Lunch & Learn: Building as designed
Part of the Future Homes Standard Essentials Series
Date / Time:
Friday 29 May 2026, 1-2pm
What is the webinar about?
The shift to lower‑temperature, all‑electric heating systems under the Future Homes Standard means homes are far less tolerant of shortcomings in design, installation and commissioning. Having a good design alone doesn’t guarantee success. The importance of high-quality site delivery, exactly as designed, will be greater than ever before. Any weaknesses in fabric construction or building services installation and commissioning are more likely to be felt by residents in both their comfort and energy bills.
Getting the build right is reliant on effective processes as much as good design. Homes must be built exactly as designed, by a competent and well‑supervised workforce, with heating, electrical and ventilation systems installed by properly qualified contractors. Quality process must be in place to avoid unauthorised changes to fabric, heating or ventilation design. Defaulting to ‘custom & practice’, rather than following the design, can have a disproportionate impact on performance, comfort and customer satisfaction.
Join our panel of experts to find out how homebuilders, manufacturers and installers are collaborating to improve sector-wide competency, ensuring that homes are built and commissioned so they perform as intended.
Meet the Speakers
Host: Ross Holleron, Head of Homes and Construction at the Future Homes Hub
Ross Holleron is a net zero and construction specialist with a strong track record of shaping policy and delivering high‑impact projects across the built environment. He has held senior roles including Head of Building Research at Knauf Energy Solutions BE and Projects Director at the Zero Carbon Hub, where he helped drive the transition to low‑carbon housing.
Ross’s expertise centres on sustainable building, ensuring new homes are off‑gas, energy‑efficient, and zero‑carbon ready, and he continues to play a key role in the development of the Future Homes Standard.
Neil Macdonald, Principal Technical Specialist, based in NHBC’s Technical Research team.
Neil Macdonald helps to identify emerging risks and opportunities for NHBC, based on formative regulation, developing industry guidance, and other external factors. Neil also supports the development and maintenance of NHBC standards, leading on internal building services and low carbon technologies.
He has worked in the built-environment sector for over 20 years, previously fulfilling several technical roles at British Gas, and before joining NHBC was Technical Manager at The Heating & Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC) for 7 years.
David Robins, Director of Central Technical Services at Places for People
David first started in the construction industry within architectural practice in the 1980s and, for the past 25 years, has worked for housebuilders and developers as a Technical Manager and then Technical Director.
He has now been at Places for People for four years, working in a central role focused on standard house types, specification, and embodied carbon.
Debbie Haynes, Carbon Reduction Manager, OX Place (Oxford City Council)
With 18 years working in domestic energy including the Private Rented Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) roll out and Oxford's early energy retrofit agenda, Debbie now specialises in residential construction. Working alongside colleagues, she oversees the rollout of the carbon and energy related elements of design and construction for OX Place, Oxford City Council's wholly owned development company. This includes supporting and guiding on emerging and current environmental policy such as the Future Homes Standard.
She also manages a ground breaking energy quality assurance service across sites; collaborating with a range of specialists and building professionals to reduce the energy performance gap and improve environmental performance. Key areas of current engagement are heating (now primarily heat pumps), EV charging, building fabric, and ventilation with an eye on emerging low carbon and renewable technologies.
Matt Crawford, Head of Design and Technical Standards for Onward Homes
Matt has over 30 years’ experience in the housebuilding industry, starting his career in site management with major national developers before moving into technical roles.
For the past 20 years, he has specialised in delivering affordable housing and now works client-side at Onward Homes, one of the largest housing associations in the North West.
As Head of Design and Technical Standards, Matt oversees all new build schemes, ensuring thorough due diligence on contractors and land viability. Leading a team that includes clerk of works, he is responsible for maintaining quality and guiding projects from inception through to completion.