A leading South West housing association is growing its maintenance team as part of plans to provide a single in-house service across LiveWest. Over the course of the next five years, it is hoped that circa £5m savings will be made by bringing all repairs, voids and kitchen and bathroom
Partner Housing, in association with Flagship Homes, celebrated the start of works on a new housing development in Necton, Norfolk; The £9.7 million development will see 73 new homes built, with a mix of Shared Ownership and Social Rent properties; Work is expected to finish on the site, called Tower
Westcountry homebuilder Cavanna Homes has officially opened the doors to its two show homes at Cavanna @ Elm Park, a new community of 245 open market and affordable homes near Exeter city centre. Cavanna Homes employees Craig Oldham, Senior Site Manager, Liana Smith, Sales Advisor and Sarah Bowden, Sales Manager
Construction work is about to start on a new development in Ely which will deliver more than 250 new homes and a new cricket pitch and pavilion in the city. Linden Homes, part of the Vistry Group, is preparing to build 258 properties at its new Willow Woods development, off
Research from specialist property lending experts, Octane Capital, has revealed which areas of the British rental market are driving growth in rental stock availability, as well as the areas where tenants have seen availability decline. Despite the government’s attempts to deter buy-to-let investment, previous research by Octane Capital found that
18 suppliers have won spots on a Social Housing Emerging Disruptors (SHED) framework launched by Procurement for Housing so social landlords can compliantly procure cutting edge, innovative services and technologies to support with retrofit, development and fire safety targets. The framework is worth up to £100m over three years. Challenges
Cruden Building (West), part of the Cruden Group, has been appointed by Calvay Housing Association, to deliver a £7.9m affordable housing contract at Garvel Crescent and Blyth Road in the Barlanark area of Glasgow. The brownfield sites will be developed to include 37 units of affordable housing at Garvel Crescent
The latest research from Warwick Estates, has created a guide to buying a leasehold home in 2022, explaining exactly what a leasehold is while analysing the pros and cons of leasehold ownership. What is a leasehold? A leasehold contract means the purchaser owns everything that sits within the four walls
Kier has just been awarded by Stanhope, Mitsui Fudosan and AIMCo the contract for the construction of 142 new affordable homes for Peabody in two new buildings called Macfarlane Place at Television Centre, London, W12. Construction of Macfarlane Place will commence in March 2022, with delivery expected in early 2024.
Workman, the UK’s largest independent commercial property management and building consultancy firm, has been appointed by General Projects as property manager for Heal’s Building, Tottenham Court Road, London. General Projects recently acquired the 187,000 sq ft Grade II listed, a mixed-use asset in a joint venture with global investment firm
A leading South West housing association is growing its maintenance team as part of plans to provide a single in-house service across LiveWest. Over the course of the next five years, it is hoped that circa £5m savings will be made by bringing all repairs, voids and kitchen and bathroom planned programmes in-house. Last month, new colleagues joined from MD Group, who have provided day-to-day repairs and void works services to 2,700 LiveWest homes across Bristol and South Gloucestershire since 2014 and further recruitment is taking place to deliver the full range of services to customers. The move will not only create new jobs but improve stimulation for the local economy. Liane Sheppard, LiveWest’s Director of Property Services, said: “We have been working hard for the last fewyears to gradually insource key services and works to help ensure that we are providing the same high-level customer service across all of the areas we operate. “Bringing our repairs and maintenance in-house will deliver us significant savings, reduce our costs and improve service quality. In the Somerset, Bristol and Gloucestershire area LiveWest have historically outsourced repairs and maintenance services to several partnership contractors. In April, the electrical testing contract and kitchen and bathroom contract will also be insourced.” In July 2019, LiveWest welcomed new colleagues from Spectrum Property Care to deliver repairs and voids works to 1,800 homes in the Frome area in Somerset. LiveWest have also invested in two new minor project teams to deliver complex managed repairs including a focus on improving properties. The new teams will bring together people from across Asset and Property, as well as new roles, to ensure responsibility and accountability, and improve customer experience. Due to the challenges of operating in a Covid environment, this year is set to be busier than ever for the new teams with an increase in volume of managed repairs which includes roof repairs to replacement retaining walls. The team structure will continue to evolve as LiveWest’s insourcing progresses across the operational area, reducing the number of contractors supporting its in-house Maintenance Service. Liane added: “Insourcing builds in-house capacity, facilitates the joining up of services, shores up financial flexibility, manages quality standards, improves customer experience and boostsemployee morale. We have continued investment in our teams to ensure we have the right amount of support to deliver a quality repairs and maintenance service that is customer focussed and responsive. It’s exciting times for the LiveWest property team.” “Recruiting across property maintenance has been quite challenging over the past year. There is a skills shortage so we’ve had to think outside of the box. We have reviewed our terms and conditions for current and future colleagues to ensure we are offering a great benefits package. We are really confident we are offering one of the best out there. We’re also investing in the future, and have a great apprenticeship programme” LiveWest has invested heavily in their successful apprenticeship programme, which will see around 18 apprentices join the property team just this year. Five new starters joined last month and we have offered another 10 so far, following a comprehensive assessment centre and interview process. The focus of LiveWest’s apprenticeship drive has been on attracting talent of all ages and backgrounds to ensure the workforce is as diverse as possible. LiveWest has been encouraging people to change their career and try out for the apprenticeship programme. Some 40% of the new apprentices are female with more and more women taking up a career in the trades.
