With a theme of “The future is Here”, The Echelon Conference on October 9 was well attended by organisations across all facets of social housing. Operated by Echelon Improvement Partnerships (EIP), it is focused on delivering training and sharing best practice and industry knowledge within the social housing sector, bringing together housing providers, contractors, suppliers and industry bodies.
Of particular interest was the panel discussion on the evolving role of the Building Safety Regulator, given the experiences of clients and contractors alike on the delays affecting the Gateway Two process. Cliff Woodhouse, Business Development Director design build facades, commented “confidence in the new regulatory process has been undermined by a number of issues, so it was reassuring that the panel highlighted two areas in particular we believe are critical to success – ensuring the demonstrable competency of those selected to tender for fire safety works and the client’s competency to manage the process”.
Aside from addressing the industry challenges, the event raised a considerable sum of money for the Herts Young Homeless charity.