Dan Germann, Managing Director of Durkan Regen, explains that, by taking a longer-term approach to regenerating social housing, local authorities and housing associations can get maximum value from their partnerships with experienced private sector specialists.

The Government’s Social and Affordable Homes Programme and its commitment to a long-term approach, backed by a significant boost to grant funding, is promising. But the devil is in the detail – and the delivery.

Get this right and we can collectively transform the regeneration of social housing. Get it wrong and we risk a once in a generation opportunity to not just build hundreds of thousands of new, high quality social and affordable homes, but also to invest – for the long term – in regenerating those that already exist.

When it comes to the latter, there is much to do – and Government’s recent consultation on the Decent Homes Standard (DHS) has recognised this, emphasising the need to address ‘systemic issues such as damp and mould in a more comprehensive way.’

But of course, resolving such ingrained challenges requires an all-encompassing approach to regeneration, and we’re not quite there yet. So, what’s the issue?

The procurement challenge

In short, a fragmented approach to funding projects has led to a siloed procurement model. This is hampering the ability of the sector to deliver maximum value through its public private partnerships and achieve its collective ambition to overcome issues such as damp and mould and deliver homes that are fit for the future, in every sense.

It is hoped that the Procurement Act 2023, which came into effect in February this year, will help and it’s certainly a positive step. But further consideration is needed around grants and the funding that local authorities and housing associations can access.

Current ringfenced funding streams for retrofit and regeneration work have resulted in a pattern of procurement that sees specialist contractors delivering a particular stream of work in line with a specific grant fund. This may drive a race to the bottom within single fractured and competitive frameworks that, while sometimes delivering low-cost solutions, result in siloes and short-termism.

Why a holistic approach works

A longer-term, holistic approach to regeneration can, in my view, ultimately yield better results and value. Despite damp and mould, for example, being a well-recognised issue, maintenance solutions are often reactive and fail to address the root cause of the damp. As such, the problem re-occurs, maintenance teams return, and residents remain at risk.

By contrast, we have seen first-hand the positive impact that can be achieved when the public and private sectors take a collective, holistic approach to regeneration, addressing the root cause of issues instead of patching over them.

An example is our work with L&Q. This partnership is a 15-year decarbonisation framework, where we have a broad scope and can bring our full range of specialist capabilities to bear in a coordinated approach, designed to address challenges at scale.

As part of this decarbonisation partnership, we are retrofitting internal wall insulation in Edwardian and Victorian properties, as well as fitting fully refurbished kitchens and bathrooms. But the partnership approach also gives us the scope to identify and remediate further issues such as damp and mould.

This not only delivers on decarbonisation and brings these historic homes up to modern, energy-efficient standards, but it also provides future proofing, with the properties unlikely to require any additional works for upwards of 25 years.

There are opportunities beyond the work itself too, that speak to the true meaning of regeneration, in its broadest sense.

The visibility that our team gets through long-term partnerships allows us to plan training programmes and secure buy-in from established supply chain partners. This creates opportunities for young people and the wider community, such as the skills boot camps we are delivering to help people explore careers and opportunities within the regeneration sector.

And of course, with long-term visibility comes the confidence and ability to really build strong relationships with residents and the wider community and invest in the future. Through one framework, for example, by 2026 we will have invested over £2.4m in social value activities across three years. We recognise that regeneration can be a disruptive process, but building close local ties and relationships and growing talent locally can encourage timely delivery, promote efficiency and continue to unlock opportunities for genuine, wholesale regeneration.

Completing the puzzle

When thinking about the long-term future of social housing stock, promises of significant funding and a renewed set of consultations are certainly important pieces of the puzzle. However, this puzzle can only be completed with a long-term and holistic plan of delivery that promotes future proofing and social value through partnership working.

In announcing its plan for a decade of renewal for social and affordable housing, the Government issued a call to arms for organisations to step-up. I am hopeful that the outcome of the DHS and public procurement consultations will further lay the groundwork for a holistic approach to regeneration.

In the meantime, we are not only ready to step-up, but step-up in the right way to provide long-term results through genuine partnerships with housing associations and local authorities. I, for one, hope the approach to public procurement can be a more holistic one, and that all parts of the puzzle will fit perfectly together. If so, the outlook for social housing stock has great promise and potential.