Increasing Housing Supply Conference

Why attend?   

The conference is an opportunity to: 

Hear about the trends in increasing the supply of affordable housing and how housing associations have been addressing the unique challenges of the last few years.
Explore different types of developments, the evidence on them and how they’ve worked on the ground.
Discuss upcoming legislative changes and tell policy makers what needs to be considered for social housing providers in Scotland.
Understand current issues facing the sector and hear expert opinions.  
Network with other housing associations, co-operatives, and partner organisations
Learn from others and ask questions.

Date & venue

The conference will take place on Thursday 25 June 2025 at The Radisson Blu, Glasgow. The hotel offers a superb location in central Glasgow. Within walking distance of Glasgow Central Station and with Queen Street Station close by the hotel offers easy access by road or rail.

Is the conference for you?

The conference will be of interest to those involved in increasing the supply of social housing as attendees from the Scottish Government and the construction industry.  

It provides an unrivalled networking opportunity for anyone who provides development and related services to housing associations and co-operatives and their customers.  

Sustainability

Our vision for future SFHA events is to produce them to the highest quality while ensuring that they are sustainable and reduce our carbon footprint, where possible.

Ways you could help us reduce our carbon footprint at this event:

Take public transport, cycle or walk
- Did you know a train produces 0.07kg of CO2e per mile compared to a car which is 0.36kg or a short haul flight which is 0.44kg?
Download the conference app to save paper
Bring a refillable water bottle
Use recycling bins provided

Read our full sustainability policy here

Costs & how to book

Delegate rates start at £284 for SFHA members and £396 for non members.

BUY ONE GET ONE FREE! *  

We’re offering a discount: buy one ticket and another colleague can attend for free.

*Tickets must all be the same type and booked at the same time to receive the deal.

The discount will be automatically calculated on checkout. 

To book your place, use the buy tickets button.

SFHA Members login to see your discounted tickets

>> Please make sure you login to find all the SFHA member ticket options and discounts when booking below. Click here to register or login to access. <<

09:00 to 10:00

Registration

Registration will take place on the mezzanine floor of the venue.

10:00 to 10:15

Conference welcome

Rory Hughes, SFHA

Join us for the conference welcome in the main room.

10:15 to 11:15

Opening plenary: Re-booting the Affordable Housing Supply Programme

Professor Ken Gibb, University of Glasgow
Gordon MacRae, Shelter Scotland
Helen Shaw, Scottish Housing Regulator
Will Tyler-Greig, Scottish Government

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation funded CaCHE to examine how Government and partners might revitalise Housing to 2040, focusing on one immediate issue, re-booting the Affordable Housing Supply Programme. This session will explore if the system for funding Scotland’s affordable homes is functioning well or does it require constructive disruption to reduce current difficulties and instil a longer-term transformation? We will also look at what policy interventions might support development, what is working for developing housing associations and what is getting in the way?

11:15 Refreshments and networking

11:45 to 12:45

Workshop sessions Block A

A1 Women in Development

Gillian Laverty, Sanctuary Homes
Sarah Freel, McTaggart Construction
Chair: Kirsty Wells, WISH

We’ve teamed up with WISH to hear from women in development about their career experiences, from being dismissed on construction sites to overlooked in boardrooms. We’ll explore ongoing sexism, improvements, and what still needs to change. What support networks do women value, and how can SFHA foster a more diverse and inclusive sector?

A2 Buy, build, convert, renovate – innovative approaches to increasing supply

Emma Garry, Scottish Borders Housing Association
Brendan Fowler, Prospect Homes
Neil Wilson-Prior, Eildon Housing Association

This session aims to showcase the range of approaches that Housing Associations are taking to increasing supply – land led development; acquisitions; renovation, empty homes, conversions, and to suggest ways to support the widest range of development activity.

A3 Retaining skills in the Sector

Karen Shaw, West of Scotland Housing Association
Graham Harper, Consultant

As Housing Associations manage the competing priorities and challenges involved in developing new homes and managing existing stock – the pivot to retrofit - how do we ensure that we retain the skills of development professionals in the sector even if roles may change?

