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.Leon Livermore

Premier Guarantee will once again host expert speakers to discuss the key issues facing the construction industry this year, tickets for which you can get here.

Attendees at InSite: Building Safety and Standards will hear speakers debate and discuss the Building Safety Act, the 2025 Future Homes Standard as well as the industry codes of practice.

In this, the second in our series of articles introducing our speakers, we speak to CEO at New Homes Quality Board Leon Livermore who tells us about his experiences and plans for InSite.

Can you tell us about a bit about where it all started for you in the industry?

My background is primarily in the public and not-for-profit sectors. Whilst mainly from a public protection perspective, part of those roles I have had responsibility for supporting businesses and communities, as well as housing standards. 

This has given a broad insight into how you deliver much better and sustainable outcomes if you work with a wide range of stakeholders but in particular understanding the key role that businesses play.

How about the road to where you are today. Are you able to tell us about your experience – biggest challenges or proudest moments?

I’ve always been lucky in having good people around me to support me and a job that I love – and the NHQB is no different.  The things that I am most proud of are where I can see the real impact that I have had on communities and individuals.  A good example is Community Alcohol Partnerships where, working closely with the sector, we were able to produce some brilliant improvements in people’s lives and their community – all at no additional cost. It was simply by listening and getting everyone aligned to a common win-win goal.

I suppose the biggest challenge – other than never having enough resources – is always ensuring what you are doing is set in the right context.  There’s no point us putting in place requirements that are impracticable or disproportionate, as they serve no purpose and bring no benefit.

You are CEO at New Homes Quality Board. Can you tell us a bit about what makes NHQB so important to the industry?

We have a sector that takes a field and via a building site turns it into homes and communities – and that’s so important. We get it right the vast majority of the time; yet the whole public and political narrative focuses on where we don’t. That can have impactful consequences in terms of confidence and policy. So, I think we are important to the industry in many respects but would highlight two.

One is that we are the industry-developed solution to the negative issues that have been highlighted, so this is about controlling your own sector narrative and reputation. 

The second is that we are a framework that, by following, you can have confidence that you are doing the right thing and are exposed to less risk/costs where things do go wrong.

What is it about your job that keeps you going, whether it is the challenges, inspirations or the people around you?

It’s genuinely the chance to make a difference and bring my skillset of balancing business and consumer needs to such a vital sector to the UK. We have a brilliant team, highly experienced and supportive board working on your behalf. All that really does excite me.

Tell us a bit about your presentation topic for the InSite event in September. What can attendees look forward to?

It will partly bring delegates up-to-speed with the latest developments and hopefully demystify the code and the work of the Ombudsman. But it’s also a chance for me to listen and ensure that the requirements of the code reflect the realities of being a developer in this challenging environment.

What advice would you have for those considering attending our InSite event, bearing in mind the landscape of our industry at the moment and the need for obtaining knowledge and sharing ideas?

It’s clearly a challenging economic environment for the sector at the moment and that’s before you layer on top other issues such as the forthcoming election, workforce etc. 

It’s your sector so it can only be beneficial to get together to learn, share best practice and help shape the thoughts of organisations like the NHQB  so that we collectively build a stronger new build sector in the UK.

Read more articles on InSite and sign up to receive our blog round-up.

Every care was taken to ensure the information in this article was correct at the time of publication (May 2023). Guidance provided does not replace the reader’s professional judgement and any construction project should comply with the relevant Building Regulations or applicable technical standards. For the most up to date Premier Guarantee technical guidance please refer to your Risk Management Surveyor and the latest version of the Premier Guarantee Technical Manual.
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