The King’s Foundation and the University of the Built Environment have launched the Regional Building Foundation, a new initiative to help create walkable, characterful neighbourhoods, delivered in line with placebuilding principles
The Regional Building Foundation (RBF) is the culmination of a government-supported two-year Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) between the two organisations and marks a move away from the modern, zonal housebuilding estate model towards regionally distinctive placebuilding – reimagining how we can build new homes.
Through its 14 regional forums, the RBF brings together the key players in the housebuilding process, including: regional builders, landowners, materials suppliers, lenders, planners, designers and built environment professionals, to work within a regionally defined, collaborative framework.
The RBF is inviting these practitioners to register and gain access to the regional forums, the Knowledge Hub with bespoke research and a growing national network of experts.
Isolation bears a growing threat to housebuilding ambitions
Ben Bolgar, executive director for projects at The King’s Foundation, commented: “We are at risk of accepting the status quo of zoning, where we build isolated business parks, retail areas, schools and housing estates that are not integrated into our communities. The stakes are extremely high, especially for the next generation of homeowners.
“At The King’s Foundation we are dedicated to creating sustainable, walkable communities which place people and the planet – and most importantly green space – at the heart of development projects. We are looking forward to working with the University of the Built Environment on this exciting new project which inspires real hope for the future of housebuilding and for society as a whole.”
What does a successful placebuilding system look like?
The RBF is underpinned by its flagship research report, ‘Reimagining Place Building: Advancing Sustainable, Inclusive, and Locally Anchored Developments in the UK’, which sets out a system architecture for placebuilding and the conditions required to apply it across distinct geographical regions.
The report draws upon the proven models of Poundbury in Dorset and Nansledan in Cornwall to analyse the frameworks that make these types of communities financially viable and practical to deliver.
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 placebuilding 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.”
As a registered Community Interest Company, the RBF’s mission is to examine how we can build the places where people genuinely want to live. The research shows that these are vibrant, walkable, mixed-use communities connected to their local surroundings.
However, these places are increasingly found only second-hand in towns and villages built generations ago.
How the Regional Building Foundation works
The RBF operates across four core areas of activity:
- Networking: convening regional ecosystems required for place building through the establishment of 14 regional forums, bringing together landowners, regional housebuilders, planners, lenders, designers and other stakeholders.
- Educating: closing the knowledge gap between place building principles and development practice through the roll-out of a Knowledge Hub for practitioners.
- Enabling: providing direct technical assistance to live development projects through expert-led workshops, design review and hands-on support for schemes.
- Innovation: pioneering new tools, design approaches and delivery models that make high-quality place building more achievable and scalable.
A national roll-out
Over the next 12-18 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 the leading regional builders, landowners, materials suppliers, lenders, planners, designers, and built-environment professionals to explore place-building opportunities in their area.
The benefits 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.
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