Building Insights

James Parker, editor of Housebuilder and Developer, speaks to Chris Carr, who has run his family SME housebuilding company in Grimsby for many years, but has recently seen his industry profile going through the roof as President of the Federation of Master Builders. He is a key figure advising and lobbying Ministers on what needs to change to ensure that SMEs are able to deliver all of the Government and industry targets for housebuilding. He’s also a master of pragmatic, creative thinking to get over the major stumbling blocks such as those around planning. A podcast in association with the FMB.

In this episode of Builders’ Voices, James Parker speaks to Jeremy Gray, head of policy at the Federation of Master Builders. Jeremy discusses the key takeaways from the FMB’s 2023 House Builders Survey, a key snapshot of the shared challenges across the sector.

Sam Eden, director of the FMB’s London Hub, has been in touch with dozens of SME builders grappling with the new Ultra Low Emissions Zone in their day to day business. He tells James Parker why ULEZ could ruin plans to deliver the capital’s energy retrofit goals by penalising such firms, and how the FMB is pushing for an urgent rethink.

Alli Gay is managing director of an award-winning SME housebuilder in Bristol, CHI Homes, which focuses on producing high quality private homes.She harnessed her skills as a business consultant to found a housebuilding company with her partner 20 years ago, and has a strong desire to increase the reputation of the industry as well as increasing diversity within firms. She also explains how important the Federation of Master Builders is, both for her firm and through being a regional FMB board member.

Nic London founded high-end housebuilder N. London Construction in 2004, focusing on north London, as the name suggests! A former bricklayer, this qualified construction manager is a strong advocate for quality in housebuilding, and attracting a new generation of builders. He is a member of the Home Builders Group at the Federation of Master Builders, and has been a troubleshooter called in by local authorities to remedy sub-standard construction on a range of housing schemes.

Adrian Swan left David Wilson Homes, after a long stint with the firm, to found Swan Homes in Nottingham in 2009. He is a housebuilder who takes immense pride in the quality of the work his firm produces, embodied in his chairing the Home Builders Group at the Federation of Master Builders. James Parker, editor of Housebuilder & Developer, spoke to Adrian about his drives and challenges going forward in a revealing interview.

Kelly Worrall got the bug for construction in 2015 when she began renovating properties with her partner, who’s a builder. They enjoyed it so much that they set up a development company, NH construction, specialising in masonry and stonework in home improvements, with her husband being a trained stonemason. Kelly has had a successful career as a marketer, and formed Yorkshire Marketing Consultants in 2019, which soon began to focus on construction trades and home improvement firms. Her experience and interest in housebuilding has given her the inside knowledge to on marketing success in construction, particularly the benefits of using social media, and online advertising. She has some great insights for housebuilders on the do’s and don’ts of marketing your construction business.As online marketing, like social media itself, continues to evolve fast, keeping on top of it in a tough market can be challenging. Bearing that in mind, this Builder’s Voice is very much worth a listen. Thanks to the Federation of Master Builders for the collaboration on this podcast.

Builders' Voices is a new podcast which we think is pretty unique in the market. In 2021, netmagmedia, which publishes Housebuilder & Developer magazine, launched our Building Insights podcast to speak to key voices in the industry and delve into the big issues.The podcast has been a big success, including with our sponsors. Builder’s Voices is a new strand however, giving a rare platform for SME housebuilders to share their ideas and experiences.To bring these 'Builders' Voices' to you, the editorial team at Housebuilder & Developer magazine has collaborated with the Federation of Master Builders. The largest trade association in the UK construction industry, the FMB represents the interests of small and medium-sized building companies, and is committed to quality in UK housebuilding. In this episode, Jack Wooler, deputy editor of Housebuilder & Developer magazine, talks to Rob Bailey, MD and co-founder of Swallow Hill Homes, about life running a small firm in 2022.Swallow Hill is a small but highly regarded housebuilder based in Nottingham, and a member of the FMB. In this first episode, he really grabs the opportunity to share his thoughts on the business case for making a quality product, not just the cheapest product. However he also candidly expresses his worries on the current inflation storm hitting the industry.   Huge thanks to the Federation of Master Builders, who are working closely with us to bring you some of the best Builder’s Voices out there.

