Making Better Use of Land: Insights from VELUX & Savills

Join VELUX and Savills for a webinar exploring how smarter housing design - specifically "conversion-ready" and attic-ready approaches - can unlock significant liveable space without expanding the building footprint.Drawing on comprehensive new research from Savills, this session will reveal how 80% of new homes built in England between 2020 and 2024 could have feasibly supported attic rooms. We will demonstrate how "soft density" strategies allow homes to evolve with their occupants, supporting multigenerational living and reducing the demand on land use.While improved daylight and indoor environmental quality remain central to good design, this discussion focuses on the strategic value of roof volume. We will explore how treating the attic as an asset, rather than an afterthought, creates resilience in the UK housing stock.The discussion will cover:

• The Scale of Opportunity: New data revealing that over 530,000 recently built homes missed the potential for attic conversion, and how we can capture over 700,000 potential rooms in the next wave of housebuilding.
• Smarter Land Use: How "Room in the Roof" (RITR) design delivers higher floor area per plot and supports "gentle intensification".
• Policy & Planning: Navigating barriers such as Permitted Development Rights (PDR) and rigid housing mix policies to streamline approval for flexible homes.
• Future-Proofing:Practical implications for planners and developers in creating homes that adapt to changing family dynamics and ageing in place.