Partner Housing, in association with Flagship Homes, celebrated the start of works on a new housing development in Necton, Norfolk; The £9.7 million development will see 73 new homes built, with a mix of Shared Ownership and Social Rent properties; Work is expected to finish on the site, called Tower Mill, in early 2024 United Living New Homes subsidiary Partner Construction and leading housing provider Flagship Homes held a ground-breaking ceremony this week to celebrate the start of works on the brand new £9.7 million Tower Mill housing development in Necton, Norfolk. The ground-breaking ceremony was attended by Frank Lincoln, Regional Managing Director of Partner Construction | United Living New Homes, and Tony Tann, Managing Director of Flagship Homes, to celebrate this milestone. On behalf of Flagship Homes, Partner Construction is creating 73 new homes on North Pickenham Road in Necton, delivering much-needed affordable housing for the local community. The residential development will feature a mix of two-bedroom bungalows, one-bedroom walk-up flats, and two, three-, and four-bedroom houses. Supported by Homes England funding, the properties are 100% affordable, with a mix of Shared Ownership and Social Rent ensuring genuine affordability for residents. The development is in a beautiful rural location and includes green open space, with landscaping plans to ensure the scheme looks attractive and in keeping with the surrounding area. This is one of two projects delivered in close partnership between Partner Construction and Flagship Homes, with a second scheme in Walton-on-the-Naze in Essex. The £8.4 million, 100% affordable development will create 53 new homes to provide much-needed new housing for the local area. Frank Lincoln said: “We are delighted to celebrate the start of construction works at Necton with a turf cutting ceremony. Working collaboratively with Flagship Homes, we look forward to delivering high-quality new homes that will provide a welcome housing boost to the local community. “We pride ourselves on supporting people with our affordable homes and employing a workforce on site that will be made up of local labour and contractors. With our homes, we are determined to ensure that the housing market better serves young first-time buyers and families on low to average incomes.” Tony Tann said: “We are delighted to have commenced construction on this site in Necton with Partner Construction. The development following a competition within our Development Team is named “Tower Mill” to associate it with the local Mill and the Village and we see this as the start of its integration within the community. The development provides essential housing to the area while respecting the beautiful rural landscape. We’re building a mix of 73 Shared Ownership and Social Rent properties to make sure that many local people and families will have access to quality affordable housing. It’s fantastic to see this development underway and are pleased to have Partner Construction working with us to share in that vision and provide a huge housing boost to the area.” The new homes are due to be completed in early 2024. You can find out more by visiting www.flagship-group.co.uk, and @_FlagshipGroup on Twitter and Instagram.
Westcountry homebuilder Cavanna Homes has officially opened the doors to its two show homes at Cavanna @ Elm Park, a new community of 245 open market and affordable homes near Exeter city centre. Cavanna Homes employees Craig Oldham, Senior Site Manager, Liana Smith, Sales Advisor and Sarah Bowden, Sales Manager marked the occasion with a ribbon-cutting at the newly launched Sales Arena. “It’s fantastic to have officially opened the new show homes at Cavanna @ Elm Park and invite prospective buyers to book an appointment to visit us. We’ve already secured ten reservations off-plan, which is brilliant and shows a real appetite for new homes in Exeter,” said Liana Smith. The two show homes; a four-bedroom Langcombe townhouse and three-bedroom detached Lakehead have master bedrooms with en-suites, modern open plan kitchen/ dining areas and spacious living rooms each showcasing the firm’s highest specification of fixtures and fittings. Cavanna @ Elm Park offers a selection of two, three and four-bedroom homes surrounded by large open green space for residents to enjoy. Homeowners can also take advantage of the 40 hectares of Riverside Valley Park, alongside the River Exe for walking, running or cycling. The new development in Exeter has been designed to promote a sense of community, improve biodiversity and encourage green travel, thanks to new cycle routes connecting to the existing network. A bus stop will also be located on the development to ensure easy access to the city centre is available to the new residents. A bespoke sensory garden is also being designed for the development to include separate seating pods, each with its own special feature such as a sculpture, scented plants, and fruit trees to create a relaxing and tranquil environment that entices all the senses. Bird and bat boxes will also be added to encourage wildlife alongside the planting of new trees. The local area has excellent primary and secondary schools, and a college, plus a fitness centre, supermarkets, retail parks and restaurants. As part of the firm’s community contributions, it will provide over £3 million in Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) to the local council and community to support roads, education, recreation and public transport.
