Salford housing association Salix Homes is celebrating a double win in the prestigious Northern Housing Awards. Salix Homes, which owns 8,000 homes across Salford, won the Best Resident Involvement Initiative and the Best Digital Transformation categories in the awards, which celebrate the achievements of the housing sector in the North.
Work has started on a £16 million affordable housing scheme in Doncaster. The development of 126 homes will be delivered by Esh Construction in partnership with Together Housing Group, which also owns and manages Lakeside Rise in the town, and Housing 21. Together Housing will take ownership of 56 two,
Commercial property management specialist, NSM, has been appointed to manage three North West industrial assets. The three developments were acquired by client, Network Space last month. They include: Newfield Industrial Estate in Tunstall, Stoke on Trent, a 125,000 sq ft multi-let industrial estate which is occupied by 20 businesses including
Leading housing association Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTVH) has announced several major policy commitments to boost security and cut costs for its existing and future shared ownership customers surrounding leaseholds and ground rents. In new commitments recently unveiled, MTVH will offer all pipeline and new leasehold residential sales a 990-year
Countryside, the mixed-tenure developer, and emh group have entered into a development agreement to create a 100% affordable housing scheme in Radcliffe-on-Trent. The developments consists of 55 new homes, fulfilling a joint commitment by Countryside and emh group to provide affordable homes across the East Midlands. To date, this also
In order to provide best value and service for its clients and residents, residential managing agent Rendall & Rittner has been developing a range of innovative, market leading procurement practices. With energy being one of the biggest regular costs in property management, the company has created a dedicated in-house utilities
FirstPort has achieved a five-star grading in the British Safety Council’s Occupational Health and Safety Audit for the fifth year running. The organisation received a score of 95.88%, demonstrating its commitment towards the continual improvement of health and safety management systems and processes and recognising it as a best practice organisation.
Platform Housing Group, the largest housing association in the Midlands, has achieved a G1/V1 rating from the Regulator for Social Housing following its first indepth assessment – or IDA – in February of this year; this is the highest regulatory rating a housing association can achieve with a G1 governance and V1 for financial
Leading residential property manager Rendall & Rittner has appointed Ecotricity to supply carbon neutral gas across its property portfolio, as well as retaining Ecotricity as its electricity supplier in an annual contract worth nearly £17 million. Britain’s greenest energy provider will supply over £14 million of renewable electricity to 93%
A housing association has completed work on a social housing development near Birmingham. Platform Housing Group – which has its headquarters in the Midlands – has finalised 10 new homes in the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield. It is the social landlord’s latest development within the area, which offers 3 bedroom homes for shared ownership. The Padstone Drive scheme – just off Douglas
Salford housing association Salix Homes is celebrating a double win in the prestigious Northern Housing Awards. Salix Homes, which owns 8,000 homes across Salford, won the Best Resident Involvement Initiative and the Best Digital Transformation categories in the awards, which celebrate the achievements of the housing sector in the North. The landlord scooped Best Resident Involvement Initiative in recognition of its pioneering Customer Committee, which was set up last year in a bid to give tenants a greater say in how its housing services are run. The Customer Committee has seen Salix Homes trailblazing a new approach to customer engagement, which was established ahead of national calls for greater transparency and for tenant’s voices to be better heard following the Grenfell Tower tragedy. The Customer Committee is made up of 12 residents in a paid-for role, on a par with the organisation’s board members, who can commission a piece of scrutiny work into any area of the organisation. The judges commended Salix Homes for its commitment to putting tenants first. They said: “Salix Homes have reacted to the Grenfell disaster by putting tenants at the heart of what they do, ensuring they have a strong voice and are able to participate. A very well done to all of you.” Salix Homes was also recognised for its digital innovation, which has seen the landlord launch a ground-breaking digital repairs service incorporating innovative chatbot technology; and becoming the first housing provider in the UK to fully embrace the public cloud. Judges were also impressed with the MySalix customer portal – an online platform which enables residents to manage their tenancy at the touch of a button or tap of a phone. Jim Battle, Chair of the Board at Salix Homes, said: “We’re an organisation that prides itself on being progressive and forward-thinking, with a bold vision to rethink the way our housing services are provided in order to meet the demands of a modern and digital world. “Despite the challenges of the past year posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, we’ve pushed on with our plans to establish our Customer Committee and become a truly digital organisation, so to be recognised for our efforts for both these areas is a real honour and is testament to all the hard work of our colleagues and partners. “We’re particularly proud that our Customer Committee has been recognised for the impact it’s having on both our organisation and the wider social housing sector. Never has it been more important for social landlords to listen to the voices of tenants and we firmly believe our modern approach to customer engagement echoes the recommendations made in the Government’s Social Housing White Paper, calling for greater accountability, transparency and engagement with customers, so we’re very proud to be leading the way.” Salix Homes is no stranger to awards, having already been named Digital Landlord of the Year in the UK Housing Awards 2020, and coming in at number four in the recent Top 30 Digital Housing Providers roll of honour, organised by Housing Digital.
