We are pleased to share episode 10 of Inside Norse with special guests Jackie Sadek, Catriona Riddell and Daniella Barrow.
In the third of a specialist series titled ‘Building the future, one home, one community at a time’, host Richard Gawthorpe, Group Business Development Director, brings together a panel of experts to explore what it truly means to build homes with increasing urgency around delivery and sustainability.
We look beyond housing targets to ask: what does it really take to create homes and places that last? With a national ambition to deliver 1.5 million new homes, the pressure is on. This conversation brings sustainability to the fore, not just in environmental terms, but in how we build, where we build, and who benefits.
Joining us for this episode are three experienced voices from across the housing and planning landscape. Jackie Sadek, an urban regeneration specialist and long-time advocate for smarter place investment, brings insight into unlocking complex sites and delivering value through partnership. Catriona Riddell, a strategic planner and champion of joined-up local planning, shares perspectives on policy, infrastructure and place-making. Daniella Barrow, Norse Group’s Senior Director of Consulting, offers practical thinking on how to align ambition with action on the ground.
Together, we explore the definition of brownfield, greenfield, and grey belt sites, and how they can be better used to unlock well-located land. We examine what it means to deliver infrastructure that truly supports thriving communities, from transport and schools to energy and green space. The discussion highlights the role of spatial investment frameworks in joining up decision-making across housing, transport, health and economic development, creating the conditions for long-term growth.
We also consider the critical need to align infrastructure with housing, with particular focus on water neutrality and sewage capacity. Across the country, these issues are halting development, revealing the need for water authorities to be given stronger legal powers and for infrastructure to be treated as an enabler of growth, not a barrier to it.
As the panel agrees, we can’t look at growth through a single lens. Sustainable communities depend on more than just housing, they require joined up thinking that connects jobs, connectivity, health outcomes and environmental impact.
Threaded through the conversation is a shared belief that when planning, policy, and delivery are aligned, we can move beyond unit numbers to shape places that are liveable, resilient, and connected.
Thoughtful, forward-looking, and rooted in people and place, this episode brings fresh insight to one of the most pressing challenges in the sector today.
Tune in to the latest episode of Inside Norse here.