Construction work is about to start on a new development in Ely which will deliver more than 250 new homes and a new cricket pitch and pavilion in the city. Linden Homes, part of the Vistry Group, is preparing to build 258 properties at its new Willow Woods development, off Lynn Road. The site forms part of the wider Orchards Green scheme, which is set to bring 1,200 new homes and a range of community facilities to North Ely over the coming years. Linden Homes will deliver 212 private homes and 46 affordable properties available for local people through rent or shared ownership at Willow Woods. The development will comprise a mix of one, two, three, four and five-bedroom houses and apartments. As part of the planning agreement for the development, Linden Homes will also be providing a new ECB-approved cricket pitch and pavilion. Laura Thomas, sales manager at Willow Woods, said: “We are looking forward to the first bricks being laid at our new Willow Woods development as work gets underway on bringing these much-needed new homes to the north of the city. “Our range of one to five-bedroom houses and apartments, which have been thoughtfully designed to reflect the historic nature of Ely, means there is something for housebuyers at all stages of the property ladder. “As the development forms part of the new Orchards Green scheme, residents at Willow Woods will have access to a wealth of new facilities and will benefit from a country park, trim trail facilities and an off-site cycleway.” Willow Woods is named after the timber used to make cricket bats, chosen to link with the cricket pitch and pavilion Linden Homes is also providing at the site. With work set to start imminently, the developer intends to release the first homes for sale at Willow Woods this spring. Linden Homes is currently building new homes near Ely at its Laithwaite Gardens development in Sutton. For more information, visit www.lindenhomes.co.uk/eastmidlands
Research from specialist property lending experts, Octane Capital, has revealed which areas of the British rental market are driving growth in rental stock availability, as well as the areas where tenants have seen availability decline. Despite the government’s attempts to deter buy-to-let investment, previous research by Octane Capital found that the total value of the sector has increased by £239bn since 2017, with the nation’s landlords benefitting from a strong level of capital appreciation. Octane Capital’s latest research also shows that across Britain, the level of private rental homes has actually increased by 18,610 in the last five years, suggesting an exodus of landlords has yet to materialise in the wake of legislative changes to tax relief, stamp duty and tenant fees. London is leading the private rental market charge and is not only home to the largest rental sector with over one million PRS homes, but it’s seen a 6.4% increase in stock levels in the last five years – that’s 63,000 more rental homes to meet tenant demand. In the West Midlands, PRS stock levels have climbed by 4.4%, closely followed by the East Midlands with a 3.9% jump. The South West (3.2%), Wales (2.2%) and East of England (2.1%) have also seen an increase in the number of private rental properties within the sector. But not all regions have benefited from an uplift in rental stock levels. The North West has been hit hardest by a reduction in private rental availability, currently home to 556,005 PRS homes, 34,000 less than just five years ago – a drop of -5.8%. In the South East, the level of privately rented homes has fallen by -5.2% during the same timeframe, meaning there are 36,500 fewer properties for tenants to fight it out over. Yorkshire and the Humber has also seen a notable drop at -4.6%, with Scotland (-2.9%) and the North East (-1.6%) also seeing a decline. CEO of Octane Capital, Jonathan Samuels, commented: “Much has been made about the government’s intentions to deter landlords via a string of legislative changes designed to reduce buy-to-let profitability, but as it stands, we’re yet to see any top line decline in private rental stock levels as a result of these changes. That said, some areas of the British rental market have faired far better than others and while stock levels have increased across the majority, there have also been some notable declines. The private rental market remains vital to so many across Britain and it’s crucial that the government recognises this and does its best to nurture the sector in order to encourage landlords, not deter them.” Private rental stock data sourced from Gov.uk, Gov.wales, Gov.scot and ni.gov.uk – 2015 to 2020 (latest available data).