Work has started on a £16 million affordable housing scheme in Doncaster. The development of 126 homes will be delivered by Esh Construction in partnership with Together Housing Group, which also owns and manages Lakeside Rise in the town, and Housing 21. Together Housing will take ownership of 56 two, three and four-bedroom homes and 10 two-bedroom bungalows for affordable rent, all of which will benefit from front and rear gardens and parking facilities. Housing 21 will take ownership of 58 apartments in a three-storey retirement living scheme, and two bungalows. Located off Highfield Road, Askern, the development meets an identified housing need in the district whilst the retirement living element will meet the requirements of an ageing population. The neighbourhood will be focused around extensive public open space, with the design including footpath links to the surrounding community. A Sustainable Urban Drainage scheme will also be implemented at the development. Steve Close, Chief Executive at Together Housing Group, said: “Building much needed new homes is one of our key aims at Together Housing and it’s great to see this development underway in Askern. “Working with our partners, we are helping to provide high quality affordable rented housing in the area. From the bungalows to the four-bedroom houses, these new homes combined with the retirement living scheme will meet the needs of all residents.” Paul Crosland, Construction Project Manager at Housing 21, said: “Housing 21 is a leading provider of Retirement Living and Extra Care for older people of modest means and we are excited to be working together with Esh Construction, Doncaster Council and Together Housing Group to offer further Retirement Living in Doncaster. “This latest development will provide people over the age of 65 with choice and control over their living arrangements as residents will benefit from having their own front door while having access to communal facilities, such as lounge and garden, offering a safe and secure place to call home.” Stuart Leslie, Divisional Director at Esh Construction, said: “The scheme at Highfield Road represents the largest land led development we have on site at present, and is testament to a huge combined effort from everyone who has been involved from the very early stages. “Esh has a strong portfolio of successfully delivering high quality affordable housing and extra care developments across the region, and we look forward to working in partnership with two of our valued clients, Together Housing Group and Housing 21, to bring much needed new homes to Doncaster.”
Commercial property management specialist, NSM, has been appointed to manage three North West industrial assets. The three developments were acquired by client, Network Space last month. They include: Newfield Industrial Estate in Tunstall, Stoke on Trent, a 125,000 sq ft multi-let industrial estate which is occupied by 20 businesses including global corporate Air Liquide and a number of successful local companies. The 28-acre Sovereign Distillery which provides 446,151 sq ft of commercial space in Huyton, Liverpool A prime 11.4 acre site on Atlantic Street in South Manchester offering 220,000 sq ft of industrial warehouse space with redevelopment opportunities. NSM operates from offices in St Helen’s and Doncaster and will help the landlord maximise the value of the properties and their return on investment, as well as managing the day to day running of the estate and rent roll. Nicky Jones, Managing Director of NSM, said: “These are three significant sites across the North West and will ultimately bring almost a million sq ft of new property for the team to manage. As some of the sites offer refurbishment and redevelopment potential we will build strong relationships with the existing tenants to effectively manage that process.” NSM has continued to collect over 95% of all rents billed since lockdown commenced, working closely with tenants to provide support and advice about Government initiatives as well as managing staged payments. The company’s investment into its Spaceman platform has shown how vital proptech can be in ensuring every member of the team can deliver effectively regardless of the pandemic challenges, with all information about every project live at the touch of a button.