In association with VMZinc, this episode features Jonathan Lowy, operational marketing marketing manager at the company. Jon’s held several roles in 27+ years at VM, but maintains a really infectious enthusiasm for all things zinc. We explore how the material – the roof covering of choice in Paris in the mid 19th century – is now an increasingly popular specification on aesthetic and functional grounds for UK architects.

In March 2024 we hosted the third Building Insights LIVE round table, which was a multi-disciplinary discussion around the impact of the Building Safety Act & the Golden Thread on future construction.We brought together architects, developers, IT experts and product suppliers at the Building Centre in London, to identify the challenges and solutions for navigating the new regime for professionals. Creating safer high-risk buildings post-Grenfell means taking greater accountability, but with added professional risks for architects and contractors. The event explored these issues, as well as how product specification could be made more robust, and the standards that are needed. It was a key debate full of unique insights, and some of the highlights are presented in this special podcast.

Richard Banham, national key account manager, Bjelin UK Ltd, speaks to James Parker about how the company has promoted innovation in flooring for decades, and what makes their hardened flooring products innovative. They also discuss new products in the pipeline, and how receptive the UK market to innovations in flooring.

James Parker speaks to Tom Slater, who founded T2S Architecture during the pandemic and is driving the agenda around retrofit as beneficial for the urban context, developers’ business cases, and sustainability.

In this first episode of Building Insights in association with wood flooring innovator Bjelin UK, James Parker speaks to Simon Darbyshire, managing director of Bjelin UK. He explains how the firm has evolved from pioneering a method of installing wood flooring without using glue.

In the run-up to Futurebuild at London’s Excel (from 5-7 March) James Parker, editor of Architects’ Datafile and Housebuilder and Developer, speaks to Martin Hurn, event director at Futurebuild. Martin explains how, as part of its continued focus on realistic as well as sustainable solutions to construction industry challenges, this year the show’s spotlight is firmly on grappling with retrofit.

This is a special episode of Building Insights which captures some of the key highlights from our October 2023 industry round table, ‘Solutions for Stormwater Management.’ The sponsored event held at the Building Centre in London saw a multi-disciplinary group sharing vital knowledge on best practice for achieving SuDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems) in new housing. Chaired by James Parker, editor managing editor of Housebuilder and Developer and Architects’ Datafile, it was a well-timed gathering, with SuDS about to become a mandatory legal requirement in all new developments.

This episode of Building Insights (in association with Samsung Climate Solutions) features a genuinely inspiring UK talent in the low carbon heating sector. As business development manager at Samsung Climate Solutions, Aimee Holloran is accelerating heat pump installations and apprenticeships across the country, however she cut her teeth as a plumber, winning the Young Plumber of the Year Award in 2010. With gender diversity still a major challenge, she’s a powerful role model for any young woman considering plumbing as a career.

Getting a building fabric’s design up to the demands of a Passivhaus is all about meticulous attention to detail. However achieving an air-tight but breathable envelope that benefits both the occupants and the building need not be overly complicated – even in high-rises. James and Iain of Proctor explain all the ins and outs to James Parker.

In this episode of Building Insights, which is again sponsored by AkzoNobel, Laura Shadwell from netMAGmedia speaks to Duncan Lochhead, commercial sustainability manager at AkzoNobel. They explore how important air quality and VOCs are in the social housing sector, and best practice tips for specifying the increasing ranges of low-VOC paints.

Rita Singh is head of public affairs at Kingspan Insulation. She’s also a passionate advocate for sustainability and is key to the company’s efforts to roll out greener approaches across the organisation. She discusses with James Parker how a fabric first approach works in practice, why retrofit first should be the overriding aim, and how supply chain rigour is creating better products.

This episode of Building Insights, in association with Samsung Climate Solutions, we are joined by architectural designer and TV star Charlie Luxton, who looks at how our lower energy house designs will naturally be better places to live, and tackles head on some of the common myths about their ‘liveability.’