HLINks Weekly: 2 March 2026

Last week’s Housing LIN Conference at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Newcastle was a tremendous success. It brought powerful insights on ageing, housing, health and community.

Inspiring keynotes by the University of Stirling’s Professor Vikki McCall and the Royal Society for Public Health CEO, William Roberts, set the tone, while the launch of the SHAPE initiative (led by Housing LIN and funded by the Vivensa Foundation) highlighted bold ambitions for age-friendly places.

Thank you to all speakers, sponsors and delegates driving this momentum forward. 

We look forward to sharing a full event overview, speaker slides and official photos, but in the meantime, read more about the event here (opens new window). 

Also in today's newsletter:

• The 2026 Housing Design Awards deadline approaches, celebrating excellence in HAPPI, Healthy Homes and sustainable design.
• Homes England and the Greater London Authority open bidding for the Social and Affordable Homes Programme 2026-36.
• The Welsh Government publishes the draft dementia strategy for Wales 2026 to 2036.
• New Housing LIN guest blog by AtkinsReális' Ujwala Fernandes on the value of resident engagement in sheltered housing.
• And lots more that have caught our interest!