Скачать или смотреть Radical Housing Conference Scotland Part 1 Craig White

Summary of Craig White’s Presentation at the Radical Housing Conference Scotland

Craig White, CEO of Agile Homes, presented a vision for transforming the housing sector by integrating low-carbon, affordable homes with a regenerative agroforestry-based economic model. His presentation focused on the intersection of climate change, housing affordability, and rural economic development, offering a radical shift in how homes are built, financed, and integrated into communities.

Key Themes of the Presentation

1. The Need for a New Economic Model for Housing
• The traditional housebuilding industry is profit-driven, relying on land acquisition and high-margin development, making affordable housing economically unviable.
• Instead of purchasing land, Agile Homes advocates “unlocking” land through social value mechanisms, working with councils and local communities.
• The UK housing crisis is severe, with only half the required homes being built, and 40% of CO₂ emissions linked to the built environment.

2. Using Agroforestry to Drive a Local, Sustainable Housing Economy
• Agroforestry—the combination of agriculture and forestry—can create super-localised supply chains for timber, wheat straw, and other bio-based materials.
• This approach reduces embodied carbon, supports rural economies, and turns the built environment into a carbon sink rather than a carbon emitter.

3. Addressing the Three Challenges of Affordable Housing: Land, Labour, and Materials
• Land: Instead of buying land, Agile Homes works with councils, housing associations, and social enterprises to unlock underutilised land using social value metrics.
• Labour: The construction workforce is aging (average age 54), and recruitment is low. Agile Homes partners with prisons, ex-offenders, and young people not in education or training to create a new skills pipeline.
• Materials: Traditional construction materials are expensive and volatile due to global supply chain disruptions. Agile Homes promotes renewable, carbon-storing materials like timber, straw, hemp, and cellulose.

4. A Radical Shift in Financing: Monetizing Carbon & Social Value
• Traditional financing requires a 20% profit margin, making affordable homes unviable.
• Agile Homes developed a carbon and social value trading system, attracting corporate investment from companies looking to offset emissions.
• Example: A trade with a legal firm funded a £45,000 home for a Ukrainian refugee and her children, using social impact and carbon credits.

5. Scaling the Model Without Large Factories
• Rather than investing in large-scale factories (which often fail financially), Agile Homes uses a “flying factory” model—temporary, distributed manufacturing hubs that create social and economic impact in different regions.
• Example: Building homes inside prisons, training inmates in sustainable construction.

Case Studies & Real-World Applications
• Torbay Council: Built emergency housing for single mothers fleeing domestic abuse, using prison-built modular homes.
• Stonebridge Park, Bristol: Developed compact homes for rough sleepers with complex needs, using a steep 40-degree slope that traditional developers avoided.
• Frome town Centre: Converted an underutilised car park into 18 low-carbon homes.
• We Can Make, Bristol: Community-led housing initiative demonstrating super-local housing models.

Opportunities for Scotland
• Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) Using Bio-Based Materials
• Scotland has vast forestry resources, making it an ideal location for scaling timber-based carbon storage in housing.
• Aligning Policy & Funding Streams
• Scotland’s community-led housing sector is well-positioned, but financial viability remains a challenge. Agile Homes’ model provides an alternative funding mechanism.
• New Finance Mechanisms for Housing
• By monetizing carbon storage and social value, local councils and housing groups can access additional funding streams beyond traditional grants.

Conclusion

Craig White advocates restructuring the housing sector using a carbon-based financial model, super-localised materials, and social impact-driven labour strategies. His approach challenges conventional homebuilding economics and presents a scalable model for low-carbon, community-led housing.

Scotland, with its rich timber resources and progressive housing policies, could become a leader in sustainable, locally-driven affordable housing through this model. The next step is to bring stakeholders together at Radical Housing Conference Scotland Part 2 to explore how this can be implemented at scale.