Supplying Timber Issue 9 0 - Autumn 2025 - Flipbook - Page 7
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Image: David
Hopkins speaking at
TDUK's UK Timber
Design Conference.
UK 'must embrace timber construction'
says TDUK conference
Built environment leaders delivered
builds in England, compared to 95% in
‘Multiple Storey, Maximum Timber
a uni昀椀ed message – ‘timber can
Scotland.”
(MultiMax)’ system developed by
meet climate and housing goals
now’ – at the UK Timber Design
Conference in London.
“The science is established – timber
homes are much lower-carbon than
their masonry equivalents, o昀昀site
Sustainable developers, architects,
timber construction is much more
engineers and construction experts
e昀케cient and resilient to the skills gap,
are calling on the Government to
and the timber approach is safe, cost-
supercharge its housing goals by
competitive, and sustainable while
backing timber in construction – fully
bringing health and wellbeing bene昀椀ts.
recognising it as a scalable, lowcarbon solution, already supported by
millions in private investment and with
the existing capacity to build more
today.
WeCanMake and Waugh Thistleton
Architects, and Agile Homes seeks to
revolutionise the approach to in昀椀ll and
otherwise commercially unviable sites
to kick o昀昀 a new wave of low-carbon
a昀昀ordable housing throughout our
cities.
Other sessions at the conference
included an embrace of the retro昀椀t
“The construction industry is
increasingly embracing the use of
timber frame and mass-timber – with
more than 30% of the major house
builders now owning a timber frame
opportunities and hard work being
done to bring more ‘timber on top’
solutions to market, in an Optoppen
panel discussion led by Whitby Wood,
manufacturing innovation with
With the Government having set forth
factory – but we can achieve so much
an ambitious plan to boost a昀昀ordable
more. The positive messaging and
housing, unlock land, store carbon,
enthusiasm at the conference shows
and streamline planning, Timber
we are at a real in昀氀ection point for the
get the UK building more today.
Development UK (TDUK) believes
use of timber in the UK.”
David continued: “Increasing the use
now is the time to connect these
schemes to the Timber in Construction
Roadmap, and fully embrace the use
of timber in construction.
Award-winning SME developers such
as Human Nature (behind the ecoregeneration of the Phoenix industrial
site in Lewes), Citu (developers of
Deeside Timberframe, along with the
policy levers Government can use to
of timber in construction is a triple win
for Government and industry – acting
as a form of carbon capture and
storage, helping to grow our forests,
and creating better homes for people
“Timber is already reshaping the
Leeds' Climate Innovation District),
UK built environment as a supply
and Greencore Homes (builders of
chain able to deliver on our housing
zero-carbon Spring昀椀eld Meadows in
"We are pleased to see a growing
and climate targets in construction,
Oxfordshire) highlighted timber as
movement pushing for the use of
but we are yet to fully unlock this
a transformative tool in their work
timber in construction – we know there
opportunity.” said David Hopkins,
to create more impactful places by
is so much potential we can achieve
TDUK's Chief Executive. “Right now,
embracing timber.
today.”
Meanwhile the community focused
timberdevelopment.uk
timber is used in around 20% of new
SUPPLYING TIMBER
7
and planet.
AUTUMN 2025
