Interview with British Homes Awards Chair of Judges Chloë Phelps

As the final entry deadline for British Homes Awards approaches on 18th June, we catch up with award-winning architect and housing champion Chloë Phelps, this year’s Chair of Judges. She shares what makes a standout entry, the lessons learnt from decades of public sector work, and why the industry must move beyond numbers to deliver homes communities truly cherish.

Chloë Phelps is an architect, regeneration and housing expert with more than twenty years’ experience and is therefore perfectly placed to chair this year’s British Homes Awards judging panel. The final entry deadline is fast approaching on 18th June.

Chloë has worked in senior positions in both private practice and local authority planning and development teams. She established female led practice Grounded in 2021 and after a successful period of collaboration, Grounded joined BPTW in 2025, which Chloë continues to lead, as well as overseeing BPTW’s Marketing and Business Development functions. Chloë also chairs and sits on independent Design Review Panels across London and the Southeast including Camden, Ebbsfleet and Thanet.

Q: What are you looking for in projects submitted for judging the British Homes Awards?

CP: “I’m really looking forward to seeing all the great projects that are out there, it is no mean feat getting things delivered at the moment! I’m looking for projects where design quality, delivery and collaboration are clearly aligned. A strong entry for me will demonstrate how architects, communities, clients and contractors have worked together to translate a clear vision into actual homes and neighbourhoods that people cherish. I’m particularly interested in projects that demonstrate how design thinking has shaped viability, phasing and stewardship.”

Q: How has your work in the public sector informed your approach to housing in your current role?

CP: “Working in the public sector gives you a deep appreciation of how complex the cyclical nature of building, maintaining and renewing housing stock is. That experience has shaped my approach by reinforcing the role architects can play as translators and convenors, helping align design quality with delivery realities rather than seeing them as opposing forces. It has also instilled a strong focus on long term outcomes: homes that perform well socially, environmentally and economically long after practical completion, because they were designed and delivered with that end in mind.”

Q: Grounded was born from your public sector role as Head of Design delivering the Croydon Small Sites programme, what are you most proud of there?

CP: “The Croydon Small Sites programme demonstrated that public-sector-led housing can transform underutilised and awkward parcels of land into good quality housing and community facilities. In a short space of time we created nearly 800 homes in the borough by creating a really clear design brief and ambition in terms of what we wanted to achieve in terms of quality, and working with a clear procurement strategy to make sure it was deliverable.”

Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community; image credit: Haworth Tompkins.

Q: Can you talk me through a recent housing project you’ve been involved with - what was the brief and what was the design response?

CP: “Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community, being brought forward by Latimer, the development arm of Clarion Housing Group, and recently submitted for planning. The brief was ambitious from the outset; to create a new garden community at scale that genuinely prioritises long term public value, delivering homes alongside landscape, infrastructure, jobs and stewardship. It is nationally significant in being led by a housing association acting as master developer, with a clear social purpose and long term commitment to place. As part of the wider masterplanning and engagement team, Grounded played a dual role: contributing to the spatial and architectural thinking, while also acting as a local voice at the design table. Having grown up in the area, my focus was on ensuring the masterplan responded to the existing grain of the landscape particularly the historic lanes, footpaths and hedgerows. The project is the result of close collaboration between local authorities, communities and a multidisciplinary consultant team led by Haworth Tompkins with Kjellander Sjöberg, Periscope, Arup and others. For me, it exemplifies what the British Homes Awards champion: housing that is carefully designed, responsibly delivered, and rooted in place, where quality, collaboration and long term thinking are treated as essentials, not luxuries.”

Q: What would you like to see change/progress in the housing sector in 2026?

CP: “I would like to see a shift away from numbers driven delivery towards a clearer commitment on how working with good architects and designers can help deliver not just more homes that we urgently need, but also better long term quality. The challenge is aligning policy, funding and procurement so that good design is seen as an enabler for quality housing as a critical piece of infrastructure in this country.”

Q: What are the other main issues impacting the housing sector in 2026?

CP: “Costs are still a huge issue, and this is part is being driven by the ever increasing complexities in the process of delivering homes. We need to work across sectors and disciplines to iron out unnecessary time wastage in the system. We are in an era of higher inflation than we have seen in decades, and a project getting stuck in the system is something that has a huge impact on viability. We need to work where we can to standardise briefs, section 106s, design specifications and question the need for lengthy reports.”

Q: Why is it important for architect to enter awards?

CP: “Awards play an important role in championing the value architects bring to housing delivery. They help communicate to clients, policymakers and the wider industry that good design is not a luxury, but a necessity. Quality housing supports health, wellbeing, climate resilience and long-term value for money, and awards create space to reflect on lessons learnt and raise expectations across the sector. At their best, awards help reinforce that investing in good design leads to better outcomes for communities, and that is something we can't afford to overlook.”