12:45 Lunch and Networking

13:30 to 14:30

Plenary: Planning that supports development

Dr Fiona Simpson, Scottish Government

As the UK moves toward more aggressive planning reforms, there’s increasing pressure on Scotland to adopt similar measures to address its housing crisis. Removing planning hurdles could help deliver housing more effectively. The Scottish Government is taking steps with a new housing planning hub to support authorities with expertise and workforce training. This session will explore challenges, opportunities, and whether easing land release rules could help accelerate housebuilding.

14:30 Comfort break

14:45 to 15:30

Closing panel: Positive partnerships within development

Fionna Kell, Homes for Scotland
Tricia Hill, Kingdom Housing Association
Chair: Nile Istephan

Cost pressures and delivery challenges across the affordable housing sector are making it harder than ever to build new homes in Scotland. The synergy among partners on projects is therefore key to problem solving and managing risk. We hear from Homes for Scotland, developing housing associations and contractors about what it means to work in partnership.

15:30 to 15:35

Conference close

We will hear the conference closing remarks.

Sponsors

Tricia Hill

Kingdom Housing Association

Tricia joined Kingdom in 2023 and is the Development and Sustainability Director for the Kingdom Group.

Tricia has over 15 years experience of leading large-scale mixed tenure and regeneration and development programmes predominantly on behalf of the City of Edinburgh Council and also for a national housing association.

As Development Director, Tricia is responsible for the delivery of Kingdom's ambitious new build housing programme for both social and mid market rent across Fife, Perth & Kinross, Clackmannanshire and Falkirk . Tricia is also responsible for realising Kingdom’s net zero ambitions across the business, including new and existing homes, offices and fleet delivering sustainable and wider community benefits for local communities.

Brendan Fowler

Prospect Community Housing

Brendan Fowler is the Director at Prospect Community Housing, where he is responsible for implementing the strategic objectives of the organisation. Brendan started at Prospect as Housing Manager in 2004 and became Prospect's Director in 2014. During his time at Prospect Brendan has been actively involved in a variety of external groups. He is currently vice-chair of Edinburgh’s Common Housing Register (EdIndex) and previously chaired the East Region Housing Management Forum and the Edinburgh Affordable Housing Partnership.

Karen Shaw

West of Scotland Housing Association

Karen started her career in housing over 30 years ago working for Renfrewshire Council and spent 20 years at East Dunbartonshire where she completed her diploma in Housing Studies. Over the years, she has gained experience in a wider range of roles across the housing sector including housing management, rent deposit scheme, partial stock transfer. Karen was pivotal to klick started the Council house building and regeneration programmes.

Karen spent 3-year period in the Construction industry before she joined West of Scotland Housing Association in 2019 as the Development Manager leading on project management for one of the busiest periods in the Association’s recent history. This included the delivery of an award-winning largest Passivhaus development in Scotland, Net Zero Projects and over 350 new affordable homes. Karen has been the Director of Development and Asset Management since Nov 24 and is look forward to leading the Association on growth, sustainability through our new Development and Asset Strategies and improving repairs and maintenance services to our customers.

Gordon McCrae

Shelter Scotland

Gordon's worked in politics and public affairs since 1999. He spent five years as the Head of Communications and Policy in Shelter Scotland, before moving on to the Humanist Society Scotland as Chief Executive in 2015 . Gordon returned to Shelter Scotland in 2019 to head up our campaigning and policy functions as we undertake a new phase of work to secure public and political support to stop homelessness, tackle the housing crisis and ensure everyone is able to access a safe home.

Professor Ken Gibb

University of Glasgow

Kenneth Gibb is a Professor of Housing Economics at the University of Glasgow where he is Director and Principal Investigator of the ESRC UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE). He co-leads the University’s homelessness initiative, he is a committee member of Shelter Scotland, and a board member and trustee of the Centre for Homelessness Impact.