CHC One Big Conference 2025: Our Place

As Wales heads towards a pivotal election, the role of social housing has never been more important. Wales is our place. It’s the communities we work with, the homes we look after, and the people we support to live well in their homes.

This conference brings together professionals from across the housing sector—development professionals shaping the future, asset managers ensuring homes remain safe and sustainable, and tenant support teams making a real difference in people’s lives.

Housing plays a vital role in building a fairer, more prosperous Wales, and as professionals in the sector, we drive lasting change for the people who depend on us.

Together, we will celebrate the sector’s vital role in Wales today and the future, recognising the positive impact it makes, the opportunities ahead, and the challenges we are overcoming together. By building on innovation and best practices, we will continue to drive meaningful progress in an evolving political landscape.

Accommodation

Please note CHC will not be arranging hotel room bookings. However, we have secured an allocation of rooms at discounted rates at the Metropole.

To book your rooms, please call the Metropole on 01597 823 700 and quote the reference G:2203.

Day 1 - Thursday 3 July

8.45am Registration, networking and exhibition viewing

09.30am Introduction to Day One - Chair’s Welcome - Sian Lloyd

09.40am Welcome and Scene Setting: Looking ahead to the 2026 Senedd elections: What does this mean for 'our place'?

10.10am Keynote: What does a socially cohesive Wales look like?
Emeka Forbes, Head of Cohesion, /together

10.40am Panel session: How can we drive positive change and resilience in our communities in the face of social cohesion challenges?

Confirmed panellists
Gerraint Oakley, Chair, Community Housing Cymru
Alicja Zalesinska, Chief Executive, Tai Pawb

11.10am Coffee Break/Exhibition Viewing/Networking

11.50am Workshops:

1) Placemaking and Pace – can they go hand in hand?
Jen Heal, Design Commission for Wales

In this participatory workshop, the Design Commission for Wales will explore the opportunities, challenges and benefits of a placemaking approach to housing and how this can fit into an accelerated programme of housing delivery. We will cover the importance of building in placemaking considerations from the very beginning of a development to avoid unnecessary delay, build in long lasting value and meet the needs of future residents.

2) The Net Zero Hwb
Menna Lewis, Welsh Zero Carbon Hwb

This session will provide an update on the Net Zero Hwb and allow you to share your suggestions for improvement. It will reinforce the importance of collaboration and working together across sectors, as well as sharing best (and not so) best practices.

3) Health and housing collaboration
Dan Bowers and Owain Jones, University of South Wales

In this workshop, the University of South Wales will share the work they did with Linc Cymru (Pobl Group) on the reintegration of extra care tenants post covid and talk through the 5 key priorities for research in health and housing that have emerged from a recent housing focused consensus event:

• Thriving as a function of your community and housing
• Evidencing housing as a precursor to health outcomes
• Technology acceptance in social housing - particularly around retrofit
• Systems thinking, bringing health and housing together e.g. healthy housing alliance in Cwm Taf Morganwg UHB
• Adaptations - physical needs now and in the future
• You will also be hearing about the training they have developed to help housing colleagues and how housing associations can access the research skills available at USW.

4) Talking about homes: helping you become a better communicator
Natalie Tate, Talking about Homes, JRF

The way we talk about homes matters if we want people to get behind our solutions.

Most people are concerned about the shortage of decent and affordable homes and support the broad idea that we need to build more homes. Yet we often face opposition when making the case directly to communities for homes to be built in their own locality.

Become a better communicator by joining Natalie Tate to gather practical guidance and tips to help you:

• Establish common ground and give people a reason to care
• Win hearts and minds by showing why new homes are needed
• Share a vision of the benefits of genuinely affordable homes and strong communities

12.50pm Lunch/Networking/Exhibition Viewing

2.00pm Panel: Green skills

2.45pm Workshops:

1) Behavioural Change: Transforming procurement practices to deliver procurement reform
Jackie Leonard (CHIC) and Carl Thomas (Welsh Government)

This workshop aims to shake off the myths and misperceptions around public-sector procurement and reveal its true power as a strategic lever for delivering value and maximizing well-being outcomes for our communities in Wales.

We will start by tackling some of the common misconceptions around procurement, including why “procurement” often feels like a blocker rather than an enabler. We will then imagine the chaos of a world without procurement. Finally, we will discuss how socially responsible procurement can unlock value by reducing barriers for SMEs, maximising local job creation, championing sustainability and fair work, and promoting cultural inclusivity.


2) The Net Zero Hwb
Kate Jenkins and Julian Brooks, Welsh Zero Carbon Hwb

This session will provide an update on the Net Zero Hwb and allow you to share your suggestions for improvement. It will reinforce the importance of collaboration and working together across sectors, as well as sharing best (and not so) best practices.