Leading housing association Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTVH) has announced several major policy commitments to boost security and cut costs for its existing and future shared ownership customers surrounding leaseholds and ground rents. In new commitments recently unveiled, MTVH will offer all pipeline and new leasehold residential sales a 990-year lease, alongside ensuring that ground rents will not be charged on any pipeline or new sales on schemes where MTVH is the freeholder. This major policy commitment will be effective immediately. MTVH has also announced its plans to offer similar commitments to existing shared ownership customers at occupied schemes, with the option for customers to extend their lease to 990-years from June 2021 at a cost based on the share they own. Additionally, marriage value will no longer be considered when calculating the cost of a lease extension.[1] Geeta Nanda, Chief Executive of MTVH, comments: “We are pleased to announce our new policy commitments which are designed to boost security and cut costs for both our valued existing customers and future shared ownership customers at MTVH schemes. We are aware that these two issues are of importance to our customers and therefore are taking these steps to improve their shared ownership experience. “Throughout our policy review, we have been particularly mindful that upcoming changes to shared ownership policy do little to enhance the experience of existing shared ownership customers and we were keen to explore what could be possible and within our means. Given that new customers will be guaranteed the security of a longer lease term, it is only right that this is offered to our existing customers too.” Geeta adds: “We welcome the government’s wider proposals to implement 990-year leases across the shared ownership sector, but have taken the decision to act now to ensure our customers benefit from an extended lease length as quickly as possible.” In a step further, a raft of other measures that will benefit MTVH leaseholders more generally will be introduced from April 2022. This will include the phasing out of ground rents across MTVH’s portfolio where they own the land, and the option to extend their lease to 990-years, alongside the removal of marriage value. Geeta adds: “Whilst shared ownership has been impacted by some of the complexities of leasehold tenure, it is important that we address this across the board and ensure that any customers who have purchased through MTVH privately are offered a fair chance to extend their lease at an accessible cost too. We are pleased to be working on policy amendments that will allow all customers this option, as well as removing additional costs such as ground rents.” To find out more about Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing visit www.mtvh.co.uk. [1] Marriage value is the increase in the value of the property following the completion of the lease extension, reflecting the additional market value of the longer lease.
Countryside, the mixed-tenure developer, and emh group have entered into a development agreement to create a 100% affordable housing scheme in Radcliffe-on-Trent. The developments consists of 55 new homes, fulfilling a joint commitment by Countryside and emh group to provide affordable homes across the East Midlands. To date, this also includes 105 affordable homes in Grantham. “Working collaboratively is fundamental to the provision of affordable homes and this is at the heart of Countryside’s partnerships model. Working in partnership enables us to efficiently deliver well-designed, high-quality and sustainable homes and we are very proud to be building on our work with emh group to serve the needs of the community,” said Glyn Mabey, managing director of partnerships in the East Midlands at Countryside. “Shelford Road will bring much-needed affordable housing to Rushcliffe, enabling many local families to live in a new home in a high value area that may otherwise have been financially inaccessible. We look forward to seeing this new neighbourhood take shape and to continuing our work with emh group across the region.” Located at Shelford Road, the new development comprises a range of two, three and four-bedroom homes, 30 of which will be available for shared ownership with the remaining 25 available for affordable rent with emh group. The development is set to bring more than £500,000 of Section 106 local investment, including approximately £390,000 towards primary and secondary education, £58,000 towards off-site highway improvements, a £50,000 healthcare contribution and £65,000 towards sport and leisure facilities. “We are delighted that through our strong relationship with Countryside we have been able to contribute towards meeting the housing aspirations of people in Rushcliffe. We are particularly proud of the range of property types we have been able to deliver, going some way to addressing the range of demands of local people,” concluded Chris Jones, executive director of development at emh group.
In order to provide best value and service for its clients and residents, residential managing agent Rendall & Rittner has been developing a range of innovative, market leading procurement practices. With energy being one of the biggest regular costs in property management, the company has created a dedicated in-house utilities management team to work within the existing procurement division. Leading the new team, Chris Massingham has recently been appointed Utilities Procurement Manager. With ten years’ experience in the energy sector, Chris is an industry specialist who has previously worked for Anglian Water as well as in consultancies managing procurement for leading property management companies including Rendall & Rittner. In his new role, Chris will oversee the implementation of the latest energy management system, which will incorporate a billing platform, as well as managing the tariff procurement process. Both the electricity and gas bulk procurement contracts are currently with Ecotricity. Chris Massingham commented: “The principle of leveraging bulk spending for best value is of course one of the key reasons it makes sense for Rendall & Rittner to bring utilities management in house, but it also allows us to maintain the highest levels of service and respond more quickly to any issues that may arise. I’m looking forward to the exciting personal challenge of running a new function for the business and ushering in what is quite an innovative new approach from an industry perspective.” Richard Daver, Managing Director at Rendall & Rittner said: “As Rendall & Rittner has continued to grow, so too has the volume of energy we purchase as a group. This presents some challenges but also a great opportunity to leverage our buying power in order to obtain better value for our clients and residents in what is a fast moving and complex marketplace. We are pleased to welcome Chris Massingham to lead the new in-house team in line with our wider strategy of investing in talent and technical capabilities to ensure not only better value, but also more transparency, accountability and more efficient processes.” For more information on Rendall & Rittner please visit www.rendallandrittner.co.uk.
