In the November edition of Housebuilder magazine, Ed Lockhart, Chief Executive of the Future Homes Hub, reflects on the sector's progress towards more sustainable new homes since the establishment of the Hub in 2021.

Reflections on 5 years of the Future Homes Hub

Ed Lockhart reflects on five years of the Future Homes Hub. During this time new homes have become more sustainable in climate and environmental terms. However, wider economic conditions have been exceptionally challenging and viability of delivering homes is now severely constrained. The next phase must be about aligning government and industry behind the practical, scalable solutions needed to make delivery of sustainable high-quality homes and places viable.

The Hub was established as we emerged from the pandemic

The Future Homes Hub was incorporated on 20 October 2021.

At the time, climate and environmental issues were widely seen as the defining challenge facing homebuilding. Government was already introducing major policy changes, including the Future Homes Standard and Biodiversity Net Gain.

As we emerged from the pandemic, Neil Jefferson and I chaired the Future Homes Task Force which collectively produced the Future Homes Delivery Plan. The Hub was established to bring together industry, government and the wider value chain to turn that framework into reality.

New homes are fundamentally more environmentally sustainable

The new homes sector has made immense progress over the past five years working in partnership through the Hub:

The Future Homes Standard makes for more comfortable, higher quality homes with lower bills. The Standard will make new homes zero carbon in operation as the grid decarbonises but the real story is a consumer one. The Hub has worked with the Government, industry, suppliers, utilities, housing associations, valuers and lenders to help design the standard, and now to manage the risks and capture the benefits of implementation.

The New Homes Climate Transition Plan provides a shared pathway for reducing emissions over the longer term. The plan gives the sector a viable pathway and mechanism for aligning with government and other sectors’ plans.

The sector is preparing for “water smart” growth. Building on the Water Ready report in 2024, the new Water Smart Growth Board is working with government and the water sector to tackle short-term water constraints while preparing for longer-term pressures.

New homes are becoming positive for nature. Biodiversity Net Gain and the Homes for Nature programme are fundamentally changing the relationship between development and biodiversity to ensure new homes leave nature in a better condition.

The sector is working together in new ways. Homebuilders routinely share learning via the Hub, helping avoid duplication and accelerate progress. Collaboration across industry, government and the wider value chain has become the norm. The Future Homes CEO Council and Hub Board, chaired by David Thomas and now Jennie Daly, have played an important role in driving that culture.

Where new homes were previously criticised as being unsustainable, I increasingly hear the sector cited as an example for others to follow.

Wider economic change and viability constraints

While environmental progress has been substantial, however, the wider backdrop has been far more difficult than anyone anticipated in 2021.

Since 2022, the sector has faced a series of external shocks, including geopolitical instability, higher energy costs, rising interest rates, unexpected regulatory requirements, environmental constraints and infrastructure pressures. The Building Safety Act has had wide ranging implications for delivery in London. Since 2020, construction material costs have increased by nearly 40%.

Together, these factors have significantly affected housing investment and delivery with Zoopla research showing that building homes is viable in just 36% of England. The impact for smaller, often family run businesses has been particularly devastating. Just as the industry began to speak tentatively of recovery in early 2026, the Iran conflict created further uncertainty around energy costs.

None of these challenges featured in the original Future Homes Delivery Plan.

The next three to five years: viability, productivity and sustainability

While the government’s focus on housing delivery and planning reforms are helping to improve conditions, viability and affordability constraints seem set to continue. I believe the Hub’s next phase must therefore build on its experience in partnership working to help align the Government and industry behind practical, scalable solutions that improve the viability and productivity of delivering sustainable homes. The Hub is currently working to prioritise such opportunities including, in broad terms:

·      improving certainty and reducing delays across the planning and delivery process;

·      aligning housing pipelines with investment plans for water, wastewater, electricity and transport.

·      developing more consistent national approaches to design, placemaking and adoption;

·      creating scalable approaches that enable growth whilst improving water efficiency, biodiversity, flood resilience, overheating protection and green infrastructure.  

·      accelerating more efficient and standardised approaches to construction.

There will also be a shift towards preparing the sector for climate impacts already happening. The past three years were the three warmest ever recorded, and the Met Office says 2027 is "very likely" to replace 2024 as the warmest year on record.

Looking ahead, I believe success will be measured, not only in environmental improvements, but by how collectively we create viable conditions for delivering high-quality homes and places for the decades to come.

But we will only succeed if we focus on shared challenges so we look forward to working with you to prioritise our efforts to make new homes and the homebuilding sector fit for the future. Thank you to everyone who has given their time and expertise to the journey so far.

The Future Homes Hub Annual Conference will be held on 2^nd December at the QEII Centre in Westminster. Click here to find out more.

Read the full article online: Housebuilder November 2026 edition