Conference looks beyond bricks and mortar issues of building communities

They were attending a conference called More bricks than mortar held to discuss the issues of hitting the government’s target of building 300,000 new homes every year.

The event in Stamford was hosted by house builder Larkfleet Group and its chief executive Karl Hick said: ““Housing is more than a numbers game.

“Building and developing is not just about housing, but about creating communities in which people want to live.”

Cllr Matthew Lee, leader of South Kesteven District Council, said: “There’s more to creating a sustainable community than building houses and providing a mini-supermarket and a doctors’ surgery. We need to work with small and medium sized builders to deliver more homes and we need to provide jobs, social facilities, arts and culture – all the things that make a real community.”

Other speakers included Fionnuala Lennon of the government agency Homes England, and Ashley Dunseath, of design consultancy LDA Design.

Specific issues tackled included future transport needs, the prevention of flooding and the challenges of integrating services such as health, social care, education and power supply into future plans.

Mr Hick said: “These are complex issues and there are no easy answers – but I hope this event has helped to move things forward.”