Back in June, we hosted a filmed roundtable event with Place North West to discuss how we can unlock the potential of places, people and partnerships to deliver real, sustainable change in some of our most challenged housing estates and places.

We invited several housing association chief executives and representatives from the investment sector to take part in what we anticipated would be a lively and insightful conversation.

The event took place during the CIH Conference, just hours after Homes England’s announcement that it would expand its Affordable Housing Programme to include estate regeneration. Naturally this became the focus of the discussion provoking a range of reactions and opinion around the table.

Over the next hour the group discussed the implications and impacts of the policy shift, assessing the opportunities it might bring as well as some of the potential shortfalls. As we had hoped, the event proved to be a catalyst for insightful discussion and passionate debate amongst the contributors.

Following the event, our CEO David Smith-Milne said, “Today’s announcement from Homes England is without doubt a significant one and an encouraging step in the right direction, but not long overdue. What was clear from today’s discussion is the need for greater collaboration and partnership between the public and private sectors if we are to deliver the real, sustainable change that everyone in the room today so desperately want to achieve.”

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See and hear the highlights of the discussion