Housing 2025 was back at Manchester Central from 24-26 June, bringing the UK housing sector together under one roof to collaborate and shape the future of the sector.
This year’s event came quickly off the back of the Government’s Spending Review on 11 June. While there was a sense of positivity for what had been announced, there was still lots of discussion about what needs to happen next.
Tuesday marked the first day of the event and two of our team members – Account Manager, Chelsea Yearsley and Junior Account Manager, Harriett Bolton travelled to Manchester from their home cities of Liverpool and Leeds to see what Housing 2025 had to offer.
Chelsea – the beginning of important conversations
This was my first Housing event since starting with See Media in March and it was a perfect experience to expand my knowledge and network with key figures in the sector.
I started the day at the Unlock Net Zero Stage to hear about delivering warm and healthy homes and private sector investment for retrofit. Both panels addressed the urgent need to support customers living in unfit homes and a £90bn funding gap for social retrofit.
There was plenty of conversation around housing providers needing to join forces to navigate policy and funding, but before that, teams in individual organisations need to be more joined up.
But what happens when landlords and housing providers do improve their stock? One case study customer had received retrofit work to her home but was faced with increased rent, which meant she was unable to afford to live there.
The talk I was most looking forward to was on The Fringe festival stage, hosted by Inside Housing’s Katharine Swindells; ‘In Conversation with Dan Hewitt: ITV Journalist behind investigative series Trapped: Britain’s housing scandal.’
Dan spoke about his work uncovering the horrific conditions that too many are living in across the UK, having to intervene when a single mother with three young children were facing their first night on the streets and his ignorance as a middle-class white male that institutions don’t always have people’s best interests at heart.
He addressed questions such as ‘how he was able to get results from providers with one email, when housing lawyers and tenants are failing?’.
The short answer? Because he had the power to expose them in front of millions of viewers.
But why should that make his voice more powerful than anyone else, particularly, it would seem, ethnic minority customers?
I also had the chance to meet with clients to discuss upcoming PR priorities and, as ever, it was a great chance to spend time with fellow team members.
Harriett and I ended the day at Inside Housing’s drinks reception, where it was lovely to properly put faces to email addresses. I’m looking forward to building on these relationships and seeing how the conversations that were had develop into meaningful action across the sector.
Harriett – facing challenges with action and change
This was my second time travelling to Manchester for Housing. While the exhibition area was as lively as ever, the event did feel quieter than last year.
Even after a quick walk around the exhibition floor, I noticed a big change in the number of exhibitors promoting AI powered housing solutions and software, as well as an increase in the number of panel discussions surrounding AI, a true reflection of the growth of the technology.
I attended some interesting panel discussions on accessible housing and net zero, which will be important to my work with clients over the coming months. However, it was particularly powerful to hear from Daniel Hewitt, as he started the discussion by saying how appalled he was about the state of the housing situation in our country.
Later in the day, I was discussing the panel with a journalist and mentioned that I often fall guilty of becoming desensitised to some of the situations facing people living in social housing in the UK, as I speak about it every day.
To hear Dan reflect on situations and people that he met who were living in conditions “you wouldn’t leave an animal in”, has reminded me why it’s important to highlight the positive work that many HA’s do, to set an example for change and continue to push for further investment into the sector. Dan’s insight was impactful and interesting and I look forward to seeing how much change will be taking place over the next 12 months.
All in all, it was a productive and interesting start to Housing 2025! Keep an eye on our LinkedIn page to hear more about our key takeaways from the event, as Managing Director, Stuart, will be reflecting on his time at the event soon.
