently and build upon innovative ideas presented by other industry leaders. Challenging and changing existing perceptions and sharing our customers’ experiences can lead to wider social change, with sustainability and inclusion underpinning the foundations for future-proofing our homes. In essence, we as landlords have a duty to build homes fit for the future, and from both Paul and Christina’s insightful discussions, I will be encouraging others to consider how they can follow a similar model to meet the national net zero targets and fully consider their tenants’ needs in the development of new homes.