The Save Construction Initiative (SCI) recently brought together professionals from across housing, construction, planning and regeneration for its Housing Community Summit fringe event, ‘Accelerating Regeneration – Turning Challenge into Opportunity’, hosted at OH ME OH MY in Liverpool.
The well-attended event created a forum for open discussion around some of the challenges facing regeneration and placemaking, and importantly, how the industry can work collaboratively to find practical pathways through the bureaucracy and complexities that can prevent ambitious regeneration projects from moving forward.
From unlocking sites to building stronger communities
The event began with presentations exploring three important areas of regeneration: unlocking challenging sites, integrating development with existing communities and buildings, and addressing the skills needed to deliver regeneration successfully.
SCI was pleased to welcome event sponsors John McAuliffe of McAuliffe Group, alongside long-term SCI supporters Ed Carroll of ELEV8 Property Group and Richard Coffey of F&T-Terrix, who shared their experience and perspectives across these themes.
Their presentations helped set the scene for a wider discussion about what successful regeneration requires in practice – not simply delivering new development, but overcoming barriers, responding to the needs of existing places and communities, and ensuring the industry has the skills and capacity required to deliver long-term change.
Moving the regeneration conversation beyond buzzwords
A panel discussion then brought together expertise from across the public, private and housing sectors.
Rather than relying on familiar industry buzzwords, the discussion sought to explore the realities of delivering regeneration and identify meaningful actions that can help projects progress.
The breadth of experience represented on the panel highlighted the importance of bringing different parts of the industry into the same room. Regeneration rarely sits within the remit of one organisation or sector alone; it requires collaboration between developers, housing providers, planners, local and regional authorities, consultants, contractors and the communities affected by development.
Creating space for collaboration
The strong attendance at the event demonstrated both the importance of these conversations and the appetite across the industry to find solutions to the challenges surrounding regeneration and placemaking.
For SCI, creating forums where people can share experience, challenge established thinking and build relationships is an important part of helping the industry move from discussion towards action.
You can watch our highlights video below:
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