South West summit addresses key topics in housing & construction

A major event for the South West construction industry brought together 150 industry leaders and professionals to shine a light on major challenges facing the sector.

Attendees gathered at the Future Skills Centre in Exeter for the Constructing Excellence South West Construction and Housing Summit and participated in an exclusive one-day event.

In true Constructing Excellence South West (CESW) style the agenda was jam-packed. The day kickstarted with a speech from Chair of the Great South West, Karl Tucker, who highlighted the enterprise’s ambitions to lead and influence economic growth, job creation, and prosperity across Devon, Plymouth, Somerset, and Torbay.

A series of panellists then took centre stage as attention turned to critical matters impacting the industry including ongoing environmental issues, leadership within construction, the supply chain and procurement processes, the Building Safety Act, housing challenges – namely planning permission, offsite and building regulations – as well as acquiring new skills.

As a cross-sector, cross-supply chain member-led organisation, CESW has a keen focus on creating opportunities for like-minded professionals to work more collaboratively so a different approach was adopted for this year’s annual conference. Attendees were given the chance to discuss every topic with their peers and ask each panel a series of questions, completely transforming the summit into an engaging and collaborative open forum.

Kevin Harris, CEO of Constructing Excellence South West, said: “It’s not often that so many people from across the South West Construction industry are together in one room, so we knew we needed to make the most of this opportunity. We switched up the format of the summit to make sure everyone could get involved in the discussions taking place throughout the day.

“We’ve recorded everything that was mentioned during the summit and will be using these findings to create exclusive best practice content that will be shared more widely with our members.

“The feedback we’ve received from those who attended has been incredible and I look forward to seeing what the next few months have in store as we continue to look at how we can bring the region together to continue sharing their knowledge, experience, and examples of best practice.”

Charged with connecting industry professionals to shape the future of housing and construction practices, CESW is a member-led organisation that exists to produce a better-built environment. To find out more information about how you can get more involved, visit: https://constructingexcellencesw.org.uk/