IN THIS ISSUE…  

New Directive – Proven Fire Resilient Timber Systems     |    HBF Housing Market Intelligence (HMI) Conference

    |    STA Marcomms Strategy 2024    |    Update your member profile     |    HSE Health work Conference    |     Open Doors – Careers in Construction

The STA Board of Directors has been debating at some length the introduction of a mandatory requirement for members to only supply structural timber systems that have proven fire resilience.

An explanation of what this means, as follows:

1. A structural timber system that is compliant with the make-up of timber frame tested as part of the STA Fire Research Pattern Book, Volume 1.
2. A structural timber system that has been assessed by a UKAS laboratory as being suitable and fit for purpose
3. A structural timber system that has been tested by the member to either BS476 or EN1365

This decision reflects the Government direction, under the Building Safety Act, to focus on the use of combustible structures which is likely to lead to more regulation that could impact our industry.  In response to this STA are taking the decision to pre-empt any regulation or legislation by introducing this policy.

STA will engage with all key stakeholder groups, such as Warranty Providers, Lenders and Insurers seeking their the full backing, enabling STA members to promote another key point of difference as they trade in this sector.

In order to ensure this action does not negatively impact the sector through unintended consequences, we will dedicate time at the STA Technical Conference in November through workshops to discuss any issues that may have the potential to inhibit trading.

We will report back following the Technical Conference.

Andrew Orriss attended the recent HMI conference and provides the following update and feedback for members.

“There was much discussion in the conference about the market trading conditions and the ‘chaos’ the Government has caused. Much of the vitriol was pointed towards planning and the lack of local housing plans, stating it was the worst it has ever been.  The housing minister took the opportunity to do her first election broadcast highlighting all the great plans she has to help house building, to groans of disbelief from the floor. 

It was noted that since planning permissions granted are at an all-time low (in the first 6 months of 2023 down 20% from 2022).  The time lag between permission and starts will result in a continued market slowing regardless of upswings in activity due to interest rates correcting themselves (although back to 4% or 5% levels not the 1% we have become used to) and against increased income/affordability and increases in consumer confidence.

Also noted was that the “need” buyers will still drive demand whereas the “want” buyers will likely join the “wait and see” segment of the buyer market, holding back on buying decisions as the political landscape may improve affordability.

We were guided to not believe in popular press stories about housing market collapse as the real data suggests only a 5% reduction in selling process YOY.”

STA will be publishing the next Market Analysis report in December, which will once again lean heavily on the this content.

Please see link to download the latest market report from HBF which I hope you find useful.

Following the agreement of a recent proposal put to the Board of STA, we have commissioned support from a specialist industry strategist to carry out a strategic review and then help us pull together a Communication Strategy for 2024.

We have a series of marketing initiatives, implemented across multiple platforms over the last Year and there is a desire to have a better understanding of the outcomes and results of the current plan to ascertain if it is delivering the right results and contributing to the STA’s overall performance.

From that understanding plus a deeper review of the market alongside the marketing team and marcomms steering group, a new cost effective and results driven marketing strategy will be developed with clear objectives to focus on and clear KPI’s to achieve.

As part of the review, we will be sending out a short survey to all members by email in the next few days – please assist us by completing it.

This approach will enable the STA to have clarity on the priority goals and audiences, whilst helping the marketing team to focus on delivering results against agreed targets. We will update you on the output in due course.

With the impending updating of the member area to the new format of the website, it is important that you update your member profile by the 27th October 2023. Please support us in this transition to the new site by updating as required, so to avoid we transporting over out of date member content.

HSE is holding their Health and Work Conference on 8th November. The event is online, free to attend and is aimed at duty holders or those with responsibility for health and safety in their organisation. Delegates will hear from HSE’s health and work experts to build their knowledge and understanding of their responsibilities as duty holders, as well as ask questions and contribute their ideas on how we can all work better together to better prevent harm cause by work-related ill health.

Open Doors takes visitors behind the scenes to showcase the fantastic range of careers available in construction. Next year’s event will take place from Monday 18 – Saturday 23 March 2024 with over 200 tour locations and experiences registering now to take part across Great Britain. The construction sites participating will range from houses to skyscrapers, and visitor opportunities will also include a wide range of virtual and online events, whilst manufacturing and training facilities will open their doors to demonstrate the off-site roles across the sector.

With over 30 events registered, the organisers are encouraging businesses across the supply chain to sign up and look at how they could get involved. Click the link below to find out more.

https://opendoors.construction/sign-up/

Structural Timber Association Ltd
The e-Centre, Cooperage Way Business Village, Alloa, FK10 3LP
Tel: 01259 272140  |  Fax: 01259 272141
Email: office@structuraltimber.co.uk
www.structuraltimber.co.uk

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