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Peter Gregory and Betty Albon provide a comprehensive overview of the 2026 ACES National Conference in Southend-on-Sea, detailing sessions on the housing crisis, planning viability, public-private partnerships, workforce recruitment, and the strategic impact of Local Government Reorganisation.

With affordable housing needs reaching 180,000 homes a year, the current system of relying on private developer cross-subsidy is falling short. James Cogan explores why rigid quotas are leaving developments on the drawing board and argues for a shift toward strategic cash-in-lieu use and direct public sector delivery to fix our broken housing model.

Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) is more than administrative streamlining; it is a strategic catalyst. By aligning public sector assets with institutional capital and planning reform, authorities can move beyond "administrative neatening" to drive long-term economic transformation.