<p>Last year was a challenging and fast-changing one for the UK housebuilding industry. The modern methods of construction agenda put developers into innovation overdrive, as the design for manufacture competition generated acres of press coverage and fruitful cross-sector partnerships. While government embarked on an MMC publicity campaign, it too faced some serious challenges, as David Cameron’s Conservatives launched a developer-friendly housing manifesto remarkably like its own. Meanwhile sustainable communities stalwart John Prescott lost the battle for hearts and minds over his pathfinder demolition drive, along with his department, as he was engulfed in controversy over his extra-curricular antics. </p> <p>A subsequent cabinet reshuffle in June saw popular young gun David Miliband shunted out of the newly-renamed Communities and Local Government department, making way for new communities secretary Ruth Kelly to take on a much wider remit for making communities happy, healthy, wealthy and “sustainable.” Housing and planning minister Yvette Cooper remained a familiar face amidst the turmoil, grasping her remit with much talk about affordable housing, good design, promises to reform the Building Regulations, and with a view to achieving the holy grail of housebuilding – a faster and more efficient planning system. Back in the business world, the industry …