18 suppliers have won spots on a Social Housing Emerging Disruptors (SHED) framework launched by Procurement for Housing so social landlords can compliantly procure cutting edge, innovative services and technologies to support with retrofit, development and fire safety targets. The framework is worth up to £100m over three years. Challenges posed by Covid, materials and labour shortages, plus surging demand for low carbon, building safety and development works have created an unparalleled environment for housing providers. This is forcing them to search for fresh, non-traditional solutions to deliver competing strategic objectives. Public sector procurement has traditionally been seen as a barrier to innovation, introducing processes and bureaucracy that make it harder to buy emerging solutions from entrepreneurial SMEs and micro-organisations. Fledgling suppliers are unable to scale their solutions and invest in further innovation because buying teams can’t procure services compliantly under existing rules. Procurement for Housing has addressed these issues by creating a framework that is flexible, future-proof and light touch in terms of paperwork and procedure. A dedicated SHED portal will enable housing providers to conduct a simple desk-based supplier selection process. The portal will identify the supplier that can best meet their needs and PfH’s procurement team will provide pricing information and support the contracting process. Innovators appointed to the SHED framework include Bimdl, a blockchain-backed building information modelling (BIM) solution; Power Circle Projects, which provides democratised, decentralised low carbon smart energy solutions; Chameleon Digitization an organisation using machine learning to spot dangerous gas canisters being taken into high rise buildings; Q-Bot, a robotic underfloor insulation installer and Green Action Trust which supports social landlords to improve the sustainability of their local environment. PfH worked with the Proptech Innovation Network to find suppliers at the forefront of housing technology, data and software solutions and service design to join the framework. A second generation SHED2 framework is due to launch in the Autumn of 2022. It will bring to market those innovations developed since the first framework launched. Neil Butters, head of procurement at PfH said:“Over the past 12 months, our members have been telling us about the perfect storm of challenges they’re facing with global supply chain disruption, a widespread skills crisis and huge pressure to meet fire safety, net zero and house building targets. There is urgent need for innovation that can help them address these problems, but public procurement regulations just haven’t caught up. Housing providers can’t compliantly buy the innovative services they need.” “The government is currently changing public procurement rules, but that reform might not come into force until 2023. We wanted to be brave and unpick the challenges around procuring innovation which is still a fairly intangible, transient category of goods and services. It was important we did that here and now for the sector, rather than sitting on our hands – no one else is really tackling it.” “Many of the suppliers we’ve appointed to the framework are small or micro businesses. We wanted to unlock their services for the social housing sector – these are pioneering, future-thinking organisations, many with a focus on sustainability or building safety. The SHED is about PfH supporting social landlords to identify and adopt innovation that will improve the lives of tenants.” For further information about the SHED framework visit https://procurementforhousing.co.uk/shed/
Cruden Building (West), part of the Cruden Group, has been appointed by Calvay Housing Association, to deliver a £7.9m affordable housing contract at Garvel Crescent and Blyth Road in the Barlanark area of Glasgow. The brownfield sites will be developed to include 37 units of affordable housing at Garvel Crescent with a further 6 units being constructed on the Blyth Road site. The new energy-efficient homes will comprise a mix of two, three and four-bedroom houses and cottage flats. The development will also have dedicated landscaped parking courts. The Glasgow based design team for this project included the award-winning practice, MAST Architects, and Clyde Design Partnership. Work is due to start on site in March 2022 and is expected to be completed by Spring 2023. Allan Callaghan, Managing Director of Cruden Building said: “We are excited to start work on this important development and to provide much needed affordable homes that deliver as much on quality, as they do on energy efficiency. “At Cruden, we give back to the communities we build in, and on this project, we will provide a range of community benefits, including valuable apprenticeship opportunities and an additional £5k in funding for Calvay Housing Association to support even more community housing initiatives in the Glasgow area.”
