Architect and TV presenter George Clarke has been an ambassador of UK Construction Week since its inception in 2015. As the event celebrates its 10th anniversary at Birmingham’s NEC from September 30 to October 2, he reflects on the show’s history - and what’s needed to secure a bright future for the industry.

UK Construction Week is a key event in the diary for architect, television presenter, lecturer and writer George Clarke.

An ambassador of the event since its inception in 2015, he will be attending the 2025 show - which is taking place at Birmingham’s NEC from 30 September to 2 October - as it celebrates its 10^th anniversary

This year’s event will focus on the major themes shaping the industry’s future - from policy and skills to sustainability and innovation.

“UKCW has always led the debate and been ahead of the curve, and this year promises to be no exception,” said Clarke. “The roles of MMC and AI are increasing, but as an industry it’s vital that we don’t take our eyes off the issues of the skills gap and mental health - both of which will be discussed in Birmingham.

“With my background, I’m most excited and interested in all things housing - from a discussion on delivering affordable, sustainable homes at scale on the Main Stage, to the myriad talks on the Housing Stage - on affordable modular housing solutions, solving the housing crisis, planning reform - the list goes on!

“This year’s show theme is ‘where decisions are made’, and that’s very much what UKCW is all about – face-to-face discussions and deals; you can’t beat real world interaction.”

Over the last 10 years of UKCW, the concept of ‘home’ has evolved dramatically - from pandemic-era flexibility to climate resilience. But what does Clarke believe the next decade of UK homes should look like?

“Future Homes Standard,” he said. “We must push UK housing to help us on the road to net zero. Home heating is a massive part of UK home emissions - yes, there is a lot of carbon in the construction of homes, but there is so much more carbon used in the lifespan of a home.”

Housing is a key priority the government, with ambitions to see 1.5m new homes developed. But when it comes to reforms in planning, land use or funding to unlock real change, Clarke says there’s much more work to be done. 

“Planning reform is desperately needed and the government has committed to that,” he said. “But we need it fast. We need to free up planners from becoming bogged down in small-scale planning applications.

“That means new ‘permitted development rights’. We need to improve design standards in UK housing. I’m not sure if there is a clear plan for the estates and villages of the future. We need to create a new generation of innovative and net zero carbon new towns.

“We need to maximise our brownfield sites and free up areas of ‘green belt’ land that really shouldn’t be categorised as green belt. Not all green belt land is particularly green and could be used for quality housing.

“The government really needs to address the massive affordability crisis too. The housing crisis has gone on for far too long, so we need a 30-year strategy to build at least 100,000 genuinely affordable homes for social rent to replace the massive council housing stock we have lost over the last 40 years.”

UKCW has also turned the spotlight on modern methods of construction (MMC) for many years. As an advocate, Clarke says there are still barriers to its mainstream adoption, including capital investment.

“Modern methods of construction are fantastic and exciting, but it needs a huge amount of capital investment and research and development to make innovative changes,” he explained.

“MMC can work well in lots of government projects such as schools, prisons and hospitals and the government is backing this. With housing we really need to improve the quality of mass new build home developments. Whether MMC can help with that remains to be seen.”

In the decade since UK Construction Week’s inception there has been much change in the industry, but Clarke believes a change in government has brought the biggest shift.

“We needed a change and reset in the construction industry, and we needed to get a lot of confidence back,” said Clarke. “Of course, it’s been tough - the construction industry has and always will have its challenges - but I think the change of government was much needed. They now need to work with us to deliver!”

In terms of the sector’s future, Clarke believes getting more young people into the industry remains a key challenge.

“I’m a big ambassador for apprenticeships but recruiting and retaining apprentices is not easy at the moment - 50% of all apprentices don’t complete their apprenticeships and that is a big problem the entire industry needs to come together to address,” he added.

He says other challenges include creating a steady and stable stream of work, avoiding a boom and bust construction economy, government support to give industry a long-term plan and a radical Future Homes Standard to “transform UK housing”.

Clarke will be speaking at a number of sessions at UKCW Birmingham on 30 September looking at key issues such as decarbonising construction, the industry’s future workforce, innovation and policy and planning.

“The first day we launched the very first event was the highlight for me. It was a special day that marked the beginning of an exciting journey,” he said. “It’s incredible that we have been going for 10 years and I feel honoured to have been representing the show for every one of those 10 years.”

And as for what gives him the greatest pleasure at UKCW, he added: “Meeting people and networking. It’s amazing to meet so many people of such diversity and with such varied careers under one roof.”

Key themes of this year’s event include:

• Main Stage: Big-picture insights on UK construction policy, infrastructure, skills and housing strategies.
• Net Zero Stage: Practical solutions for decarbonising construction and embedding sustainability.
• Housing Stage: Innovations tackling the housing crisis, affordable homes and regeneration.
• Roofing, Cladding and Insulation Stage: Technical sessions on fire safety, insulation and building envelope advances.
• Culture Change and Skills Stage: Workforce development, wellbeing, diversity and inclusive culture in construction.

The Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) is partnering with UK Construction Week (UKCW).

As the sector faces growing pressure to deliver smarter, greener and more efficient infrastructure, ACE and UKCW are coming together to spotlight the role of consultancy and engineering in shaping the future of construction.

Click here to find out more about the event and for your free ticket click here