Habinteg accessible housing summit brings sector together | Tenant news

Earlier this month, we hosted the Habinteg Housing Summit to bring together sector service providers and disabled people to discuss the drive for more accessible homes.

The event brought together MPs, campaigners and sector leaders all speaking about the accessible homes crisis and how we can tackle it.

Exploring challenges

Bringing together different people in the sector to provide a 360 degree view of the topic, the Summit explored the main challenges that pose a barrier to accessible housing

We wanted to uncover practical ideas for how these challenges can be addressed in order to produce a report that can be used as a roadmap to more accessible housing.

Ministerial support

A highlight of the event was Minister for Housing and Rough Sleeping, Eddie Hughes MP, discussing how he is working hand in hand with disability charities and disabled people to raise the bar on the accessibility of housing

Eddie opened the event with a keynote address, emphasising his strong support for Habinteg and the work we do and answered audience members’ questions.

First-hand experience

Another speaker at the event, was wheelchair user & Habinteg tenant Chris Hicken, who spoke about his experiences of living in an accessible home.

Chris, who has been a tenant for over 22 years, discussed the benefits of living in an wheelchair accessible bungalow and emphasised the importance of freedom to move around in your home.

“Without wheelchair accessible housing I don’t know where I’d be today. Let’s invest in the future now,” he said.

Expert panel

The summit had an excellent line-up for the panel, including sector specialists in architecture, social housing and housebuilding.

The panel was chaired by Habinteg CEO, Nick Apetroaie, and included:

• Sarah Thomas, CEO Catalyst Housing Ltd
• Nick Rogers, UK Design Director, Taylor Wimpey
• Amy Francis-Smith, celebrated architect and accessibility specialist
• Bairbre McKendrick, Access Officer at Leeds City Council.
• Jacquel Runnalls , Specialist Housing Occupational Therapist on the Wandsworth Regeneration Scheme & Inclusive Environments Specialist 

 

The panel also included Habinteg board member, Vanessa Dockerill, who is the Government’s Disability and Access Ambassador for private sector housing.

What next?

From architects discussing the design of an accessible home to disabled people discussing the benefits of living in one, the event opened up many talking points.

Eddie Hughes MP expressed support for our cause and has pledged to keep the issue on the agenda in the parliament.

In the meantime, we will produce a Summit report with our recommendations for a new roadmap for accessible housing and do what we’ve always done: campaign for accessible homes.

Keep checking our website’s Latest News page for post-event updates.