Industry News 5


Platform joins Homes for Nature Campaign to champion wildlife friendly new homes


A


Midlands based housing association, Platform Housing Group, is proud to announce its commitment to the Homes


for Nature initiative, an industry leading campaign developed by the Future Homes Hub. Tis bold, voluntary pledge aims to embed


wildlife supportive features, such as bird nesting bricks or boxes and hedgehog highways, as standard in all new planning applications from September 2024 running through to at least 2030, with annual progress reports. As part of this scheme, Platform will integrate at


least one bird nesting brick or box per new home, alongside hedgehog highways connecting gardens and green spaces. Platform’s ambitions also extend beyond the requirements of the pledge with further action and measures that demonstrate its long term commitment to biodiversity. Tis includes new biodiversity training and workshops helping the


social landlord to shape its ambitious new strategic approach to biodiversity. Where feasible it will also be installing supplementary green features on its new developments such as bat roosts, insect bricks, nature friendly sustainable drainage systems and pollinator friendly landscaping to further enhance biodiversity. Homes for Nature was established to


complement the existing Biodiversity Net Gain regulations, which mandate a minimum 10% enhancement in biodiversity. Te campaign represents a collective industry response to declining wildlife populations, especially species like swiſts and hedgehogs. With more than 28 major homebuilders already signed up – jointly responsible for building more than 100,000 homes annually – it represents a cornerstone effort to install a minimum of 300,000 bird nesting features across the UK in the coming years.


As a member of the Future Homes Hub, Platform


will also collaborate closely with organisations such as the RSPB, Action for Swiſts, Hedgehog Street and the NHBC, supporting the development of technical and homeowner guidance to ensure effective and meaningful implementation.


Women and Manual Trades and Procure Plus support a new initiative empowering women into housing maintenance careers


Women and Manual Trades (WaMT) and Procure Plus are proud to support the ‘City & Guilds Women’s Maintenance Programme’– a new initiative opening doors for women in housing maintenance. In collaboration with Build Salford, Frameworks


Social Enterprise CIC, and Salix Homes, and funded by the City & Guilds Foundation, the programme provides female residents of housing associations with practical training and the tools to access skilled, local employment. Te bespoke programme supports seven women


through eight days of intensive off-the-job training over two weeks, followed by a four-day immersive work experience placement. Developed in direct consultation with


housing associations, the curriculum focuses on essential, in-demand maintenance skills, ensuring participants gain practical, career ready experience. Procure Plus Holdings and Women and


Manual Trades (WaMT), part of Procure Plus’s subsidiary charity, have provided Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to all participants, supporting their learning during the course and work placements. Te initiative is being delivered as a pilot, with the aim of developing a scalable model that WaMT


can roll out more widely to support more women into skilled trades careers. Procure Plus is committed to maximising social


value, ensuring procurement delivers real benefits for communities, creating pathways into work, and addressing skills gaps in housing maintenance.


Housing Management & Maintenance October/November 2025


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32