Being a housing consortium provides CHIC with a unique perspective to gain insight into the direction of the UK housing market. Changing the face of housing delivery through MMC, particularly full off-site manufacture, has been on CHIC’s agenda for many years. CHIC was amongst the few early adopters to deliver a procured solution. Having a close relationship with both housing and construction professionals means that CHIC can develop long-term contracts that accommodate the needs of a changing market.
The recent statement by Secretary of State for Housing Robert Jenrick, announcing the 2021-2026 £11.5bn Affordable Housing Programme, sets out a series of ambitious housebuilding targets to help improve the efficiency of the UK development sector.
Organisations seeking Grant and looking to sign strategic partnership deals with Homes England to build large numbers of affordable homes will have to commit to using modern methods of construction (MMC) to build at least 25% of their pipeline.
In anticipation of increased demand and a requirement to produce more cost-effective homes, faster, and to increase the number of BuildSmart options available to members, CHIC tendered for 3 new modular providers in June. With the OJEU compliant procurement completed in September.
Our new BuildSmart solution comprises of three contracts for the manufacture, supply and erection of new modular (volumetric) homes with options for all site works through and turnkey contracts. We look forward to working with Elements Europe, Modular AR and Impact Modular to change the face of housing delivery.
READ THE FULL REPORT HERE
In Other News
CHIC had its 10th anniversary during 2019/20. We had a very strong year supporting a growing membership and working with a wider set of supply chain partners. Some great outcomes were achieved despite the unexpected circumstances we all experienced from the coronavirus pandemic. Please see the link below to download our Annual Report, which we hope you will find of interest.
DOWNLOAD OUR ANNUAL REPORT
Our updated legal services framework went live in July. We have since received a lot of interest and many of our members have been using the framework to receive expert advice and cost savings across 3 legal workstream lots. Some of the housing specialist law firms on our framework include:
Clarke Willmott’s national team of highly experienced, sector focused lawyers is one of the largest in the UK. Their team acts for both national and regional registered providers and provides specialist advice across a comprehensive range of legal areas. They were re-appointed to the CHIC framework and can assist members with all matters relating to lot 1 Corporate, Governance and Finance and lot 2 Housing and Asset Management.
Key contacts are listed below. For more information about our social housing expertise click here.
Corporate, Governance and Finance
Team email: !CHICCorpFin@clarkewillmott.com
Housing and Asset Management
Team email: housing.management@clarkewillmott.com
EMW is a leading regional commercial law firm with offices in Milton Keynes, London and Gatwick. Their real estate department includes sector teams specialising in social housing and residential development, as well as expert planning and construction lawyers. EMW is instructed by local and national housing associations, as well as private residential developers and local authorities, and has the experience to deal with any business needs that CHIC’s members may have. EMW strives to be an integral part of their clients’ businesses and keeps its fingers on the pulse of the social housing world with subscriptions to Inside Housing (including the podcast) and attendance at housing conferences, including hosting their own annual conference. Their lawyers are not just technical lawyers, but people with a genuine interest in the world of social housing and development.
Key contact:
Josh Clark - Associate – Development and Social Housing
Email: Josh.clark@emwllp.com
Direct dial: 0345 074 2391
Devonshires has specialised in providing legal advice to the social housing sector since the early 1970s. Recognised by the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners directories as one of the top 2 social housing sector law firms, they are at the forefront of current issues impacting the social housing industry. They advise clients on the full range of legal issues and are appointed to all 3 lots of the CHIC framework.
Key contacts are:
Lot 1 - Corporate, Governance & Finance
Julian Barker
020 7880 4365
julian.barker@devonshires.co.uk
Lot 2 - Housing & Asset Management
Neil Lawlor
020 7880 4273
neil.lawlor@devonshires.co.uk
Lot 3 - Property & Development
Jonathan Corris
020 7880 4305
jonathan.corris@devonshires.co.uk
