HLINks Weekly: Housing, Health, and Social Care Latest News
HLINks Weekly: Housing, Health, and Social Care Latest News
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.
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!
Thank you for being part of our shared learning journey and for continuing to shape the conversation with us.
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Best wishes, The Housing LIN Team |
News Highlights
Bidding opens for the Social and Affordable Homes Programme 2026-36
Coinciding with last week's Housing LIN annual conference in Newcastle, Homes England and the Greater London Authority have formally announced the opening of the bidding process for their respective ten-year Social and Affordable Housing Programmes.
The 2026 Housing Design Awards deadline approaches!
Submissions for the 78th Housing Design Awards close this Friday, 6th March, celebrating excellence in HAPPI, Healthy Homes, and sustainable design.
Schemes can enter as completed or planned. Winners will be showcased in September, following judging and site visits in spring 2026.
Resource Roundup
Draft dementia strategy for Wales 2026 to 2036
The Welsh Government has published a draft Dementia Strategy (2026- 2036) for public consultation.
This Strategy aims to improve dementia care and support across Wales, providing an opportunity for people to engage early with the content of the document.
The deadline for the response is 6 April 2026.
Expert Insights
The Value of Landscape in Sheltered Housing: Why Meaningful Engagement Matters
In this new Housing LIN guest blog, Ujwala Fernandes, Regional Director at AtkinsReális, shares how well-designed landscapes can transform sheltered housing.
Read on to find out more about how engaging residents as co-creators ensures outdoor spaces support wellbeing, independence, and social connection.
AtkinsReális is proud to sponsor this year's Housing LIN Annual Conferences.
What else caught our interest...
- Age Irrelevance report: Rewriting the script of our age
- Almshouse Association case study: Kytson Cottages almshouses: Thermal upgrade project
- Barefoot architects blog: From SPAN to Cohousing: What Highsett Can Teach Us
- Bristol University Press book (for sale): Healthy Ageing: Social, Behavioural and Design Innovations in Research
- Centre for Ageing Better: The nation’s healthy life expectancy continues to decline significantly since the end of the pandemic
- Centre for Excellence in Universal Design tools: Universal Design Guidelines for Homes in Ireland
- ING THINK article: Mix of incentives and pressure is needed to unlock senior housing market in the Netherlands
- Inside Housing blog (subscription only): Funding alone will not fix the adaptations crisis
- Institute for Health Equity news: Wales - A Marmot Nation
- Journal on Ageing and Mental Health article: The impact of housing insecurity on the health and wellbeing of older adults: a qualitative evidence synthesis
- Karbon Homes: Multi-million pound Extra Care scheme at Seaham gets the green light from planners
- LABM news item: New homes at Extra Care Housing scheme to benefit from 24/7 support
- MHCLG funding announced: Over £50 million pumped into the fight to tackle homelessness
- NHS Confederation report: Accelerating estate solutions for neighbourhood health centre delivery
- PoliticsHome article: Why housing must sit at the heart of the government’s approach to health
- Southwark Council strategy: Older People’s Housing Strategy
Dates for your diary
HAPPI Hour webinars
We look forward to sharing exciting updates about our Spring/Summer HAPPI Hour webinar series commencing in April 2026.
In the meantime, you can now access the full recordings, slides, chat reports and feedback for all previous sessions, featuring diverse speakers and topics from dementia-friendly design and AI to community-led housing, almshouses and diversity.
Events supported by the Housing LIN
- TSA: International Technology Enabled Care Conference (ITEC), 16 – 17 March 2026
- TSA has offered up to 50 free Housing LIN two-day passes. Simply register your place here. When asked if you have been issued a booking code, please select YES. Then input the following code: ITEC2026/HousingLIN
- TSA has offered up to 50 free Housing LIN two-day passes. Simply register your place here. When asked if you have been issued a booking code, please select YES. Then input the following code: ITEC2026/HousingLIN
- Property Week: Later Living and Care Conference, 25 March 2026
What we're up to behind the scenes...
Want to know what we're working on?
From sector-leading research with universities to creating tools that shape organisational policy and practice, we’re driving innovation in the sector. Find out more!
We also offer tailored support to help you navigate today’s complex challenges, whether strategic or operational.
Let’s work together! Please email us at consultancy@housinglin.org.uk or explore our award-winning Research and Advisory Services to learn more.