David Rowsell
managing director for Kier Construction London & Thames Valley
"With change comes the opportunity to work together and build lasting communities. Kier is partnering with local authorities to deliver thousands of homes, and we believe that discussions like these are crucial in addressing the housing crisis."
The vital need for decent and affordable housing means we are at a tipping point. Rising costs, constrained council budgets, and an ever-growing demand for quality homes are just some of the challenges the sector is facing.
This is compounded by a shortage of skilled workers and disruptions to supply chain availability, both of which risk delaying projects and increasing costs.
There is a growing call for contractors to have specialist input earlier on in the procurement process when cost plans are being drawn up, instead of only getting involved at stage 3+.
Unfortunately, the reality is we still see schemes coming to us late in the process – sometimes overdesigned and therefore not deliverable to budget.
While they may be visually impressive, these schemes often fall short on delivering value for money for the client, resulting in costly redesigns and wasted time.
Engaging contractors earlier would help avoid these inefficiencies and unlock significant cost savings.
Amid the challenges, opportunities are emerging too.
The government has set an ambitious target to build 1.5 million new homes by the end of this Parliament, alongside proposed changes to planning policy and infrastructure designation. £2bn of grant funding was also announced to deliver up to 18,000 new social and affordable homes, highlighting widespread agreement that there is a critical need to deliver high-quality homes fit for future generations.
But, how can local authorities achieve this while grappling with the challenge of maintaining their existing stock?
In February 2025, I was joined by public sector clients and consultants as we shared our thoughts and discussed how the industry should adapt its approach to unlock residential delivery across the local authority landscape.
A few of my key takeaways from our discussions, included:
1. Preparing for the long-term – The solution lies in constructing more sustainable and healthy buildings. This way, we build resilience in housing stock for the future and prevent issues, such as what we’re facing today, where the stock isn’t fit for purpose.
2. Early engagement – Building homes fit for the future requires earlier engagement with contractor partners to ensure sustainable solutions can be developed and budgets are managed with delivery in mind. Strong partnerships and early conversations are needed between local authorities, contractors, and developers if we are we are to truly deliver the 1.5m homes target the government intends to achieve.
3. A holistic view – There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution for how we define value for money as what works well in one local authority may not in another. Attitudes must be challenged and conversations need to be transparent from day one.
4. Taking ownership – Emma Osmundsen, Ealing’s assistant director of housing development & regeneration, sums it up : “We have the right people in this room to make a difference. If we unite our efforts, we can drive and deliver real change.” Once people see effective partnerships in action, others will be inspired to follow. The opportunity to do more together, in a different way, to achieve genuinely better outcomes has never been greater.
5. Learning from other sectors – Sharing information and expertise is the first meaningful step towards change. We should be open to private sector delivery partners as they can provide fresh perspectives and independent oversight. We recently found this during the delivery of 142 new homes at MacFarlane Place – find out more.
At Kier, our extensive in-house design and engineering capability and experience means we can help local authorities deliver much-needed housing in efficient and cost-effective ways.
Our design and engineering business includes specialist mechanical and electrical engineering teams, ground and temporary work as well as specialist modern methods and digital construction teams.
By bringing these end-to-end capabilities together, we can quickly advise clients on optimal solutions to meet their needs now and in the future.
Read more about our roundtable: Getting it done: working together to deliver London's housing