Homes where they’re needed
Despite the challenges we continue to face, we remain committed to playing our part in tackling the housing crisis. Throughout 2022 and 2023, we continued to deliver the high-quality homes people need, where they’re needed most.
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Members of our Leadership Team, Development and Asset Investment Committee and Group Board touring our latest developments in Lincolnshire.
It’s been another incredibly challenging year as we continue to grapple with resource shortages across the sector and increased build costs.
While our focus on quality has resulted in some handover delays, over the last 12 months, we invested over £87 million in delivering 584 affordable new properties and started work on a further 511.
Most of these new homes were available for social, affordable or intermediate rent or low-cost ownership options, such as shared ownership or Rent to Buy.
Over the next 12 months, we expect to complete 587 new homes as we work towards our target of delivering 2,776 properties in the next five years as part of our overall aim to grow the number of properties we manage. As set out in our Improving Lives 2025 strategy, we believe that we can manage up to 35,000 homes while remaining responsive to the customers and communities we serve.
Energy efficiency
All new homes delivered during the year were developed to an average EPC rating of B, with some units achieving the highest possible rating of A, as part of our ongoing commitment to the drive towards Net Zero 2050.
We also started work on two developments where all homes are fitted with Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP). When complete, the developments – Toot Lane in Boston, Lincolnshire and California Meadows in Huntingdon – will deliver 191 new homes.
The GSHPs that come as standard in these homes operate on electricity but, due to their high efficiency, produce three units of energy for every one unit they use to run, giving an efficiency rating of approximately 300 percent.
All 56 of the homes at our California Meadows development under construction in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire will benefit from energy-efficient heating provided by Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHPs).
Investing in our existing homes
In March, it was announced that our bid for funding from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) had been successful.
We’ll receive a £6.3m grant, which will be used to help upgrade the energy efficiency of 581 of our existing homes located throughout the East Midlands, North Lincolnshire and West Norfolk over the next two years.
The homes included in the project all currently have an energy rating below EPC C.
Tackling damp and mould
The heart-breaking death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak in Rochdale in October 2020, and the subsequent inquest finding that his death was caused by prolonged exposure to damp and mould in the social housing flat he lived in, has shamed the housing sector.
It’s imperative that we, along with all other housing associations learn from the mistakes that have been made and respond by doing everything we can to help our customers, working together to address any issues as soon as possible.
The Group’s £6.3m grant from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) was confirmed in March 2022, allowing us to upgrade the energy efficiency of over 500 of our existing homes.
Key results
Total invested in new homes
Homes planned for 2023/24
New homes completed
New homes started
MMC homes completed
MMC homes started
CASE STUDY
Providing affordable housing in our rural communities
We understand the growing need to provide affordable housing in rural communities and the importance of doing so.
In March, we were delighted to receive planning permission to deliver a new fully-affordable scheme in a village near Peterborough. We’ll deliver 30 affordable homes on land to the east of Bramble Close in Newborough.
Homes where they’re needed
of the new homes we built during 2022/23 were for either affordable or social rent