Last week the CEW column in the Western Mail featured a piece from Daniel Ball bemoaning the state of the UK’s housing market. His argument is that it is not fit for purpose. You might not agree with everything he is saying, but that is not the point. If the UK and obviously, Wales, is going to have the number of homes that politicians demand and the type of homes we all need then something does appear to need to change.

That is one of the issues behind the LENDERS project, which saw its progress discussed and reviewed at an event last week. This project, reliant on research and input from householders, the industry and support from lenders such as Nationwide and Principality, could change how mortgages are assessed and provided. That change might lead to more sustainable and lower carbon homes being built – let alone zero carbon homes.

We have a long way to go.

That is indeed, the tone right now across the Welsh built environment. With the announcement of super hospitals and science parks being signed off things look good, but we can’t take any of this for granted. Pressure on funding, politics and a lack of awareness of the issues around the circular economy and the linkage between construction and future generations means there is always a risk of a return to adversarial working.

We cannot take our progress for granted. There remains much more work to do. Hence why it is still important to recall the impact of what CEW does and your role as stakeholders. In the past year, we have held over 50 events and reached around 2,000 people. We held three events in the past ten days – one with almost 40 attendees. Via the newsletter we engage with almost 6,000 stakeholders. What we do as champions of best practice is having an important impact and driving positive change for Welsh construction in public and private sector work.

We must keep going!