BREEAM webinar: Healthy homes by design – why getting it right the first time matters

UK New Construction Residential
25 March 2026

BREEAM webinar: Healthy homes by design – why getting it right the first time matters

On 17 March 2026, BRE hosted a webinar examining the relationship between housing quality, health outcomes and the design of new homes. Chaired by Jennifer Dudley, Lead Product Manager – BREEAM at BRE, the session brought together Helen Garrett, National Housing Data & Insights Lead at BRE, Jade Lewis, Secretariat Provider for the Healthy Homes and Buildings All-Party Parliamentary Group and Chief Executive of Jade Advocacy, and Rachel Witcherley, Senior Technical Manager for Sustainability at Homes England, to confront a central question: if poor housing costs the NHS over £1 billion every year, why are we still building homes that fall short? A poll of attendees found that 56% cited cost and viability as the biggest barrier to delivering healthier homes – but 60% identified stronger policy and regulation as the single most helpful lever for driving change.

quotes

Helen Garrett, National Housing Data & Insights Lead, BRE

“Good health starts in a good home. We have 2.4 million homes that fail to meet the statutory minimum standard for housing in England, and that’s costing the NHS over a billion pounds a year. That’s not a one-off cost – it happens year on year until those hazards are mitigated. The cost of putting them right is around £9 billion, and if we had that money and could mitigate all those hazards within a year, the NHS would get its money back within nine years. If we don’t, it’s going to cost us as a society some £136 billion over 30 years. There is an ethical case to do this, irrespective of the economic challenges that we face.”

Jennifer Dudley, Lead Product Manager – BREEAM, BRE

“A sustainable home is intrinsically one that works for the people that are living in it now and in the future. People need to be front and centre of what we are considering when we are designing new homes. If it doesn’t work for the people, it won’t be sustainable. We can build great buildings, but we need to make sure that people understand how best to use them. That aftercare piece is important – making sure that handover is achieving what is needed and that there’s ongoing support for those people living in that property.”

Rachel Witcherley, Senior Technical Manager, Sustainability, Homes England

“The decisions we make today will shape communities for decades. By taking a longer-term, place focused view, we can deliver real value socially, environmentally, and economically. A key part of this is improving the consistency between what we design and what is ultimately built. Closing that performance gap is essential if we want our investments to deliver the outcomes we intend: better quality, greater efficiency, and improved health outcomes.”

Jade Lewis, Secretariat Provider, Healthy Homes and Buildings; Chief Executive, Jade Advocacy

“The government wants to build 1.5 million new homes by the end of this parliament – and while this target includes a focus on social and affordable homes, the main aim is volume as opposed to healthy homes. A huge missed opportunity. The Future Homes Standard will require new homes to be future-proofed with low-carbon heating and energy efficiency, but it won’t address elements critical to health like lighting and acoustics. The solutions already exist and people are building healthy homes now – follow their lead. Why aren’t we focusing on health and wellbeing for the occupants in buildings? Surely this should be our number one priority.”