Insight

Jimmy Black meets Bill Banks, retiring CEO of the multi award-winning Kingdom Group. Bill Banks looks relaxed, calm and entirely at home in his relatively modest office at Kingdom Housing Association. He’s a man at the height of his powers with a very solid track record of achievement. But Bil

Bill Banks is retiring as chief executive officer of Kingdom Group, but he still has plenty to say about Scottish housing, writes Jimmy Black. I interviewed Bill Banks in Glenrothes for our Housing Champions series, featuring Kingdom’s achievements in areas like employability, zero carbon home

Professor Ken Gibb reflects on two recent newspaper articles which discuss unaffordable homes, mortgage debt reliance and land value tax. In the last few weeks, two eminent broadsheet columnists coincidentally produced dovetailing pieces about the strategic need to remake housing policy. Will H

Housebuilding veteran John Muir shares his focus on the sector’s long-term resilience. This year is the 50th anniversary of Muir Homes building quality homes across Scotland. This landmark comes amidst rising energy prices and an industry bouncing back from the covid pandemic.

Policy and practice lead David Stewart looks at the Scottish Land Commission's work on land and housing, and land reuse proposals, that could support the necessary shift from greenfield to brownfield development.  NPF4 is highly significant. It sets a framework for land use and development in S

Janine Aitken, service lead for one of Simon Community Scotland's Men's Supported Accommodation Services in Glasgow, shares what she has learned in her first five months in the post. I have recently (approximately 5 months ago) taken up the post of Service Lead at Simon Community Scotland’s Me

The ongoing regeneration of Dalmarnock and the surrounding area has long fascinated Jimmy Black, both from a personal and professional point of view. He trails the latest episode of the Scottish Housing News Podcast and more.

UK homelessness expert Dr Beth Watts-Cobbe is a key author in the team that delivers the regular Crisis Homelessness Monitors and has a long-standing interest in effective altruism and its potential regarding policy and practice in the homelessness sector. The effective altruism movement seeks

Neil Clapperton, CEO at Lochalsh and Skye Housing Association, reflects on a day at An Crubh and a National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) Gaelic-flavoured Charrette. An Crubh, Gaelic for the hub or nave of a spoked wheel, reminded me of the Charrette planning model, as did our choice of “Open Sp

Scottish Housing News Podcast co-host Jimmy Black follows up his previous musings on the Passivhaus standard following a call from across the pond.

The Scottish Government's recent changes to the emergency rent freeze legislation have improved the position of private landlords but have also caused an imbalance in the rental market and raised questions about the government's long-term vision for the sector, writes Marcus Di Rollo. Private landlo

Steph Elliot continues the SFHA's monthly TECH column with an introduction to the Near Me feature now available to housing associations free of charge. Near Me is an internet platform that helps health and social care providers, local authorities and other 3rd party organisations offer vid

Jimmy Black reflects on the Passivhaus standard after a wide-ranging chat with Josiah Lockhart, CEO of Changeworks, the latest guest on the Scottish Housing News Podcast. Please don’t blame Josiah Lockhart, CEO of Changeworks, for what I write in this article. That would be far from fair, as h

As part of a series written by the Housing and Place Delivery Forum members reflecting on Scotland’s revised and soon-to-be-adopted fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4), Steven Tolson argues that planners will be judged on the outcomes they deliver and that real change will require

Stephen Pearson, chair of Financial Inclusion for Scotland, and Carolyn Sawers, chief executive of Corra, launch an initiative where people can help those most in need of support with energy costs.