3) Growth for Good and Blaenau Gwent Flourish and Thrive
Valleys to Coast, Tai Calon and SamKat

Hear the latest on these innovative projects about land use, community engagement and sustainability

4) Tenant engagement in decarbonisation

4.10pm Keynote: How society is built, the people it leaves behind, and what we can do about it.
Dr Faiza Shaheen

4.40pm End of Day 1 - Chair’s reflections

5.00pm Drinks reception and Dinner

Day 2 - Friday 4 July

8.45am Registration, networking and exhibition viewing

09.30am Introduction to Day Two - Chair’s Welcome - Sian Lloyd

09.40am Keynote: Reflections and takeaways from the Affordable Homes Taskforce
Lee Waters MS

In November 2024, Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government Jane Bryant MS established the Affordable Homes Taskforce to expedite the delivery of homes within the Government’s current build programme and make recommendations to streamline the delivery of more homes for social rent in the long term.

Lee Waters MS, formerly deputy minister for climate change and lead of the taskforce, will join us to talk through the findings, recommendations and what they mean for housing associations.

10.10am Panel session

Confirmed panellists:

• Caroline O'Flaherty, Hugh James
• Craig Sparrow, ClwydAlyn Housing
• Gemma Clissett, Lovell
• Councillor Andrea Lewis

10.40am Coffee Break/Exhibition Viewing/Networking

11.10am Workshops

1) Building at pace
Hugh James and Welsh Government

2) Harnessing Procurement for Decarbonisation and Social Value in Welsh Social Housing
Barcud Shared Services and Merthyr Valleys Homes

Procurement is a vital tool for driving forward decarbonisation and delivering social value within the Welsh social housing sector. This session, Barcud Shared Services will explore how housing associations can use procurement strategically to meet Net Zero targets, support local economies and generate wider community benefits. It will also examine how the Procurement Act 2023 supports these ambitions, offering greater flexibility and clearer mandates to prioritise social and environmental outcomes.

3) Trivallis' journey to transforming the housing management model and building a ‘team around the tenant’

4) Tai Ffres; an innovative, alternative housing pathway for young people

Tai Ffres is a youth housing service by United Welsh and Llamau where young people are offered a genuinely affordable home, with support if they want it. This is a bespoke and innovative service for those who do not meet the threshold for homelessness services, or where traditional supported accommodation services would not be appropriate.

In this workshop, you will learn about:

● The roadmap to ending youth homelessness in Wales and young people’s views on the forthcoming homelessness legislation.
● The origin and operations of Tai Ffres
● Insights gathered by Cardiff University from young people on the impact Tai Ffres the services have had.
● How insights are being used to develop further and tailor services.

12.10pm Lunch/Exhibition Viewing/Networking

1.10pm Breaking Barriers, Building Futures - A Whole System Approach to Ending Homelessness
Amy Varle

Amy is an incredibly knowledgeable and enthusiastic advocate for homeless people, having been homeless herself as a teenager.

Following on from her research into alternative housing options and innovative techniques being used in other parts of the world, Amy began passionately advocating for a ‘Housing First’ led approach towards homelessness in Britain. Sponsored by the National Housing Federation, she then published the in-depth strategy document ‘Social Property Investment: Pioneering Strategies for 21st Century Homelessness Prevention and Response’, sharing it with key policy makers including the Prime Minister and receiving positive attention from leading homelessness and social justice advocates such as the Big Issue and Amnesty International.

To date, Amy has directly provided homelessness solutions to over 1,000 individuals and 25 million savings following a 20/21 pilot evaluation.

1.50pm Workshops

1) Prisoners building homes
Sophie Baker

Prisones Building Homes (PBH) is an award-winning innovative programme which brings together the public and private sector to unlock land to deliver affordable, quality, low carbon, sustainable homes, while also providing job opportunities for prisoners to enable them to turn their lives around and reduce reoffending.

In this workshop, Sophie Baker, PBH Programme Manager, will talk through how it works and how your organisation can get involved, whether you are a public sector landowner looking to deliver housing or a housebuilder interested in working with
prisoners.

2) Addressing overcrowding via loft conversion
LoftPro and Taff Housing

Recognising overcrowding as a key problem in their homes, Taff Housing recently embarked on a loft conversion program with Loft Pro to not only improve the quality of life for their tenants, but also enable families to remain living locally.
Hear about the experiences of both Taff Housing and Loft Pro on this project, including priorities, outcomes and lessons learned.

3) Culturally Appropriate Accommodation - There and Back Again

There and Back Again is a community interest company that holds roles for the Senedd's Cross Party Group for Gypsies and Travellers. This session will provide an open and honest conversation about the needs and experiences of this marginalised group, as well as ongoing work with Tai Pawb to pilot more appropriate accommodation.

4) Cartrefi Hydrogen

The Cartrefi Hydrogen Homes project is a UK first, exploring how hydrogen could be used to heat our homes in the future.

15.00pm Closing keynote - Colin Jackson

Colin Jackson CBE is more than just a name in British athletics - he's a legend. Known worldwide for his remarkable hurdling career, Colin's accolades include two Olympic silver medals and two World Championship titles.

Passionate about raising awareness, he co-founded the Go Dad Run campaign for prostate cancer and served as Race Director for the Red Bull: Wings for Life events. He has also significantly contributed to LGBTQ+ representation in sports.

Having grown up on a Cardiff council estate, in 2018 he was featured in an episode of the BBC programme "Britain's Home Truths", where he looked at the history of UK council housing - from the 1920s Homes for Heroes to the Right to Buy scheme in the 1980s.

15.40pm Chair’s reflections and conference close