2025 is the year of driving action and change in the UK social housing sector, and it begins with the New Homes in New Ways Summit in february.
For two days, Housing Festival and Building Centre host an event in central London, featuring an industry leading panel of speakers. We are pleased to announce the headline speakers for day 1 and day 2.
Day 1 - 12th February.
Lord Moylan, Hon FRIBA, Conservative Peer, House of Lords
Daniel Moylan is a Conservative peer and Opposition Front Bench spokesman on Transport. He has been involved in London and national politics since the early 1990s, being at various times a councillor in Kensington and Chelsea, an officer of London Councils, a co-founder and co-Chairman of Urban Design London (a non-profit-making association of planning, design and transport professionals) and Deputy Chairman of Transport for London. He is chair of the Built Environment Committee, a cross-party group of House of Lords members considering policy related to housing, planning, transport and infrastructure. Lord Moylan chaired the House of Lords inquiry into the future of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) for housing in January 2024.
Tom Copley, Deputy Mayor of London for Housing and Residential Development
Tom Copley became Deputy Mayor of London for Housing and ResidentialDevelopment in March 2020 and oversees the Mayor’s two affordable homesprogrammes, including ‘Building Council Homes for Londoners’ – the first-everCity Hall initiative dedicated to council homebuilding. Before becoming aDeputy Mayor, Tom was a London Assembly London-wide List Member foreight years, serving as Chair of the Assembly’s housing committee and as LabourGroup housing spokesperson. On the Assembly he has raised concerns about thelack of housing supply across all tenures, rents and conditions in the privaterented sector and the increase in rough sleeping.
Gaynor Tenant, Founder and chair of the Offsite Alliance
Gaynor Tennant is Founder and Chair of the Offsite Alliance, and is passionateabout her cause to reform industry, update policy, and promote the behaviouraland cultural changes needed to achieve this. Gaynor’s experience at DfMAspecialist Modularize, has given her a thorough understanding of the moderndemands upon the UK’s construction sector, and helped her to lead the OffsiteAlliance’s powerful collaboration of a diverse set of members in driving realindustry transformation.
Lord Best OBE, Independent crossbencher, House of Lords
Lord Richard Best is an independent crossbencher in the House of Lords,specialising in housing matters. He has chaired and been a member of a numberof Lords’ Select Committees. Currently, he is co-chairing the APPG on Housingand Care for Older People. He was Chief Executive of the National HousingFederation for 15 years and Chief Executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundationfor 18 years. He has been the President of the Local Government Association andchaired Commissions for Westminster, Brent, Hull, Devon and the LGA. He is anHon. Fellow RIBA, Hon. Member RTPI and Vice President TCPA.’
Alexandra Notay, Expert on housing, placemaking and ESG
Alexandra Notay is an internationally recognised expert on housing,placemaking and ESG. She has 20 years’ strategic advisory and investmentexperience having worked extensively across four continents. In August 2024Alex took over the chair of the Radix Big Tent Housing Commission from DameKate Barker and was the lead author on the first report: ‘Beyond the PermaCrisis– delivering 1000 homes a day’. Until July 2024 she was Placemaking andInvestment Director at Thriving Investments (formerly PfP Capital), the fund andasset management arm of Places for People Group, overseeing a UK-wideresidential strategy. A published author and government advisor Alex ispassionate about enabling tangible social impact through innovation andcollaboration.