FirstPort has achieved a five-star grading in the British Safety Council’s Occupational Health and Safety Audit for the fifth year running. The organisation received a score of 95.88%, demonstrating its commitment towards the continual improvement of health and safety management systems and processes and recognising it as a best practice organisation. The audit recognised FirstPort’s continued efforts to implement the highest standards of health and safety management, a clear commitment from senior management, and an enthusiastic health and safety team. It also highlighted that FirstPort has an extensive occupational health and safety management system, with good processes for stakeholder engagement, compliance monitoring and building management. Mark Varley, Director of Health and Safety at FirstPort, said: “To have achieved five stars in all five years that we have been audited is a tremendous achievement. We have developed a robust health and safety culture at FirstPort amongst our colleagues and contractors – one that we are very proud of. We work hard to make sure our customers see the benefits too, so that they feel safe in their homes.” Roni Kotecha, Managing Director of Audits, British Safety Council, said: “The award of a five-star grading following our occupational best practice Health and Safety Audit is an outstanding achievement and is reflective of a proactive organisation which is committed to continual improvement in its health and safety arrangements and managing risks to workers’ health, safety and welfare. FirstPort should be very proud of this achievement.” To achieve the grading, FirstPort underwent a comprehensive, quantified and robust evaluation of its occupational health and safety policies, processes and practices. The audit process included documentation review, interviews with senior management, employees and other key stakeholders, together with sampling of operational activities. The audit measured performance against key health and safety management best practice indicators and a detailed review of over sixty component elements. About the Five Star Occupational Health and Safety Audit The Five Star Audit is a comprehensive, contemporary and quantified process which benchmarks health and safety management performance against the latest best practice techniques. The audit process is carried out through documentation review, management and other stakeholder interviews, as well as operational sampling. Those organisations who achieve a five-star grading following the audit become eligible to enter the British Safety Council Sword of Honour Awards which recognise excellence in the management of health and safety. The award scheme is an independently adjudicated process which requires five star achievers to build upon the audit findings and provide a written submission on their continual improvement planning. About the British Safety Council The British Safety Council believes that no-one should be injured or made ill at work. Since its foundation in 1957, the British Safety Council has campaigned tirelessly to protect workers from accidents, hazards and unsafe conditions, and played a decisive role in the political process that has led to the adoption of landmark safety legislation in the UK. Its members in more than 60 countries are committed to protecting and improving the wellbeing of workers, believing that a healthy and safe work environment is also good for business.
Platform Housing Group, the largest housing association in the Midlands, has achieved a G1/V1 rating from the Regulator for Social Housing following its first indepth assessment – or IDA – in February of this year; this is the highest regulatory rating a housing association can achieve with a G1 governance and V1 for financial viability. The IDA outcome confirms that the regulator is fully assured that the social landlord’s financial plans supports its financial strategy and has confidence in the way it manages and governs the business. This is the first IDA that the housing association has had since its creation in 2019. Elizabeth Froude, the group’s Chief Executive said: “It is really positive news that the Regulator has recognised the focused way in which we have restructured both our Board and our Executive team, providing strong skills and expertise aligned to our new corporate strategy. We are absolutely delighted with the result. It demonstrates that Platform is in great shape to deliver our ambitious strategic plans as well as maximising any additional forthcoming opportunities and challenges for the benefit of our customers. “The increase in our house building programme, whilst maintaining a clear commitment to high levels of affordable homes, reduction in our operating costs and the funding we’ve attracted – including our Homes England strategic partnership and the £350million raised through the bond market – have all helped to achieve this. We continue to drive forward on delivering all the aims of our merger and can clearly demonstrate that we are making good progress.” Over the next five years, Platform Housing Group aims to build around 12,000 high quality new homes, improve the energy efficiency of many more homes to alleviate the fuel poverty burden on our residents and deliver services which support the health and well being of its customers. Elizabeth concluded : “Platform Housing Group is highly committed to continuous improvement in all the services we deliver. However, we can’t do this alone, hence why we value the calibre and professionalism of our people, the strength of our stakeholder partnerships and the unwavering commitment of our involved customers, to achieve all that we do.” Platform Housing Group – which owns 46,000 homes in total – completed 1,448 homes in 2019/20 (1,598 in 2018/19) at an investment of £258m (£228m in 2018/19). The Group also built more social rented homes – at a figure of 981 – during the past 2 years in England than any other provider, 523 in 2019/20, almost 33% of the total homes built. Platform Housing Group’s operating area is from Herefordshire in the West to the Lincolnshire coast in the East, and from the Derbyshire Dales in the North to the Cotswolds in the South.
