At the start of the conference, Kate Henderson, NHF Chief Executive, spoke about how the sector has been given both the position and the platform to be ambitious about development and regeneration. Throughout the day, it was clear that our sector is rising to that challenge, despite significant pressures.

Paul Johnson, Provost of Queen’s College set out those pressures in our opening session. High inflation and global uncertainty have created a tough environment for housing providers. We also heard how collaboration across the sector can help mitigate some of those challenges, and about the importance of partnership between local authorities, housing associations, developers and investors in unlocking development.

Later in the morning, Ian Workman shared progress on the schemes Homes England is rolling out this year, including Continuous Market Engagement to support smaller providers. David O’Leary of the Home Builders Federation (HBF) also shared an update on the environment for their members.

In the afternoon, we looked at planning as an enabler of growth. Pooja Agarwal, Chief Executive of Public Practice, spoke about the challenges of recruiting into planning roles, driven in part by public perception, and highlighted the vital role planning plays in enabling growth. Chris Curtis MP echoed this sentiment, sharing his positive experience of growing up in a new town and the impact planners had on his life. His story reflected a theme throughout the day: that development is about shaping communities that support long-term wellbeing.

Our final session, on regeneration at scale, highlighted the need for long-term ambition. Alex Notay, Chief Executive of The Housing Forum, called for a much longer “decision‑making arc” when approaching regeneration. Setareh Neshati of Westminster City Council and Mel Barrett of Metropolitan Thames Valley shared positive examples of long-term, community-focused regeneration projects and how to keep the public and politicians supportive.

This conference underscored the continued pressures facing the sector. More importantly, it showed the ambition across our sector to work together to create more high-quality homes and thriving communities. We hope you found it inspiring and took away practical insights to support your own development and regeneration projects.