New foundation launched to bring regional character back to British housebuilding

Posted on: 8 June, 2026

The University of the Built Environment and The King’s Foundation have launched a new initiative to help create the walkable, characterful neighbourhoods people most want to live in.

The Regional Building Foundation (RBF) will establish 14 regional forums across the UK, bringing together landowners, housebuilders, planners, designers, lenders and other built environment professionals to improve the quality of new development and create places rooted in local character.

Need for mixed-use communities

The initiative is the culmination of a government-supported, two-year Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) between the two organisations. Research undertaken during the project found that many of the vibrant, mixed-use communities people value most are rarely being delivered through modern development and are increasingly only available second-hand – in towns and villages built before the modern housebuilding model took hold.

Ben Bolgar, Executive Director for Projects at The King’s Foundation, said:

“At The King’s Foundation we are dedicated to creating sustainable, walkable communities which place people, the planet and green space at the heart of development. We are delighted that The Regional Building Foundation has been launched, which inspires real hope for the future of housebuilding and for society as a whole.”

Registered as a Community Interest Company, the RBF brings together the key players in the housebuilding process, including landowners, Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) housebuilders, planners, designers, lenders and other professionals, to work within a regionally defined, collaborative framework.

King Charles III’s model town, Poundbury

Its flagship research report, Reimagining Place Building: Advancing Sustainable, Inclusive, and Locally Anchored Developments in the UK, sets out a system architecture for place building and examines how the approach can drive meaningful improvements across health, community cohesion and sustainability.

Professor Ashley Wheaton, Vice-Chancellor at the University of the Built Environment, said:

“Through our research we have developed a deep understanding of exactly what a successful place building system requires, one that can be adopted across the UK. It is a bold and innovative approach which reaches beyond the institutional logics that have historically shaped modern housebuilding in this country.

“It is vitally important that we disrupt and challenge established norms if we are to deliver lasting and meaningful change. As we contemplate the considerable volume of new homes, and new towns, due to be developed over the coming decades, this work feels particularly timely and, indeed, essential.”

Mr Bolgar added:

“To accept the status quo of zoning, where we build isolated business parks, retail areas, schools and housing estates that are not integrated into our communities, is to accept failure on a generational scale.

“The stakes are extremely high, especially as the next generation prepares to shoulder unprecedented public expenditure alongside the pressures of an ageing population.

“The need for change is now. We must start building the places where people want to live.”

How the Regional Building Foundation works

The RBF operates across four core areas of activity:

• Networking: building a national place-building ecosystem through 14 regional forums that connect the people and organisations creating new communities across the country.
• Educating: sharing the knowledge to build better places through a comprehensive Knowledge Hub grounded in place-building principles and designed as a practical resource for practitioners.
• Enabling: translating ambition into delivery through expert insight, workshops and hands-on support for development projects.
• Innovation: pioneering new tools, design approaches and delivery models that make high-quality place building more achievable and scalable.

The benefits that better places deliver

Grounded in the principles of place building, the RBF has been established to help deliver:

• Walkable neighbourhoods that support physical and mental health, reduce car dependency and lessen environmental impact.
• Strong local centres and high streets where shops, services and community facilities are accessible on foot.
• Mixed-use communities where homes sit alongside retail, workspace, health, education and community infrastructure, creating places that function as well as they look.
• Better access to nature, with green space, tree canopy, waterways and natural habitats integrated from the outset, supporting wellbeing, air quality and ecological resilience.
• Stronger local identity and heritage, delivered by regional builders working with local materials and design traditions, creating places that are proudly of where they are and more likely to be valued and maintained over time.
• Better local economic opportunities, with regional housebuilders more likely to employ locally, source materials nearby and generate lasting economic value within their communities.

A national roll-out

Over the next 12 to 18 months, the RBF will launch all 14 Regional Forums, beginning in the Hampshire Basin in September 2026, followed by London and the Thames Valley and then Northern England. Each forum will draw on the Lord-Lieutenant network to convene leading regional landowners, SME housebuilders, planners, designers, lenders and professionals to explore place-building opportunities in their area.

The RBF is now inviting landowners, SME housebuilders, planners, designers, lenders and built environment professionals to join as members, gaining early access to the regional forums, the Knowledge Hub and a growing national network shaping how new places are built.

To become a member, register for a forum or read the full Reimagining Place Building report, visit www.regionalbuilding.org.

The full 14 regions are: London and the Thames Valley, South West England, Hampshire Basin, Northern Ireland, Northern England, the Pennines and adjacent areas, Eastern England, the Welsh Borderland, Wales, Scotland, Central England, East Anglia, Bristol and Gloucestershire, and the Wealden District.