Leading residential property manager Rendall & Rittner has appointed Ecotricity to supply carbon neutral gas across its property portfolio, as well as retaining Ecotricity as its electricity supplier in an annual contract worth nearly £17 million. Britain’s greenest energy provider will supply over £14 million of renewable electricity to 93% of the communal areas of the 80,000 homes managed by Rendall & Rittner over the next 12 months. It will also supply almost £2.65 million worth of gas to the communal areas of the residential developments. Together the gas and electricity represent a saving of over 27,000 metric tonnes of carbon compared to using energy from non-renewable sources – this is the equivalent to the amount of carbon emitted by driving 138 million miles in an average car. The UK set a new record for renewable energy this year, demonstrating Britain’s growing demand for greener electricity. Renewable energy made up 47% of Britain’s electricity generation in the first quarter of 2020[1], including wind, solar and hydro power. With green energy supply on the increase, it is up to users and those in charge of procurement to make choices that benefit the environment. For Rendall & Rittner acting in an environmentally responsible manner is a high priority and also makes good business sense. Catherine Riva, Director at Rendall & Rittner comments: “Our partnership with Ecotricity means that 93% of our properties are supplied with completely renewable electricity and the communal areas of the developments have a carbon neutral gas supply. Crucially this type of bulk procurement deal also means we can offer excellent value to residents and leaseholders by buying our utilities at the best price. We are committed to making all of our properties as environmentally friendly as possible as well as helping our residents make greener choices.” The world’s first green energy supplier, Ecotricity was founded in 1995 by Dale Vince. The electricity it supplies is 100% green and made from the wind and sun. Much of its gas is produced by green gasmills which make biogas from grass, and for the remainder, any carbon emissions are offset. The company produces around a fifth of it itself and the rest it buys from other green generators. Ecotricity is the only energy company recognised by the Vegan Society for generating vegan electricity. The company has the lowest carbon cost per customer in the UK and aims to be carbon neutral by 2025. Paul Sands, Growth Director, Ecotricity, said: “Switching to green energy is one of the easiest ways for businesses and homes to reduce their carbon footprint and impact on the planet, by helping keep fossil fuels in the ground where they belong. We’re proud of our relationship with Rendall & Rittner and pleased to add our carbon-neutralised gas supply into the mix for the year ahead. With Rendall & Rittner’s support we’re helping to build a greener Britain.” [1]https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/894962/Renewables_June_2020.pdf
A housing association has completed work on a social housing development near Birmingham. Platform Housing Group – which has its headquarters in the Midlands – has finalised 10 new homes in the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield. It is the social landlord’s latest development within the area, which offers 3 bedroom homes for shared ownership. The Padstone Drive scheme – just off Douglas Road – cost £3.1million and was made possible by grant funding from Homes England and also Group funds. Those involved in the new development include the developer and architect Village Partnerships Ltd, employer’s agent and construction, design and management advisor Baily Garner LLP; the local authority is Birmingham City Council. Matthew Topping, Regional Development Manager at Platform Housing Group explained : “These new homes in Sutton Coldfield form a high quality and sustainable affordable housing development that will meet the needs of local people. Our homes and communities have become increasingly important to us during the last year; and this development of shared ownership homes will help provide local people an affordable route to home ownership.” Work started on the site – which was formerly garages and caravan storage – in August 2019 with construction complete last month. All the homes are now either sold or reserved. Mark Fitzpatrick, Managing Director of Village Partnerships said : “We have a strong and well established relationship with Platform Housing Group and were delighted to be appointed to deliver this much needed housing scheme in Sutton Coldfield. We are all justifiably proud of the outcome and look forward to working with Platform in the future.” The new development is less than 1 mile away from Sutton Coldfield town centre and local amenities including shops, retail, schools, bars, restaurants and parks. Platform Housing Group – which owns 46,000 homes in total – completed 1448 homes in 2019/20 (1,598 in 2018/19) at an investment of £258m (£228m in 2018/19). The Group also built more social rented homes – at a figure of 981 – during the past 2 years in England than any other provider, 523 in 2019/20, almost 33% of the total homes built. Platform Housing Group’s operating area is from Herefordshire in the West to the Lincolnshire coast in the East, and from the Derbyshire Dales in the North to the Cotswolds in the South. To register interest in a home please contact Platform Home Ownership at platformhomeownership.com or by emailing sales@platformhg.com. For further information on the scheme please contact Matt Topping, Regional Development Manager at Platform Housing Group on 07958 805114 or email him at Matthew.Topping@Platformhg.com.
