Academics, students, public sector organisations and practitioners discussed the challenges facing Britain’s housing sector after the General Election at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU).
The event, called Housing: Beyond the Election, was organised by DMU’s Centre for Comparative Housing Research (CCHR) and the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) East Midlands Board.
Key note speeches included Melanie Rees, of the CIH discussing policy changes affecting the housing sector, David Ireland of the Building and Social Housing Foundation (BSHF) highlighting innovative community-led initiatives from around the globe and Gail Sykes of Buckles Solicitors LLP, providing her well renowned housing law update.
Rising housing costs, the large shortfall of affordable housing and the government’s announcement to extend the right-to-buy scheme to housing associations were core themes emerging from the speeches and the Q&A sessions.
The conference was introduced by Professor Jo Richardson, Director of CCHR and Michael Bruce, Chair of the CIH East Midlands Board. Earlier this year the two organisations arranged for the DMU campus to host the East Midlands Housing Relay, part of a nationwide Homes for Britain series of events to highlight the challenge faced by people who cannot find affordable homes.
Prof Richardson said: “This is the second event this year that CCHR have hosted with support from the Chartered Institute of Housing East Midlands board.
"Approximately 90 delegates have been to DMU today to take part in a conference debate on the key issues for the housing sector following the general election 2015. CCHR takes pride in working with the professional body in the region, and with local employers, students and graduates, not just in our teaching, but also our research and consultancy – the success of this conference has been a testament to that.”
The CCHR runs a number of part time and distance learning courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level using the latest research to inform practice. Visit www.dmu.ac.uk/cchr for more information.
Posted on Thursday 11 June 2015