Housing association's U-turn over 'zero fees' demand

The housing association at the centre of a boycott call by RIBA president Angela Brady has reversed a decision which said architects would get nothing if planning permission for a scheme was not given.

BD first revealed the plans by Sanctuary Housing Association last November which promoted Brady to call on architects to stop working with it.

In a letter sent to architects who had expressed interest in getting on one of its frameworks, Sanctuary told firms they would be paid nothing if the scheme they were working on didn’t get the green light from planners.

At the time, the group’s development director Stephen Oxley said: “In this difficult economic climate, we have a responsibility to be as cost effective as possible.”

But at a meeting between Brady and Sanctuary at the RIBA earlier today, the housing group’s director of development Peter Martin confirmed it had now pulled the plug on the idea.

A Sanctuary spokeswoman told BD: “We can confirm that we’ve spoken to our suppliers and are looking to work with them in a different way.”

The U-turn marks a victory for BD and for Brady herself who immediately set about bringing Sanctuary to task.

“I’m very pleased that they’ve listened to reason,” she said. “We weren’t there to point the finger. It was about looking at better ways of doing things.”

Brady revealed that she has invited Sanctuary back to Portland Place next month to discuss the possibility of a RIBA run competition. “They have £750 million to spend in the next five years and they want to be seen as leaders. I just think they went down the wrong route.”

The head of RIBA’s procurement reform group Walter Menteth, who was also at the meeting, added: “This isn’t about gloating. It’s about being positive and Sanctuary looking at constructive ways to commission work intelligently.”