The latest research from Warwick Estates, has created a guide to buying a leasehold home in 2022, explaining exactly what a leasehold is while analysing the pros and cons of leasehold ownership. What is a leasehold? A leasehold contract means the purchaser owns everything that sits within the four walls of the home, but does not own the land surrounding the home, the ground below it nor the sky above it. When buying a flat, for example, it’s almost guaranteed that the purchase will be a leasehold agreement because a building owner or landlord continues to own the other flats in the block. Furthermore, a leasehold, unlike a freehold, is not permanent, there is a limited timeline of ownership, otherwise known as the term of the lease. This lease is often hundreds of years long, but once it expires, ownership of the lease transfers back to the freeholder. For context, in 2021, leasehold purchases accounted for just 18.9% of all property transactions in England & Wales, with freeholds making up the remaining 81.1%. What are the advantages of a leasehold? With absolute ownership out of the question, why would anyone want a buy leasehold instead of a freehold? First, a leasehold property is often cheaper than a freehold because of the lack of outright ownership it provides. and the leaseholder is often not responsible for paying for the general upkeep of communal areas in the buildings such as corridors and stairways. But leaseholds are rarely purchased for their advantages over freehold, more because leaseholds are essential when buying a flat in a tall building of flats and have, as such, become increasingly popular as we see urban areas developing vertically rather than horizontally. What are the disadvantages of buying a leasehold property? The truth is that leaseholds are often a necessity rather than a choice and there are significant downsides of leasehold ownership. First, a lease is only held for a limited amount of time – ownership will, one day, expire. Second, a leaseholder is often expected to pay significant fees to the freeholder/landlord in order to contribute to the upkeep of communal space, for example, and for essential repairs to the building. A leasehold also tends to limit the amount of changes the owner can make to their home and permission is often required from the freeholder. If not, a leasehold can be stripped. This lack of freedom can also extend to things like pet ownership, or running a business from home, or sub-letting to third-party. Finally, when a leasehold starts running out, it can be very difficult to find a buyer for the property so the opportunity to benefit from capital gain is small. And, since the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2007, the external cladding scandal has added a further level of complexity for flat owners to break free of their leasehold contracts. What happens at the end of a leasehold property? It is often the case that the end of a leasehold is not something any owner needs to worry about. Often, a leasehold will be for 999 years in order to make it a more attractive agreement for buyers. Many vendors will suggest that a 999-year leasehold is ‘as good as a freehold’, but such sentiment tends to ignore all of the potential downsides listed above. If, however, the lease does expire, the ownership of the property reverts back to the freeholder and it is theirs to do what they want with. But, one can ask for an extension to the leasehold. In fact, once a person has owned a leasehold home for two years, they will often have the right to extend the lease by 90 years.
Kier has just been awarded by Stanhope, Mitsui Fudosan and AIMCo the contract for the construction of 142 new affordable homes for Peabody in two new buildings called Macfarlane Place at Television Centre, London, W12. Construction of Macfarlane Place will commence in March 2022, with delivery expected in early 2024. The buildings form part of the wider Television Centre development which will eventually have c 950 homes in total. Stanhope is the development manager for Television Centre and Cantillon was the demolition contractor for the multi-storey car park. Designed by Maccreanor Lavington Architects, the new buildings will replace the now demolished former BBC multi-storey car park on Wood Lane, W12, opposite Westfield. The new buildings will provide 71 London Affordable Rent, 34 London Living Rent and 37 homes for Shared Ownership. The buildings will provide 68 x 1 bed, 67 x 2 bed and 7 x 3 bed apartments, with new public realm and retail space retained by the JV fronting Wood Lane. Peabody will be responsible for managing the homes when completed. The JV is working closely with Transport for London, who own the adjacent arches below the elevated Hammersmith & City line, to help improve the wider area for the local community. “Construction of 142 affordable homes, and the ongoing construction of a new office building at 1 Wood Crescent, Television Centre, shows the healthy state of the property market in White City. We are looking forward to working with Kier and delivering much needed affordable homes for residents in Hammersmith & Fulham alongside Peabody who share our confidence and long-term commitment for the area,” commented Jonathan Trout, Property & Commercial Director at Stanhope. Stanhope, Mitsui and AIMCo are the developers of the 14 acre site at Television Centre, including 500,000 sq ft of offices, 950 new homes, Soho House, three state of the art BBC studios, the HQs of BBC Worldwide and Publicis Media. 432 homes have been completed in phase 1, the vast majority of which are now sold. Phase 2 comprises 500 homes, including 142 affordable.
Workman, the UK’s largest independent commercial property management and building consultancy firm, has been appointed by General Projects as property manager for Heal’s Building, Tottenham Court Road, London. General Projects recently acquired the 187,000 sq ft Grade II listed, a mixed-use asset in a joint venture with global investment firm KKR from Columbia Threadneedle Investments. Home to the flagship store of the legendary design furniture retailer for 200 years, the site consists of nine interconnected buildings housing a mixture of retail, office and residential tenants. General Projects plan to reimagine the site into a hub for creative, media and technology businesses while sensitively maintaining the Heal’s legacy. Site Close to Tottenham Court Road Underground The building sits on the eastern site of Tottenham Court Road opposite Goodge Street Underground station and is a 5-minute walk from the new Tottenham Court Road Underground and Elizabeth Line station that will give direct access to Heathrow to the West and Canary Wharf to the East. David Soar, Partner at Workman, commented: “Being appointed by General Projects on another exciting project to reinvent such an iconic building, is testament to the skills of our team to support General Project’s vision for delivering workplaces of the future while working with the current occupiers.”
