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
Network Homes has received planning permission for the next stage of a major development at Northwick Park Hospital in Northwest London. Brent Council’s planning committee granted outline permission for the scheme on 29 March, which will see a total of up to 1,600 new homes, as well as the student
Moda Living is the UK’s fastest growing rental brand, with over £1bn of construction on site across the UK, and a growing pipeline of over 8,000 homes from Edinburgh to Brighton. Moda has already changed the rules of renting with innovative Next Generation Neighbourhoods, offering no deposit, no fees, and a whole
Places for People Group has committed to tackling the UK’s poverty premium, investing in the Fair by Design (FBD) Fund – an organisation which helps to grow businesses that make markets fairer. Via its charity Places Foundation, Places for People has committed £250k to FBD, which is managed by Ascension
Working collaboratively has become an increasingly preferred method in order to deliver projects at pace. This approach was proactively adopted by partnership housing specialist Lovell Partnerships, and regional managing director Lee Sale identifies this approach as the reason the North West has smashed its 2020 target. “There is no doubt
SCAPE, the UK’s leading public sector procurement authority, has become a member of the Good Homes Alliance (GHA), making it the UK’s first framework provider to join the Alliance. The GHA aims to promote the building of quality sustainable homes that enhance the communities they are part of through a
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.
Network Homes has received planning permission for the next stage of a major development at Northwick Park Hospital in Northwest London. Brent Council’s planning committee granted outline permission for the scheme on 29 March, which will see a total of up to 1,600 new homes, as well as the student facilities, commercial space, and a replacement nursery across 19 buildings on the site. 40 per cent of the homes are for affordable tenures including Shared Ownership, London Living Rent, Intermediate Rent and London Affordable Rent. Planning for a new access road and for phase one of development for 654 homes was granted in December. The overall transformation of Northwick park is being delivered through a partnership between Network Homes, London North West Hospitals NHS Trust, Brent Council and the University of Westminster through a One Public Estate (OPE) project. This is an established national programme delivered by the Cabinet Office and the Local Government Association (LGA), which encourages public sector organisations to use their property assets together to create economic growth, deliver new jobs and homes, improve public services and operate more efficiently. The plans will see Northwick Park turned into a landmark destination with new high-quality homes, a modernised university hospital, improved infrastructure, and transport connections, as well as improved public spaces and enhanced facilities for education and employment. David Gooch, Network Homes Executive Director of Development, said “We’re delighted to have received outline planning permission from Brent Council and we are working hard with our Project Partners to get the development at Northwick Park underway starting with the new road. Our Development will bring much needed affordable homes, jobs and improved infrastructure. Network look forward to continuing our partnership with Brent Council, London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust and the University of Westminster to develop the area and deliver new high-quality homes.” Bhupinder Singh Chawla, Partner at architects PRP, said: “The overall transformation of the collective sites at Northwick Park demonstrates the success that can be achieved through good and meaningful collaboration between different landholders and a motivated design team. This collective and collaborative approach together with placemaking as the focus of the design proposals has meant a shared and strategic vision for the entire area. The masterplan is made up of different character areas that respond to the varying edges and contexts of the site. A variety of typologies from apartments, maisonettes, key worker homes and mews houses add further diversity. The masterplan also provides educational, sports leisure and commercial facilities and is supported further by a strong approach to the public realm and amenity on the site which all help to create an individual identity for this new place and destination.”
Moda Living is the UK’s fastest growing rental brand, with over £1bn of construction on site across the UK, and a growing pipeline of over 8,000 homes from Edinburgh to Brighton. Moda has already changed the rules of renting with innovative Next Generation Neighbourhoods, offering no deposit, no fees, and a whole lifestyle for the cost of your rent, and now Moda, in partnership with Part W is on a mission to encourage the next generation of ambitious young women to choose the property, design and construction sector for their long-term careers. Part W is an action group of engaged and proactive women working in architecture and design, planning, engineering, policy, infrastructure, construction, operations, and sustainability. The group is campaigning for gender parity across the built environment. Founded by architect Zoë Berman in 2018, the intergenerational collective is formed of women from diverse backgrounds who are working together to call time on gender inequality, in all its forms, in our built environment. The group is Co-Chaired by architect Alice Brownfield. Core members include Dr. Harriet Harriss, Hilary Satchwell, Kelly Clark, Sarah Castle, Sarah Wigglesworth, Yẹmí Àlàdérun, Sarah Ackland, Nadine Adamski, Christine Murray and Fiona MacDonald, who work in the areas of architecture, design education, planning, place making, project management and sustainable transport. It is supported by volunteers and professional friends, and most recently Lydia Eustace, Director at Moda Living. Park W and Moda call for action across the built environment sector to address the systemic gender equity challenges that exist in the sphere and ask others to join them in supporting Part W and other organisations who are working to shift the dial in favour of a more inclusive industry, so it can be changed for future generations of young women. The partnership will launch with a bold, engaging mini film outlining the spectrum of careers across the built environment sector, accessible for 16 to 24 year-olds across social media channels including Twitter, Instagram and TikTok as well as being shared amongst student influencers and disseminated to design colleges, schools, colleges,and universities. Phase two of the outreach programme will include digital Q+A sessions spanning the UK with leading representatives from across the property, design and construction sectors covering (but not limited to) construction, design, architecture, planning and operations. Not only will successful female and males contributors be speaking about their own career highs and lows, but they will be sharing lessons learnt and answering questions from the audience – with a focus on positively equality and diversity in the industry. There will also be an opportunity to promote jobs and apprenticeships and make a next generation of diverse young people feel welcome in the industry.
Places for People Group has committed to tackling the UK’s poverty premium, investing in the Fair by Design (FBD) Fund – an organisation which helps to grow businesses that make markets fairer. Via its charity Places Foundation, Places for People has committed £250k to FBD, which is managed by Ascension Ventures and aims to address the poverty premium in the UK by backing social tech ventures. The poverty premium is the extra costs that people on low incomes pay for essential products and services; it is estimated that such costs burden the average low-income household by an extra £490 a year for services including energy, white goods, insurance and credit. The funding is the latest in a long line of social and charitable initiatives from Places for People, which last year delivered over £280m of social value across the Group through its social value activities. Marcus Hulme, Director of Places Impact at Places for People Group said: “We are proud to be a part of this movement which aims to address the poverty premium in the UK. “As an organisation we’re determined to do all that we can to help customers and communities by tackling the grossly unfair poverty premium. There’s such an imbalance when it comes to access to finance and services for some people due to their credit status or financial situation which results in them paying a disproportionate levy on day-to-day services. I’m proud that we’re using our charitable resources to help tackle that.” FDB launched in 2018 with initial investment of £10 million from investors including Big Society Capital and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. It invests in both pre-seed and seed stage social tech ventures which have a clear social purpose and route to market. Initial investments range from £75k to £400k with follow on rounds in companies which have high potential to scale. To date, FBD has deployed £6.6 million in 12 social tech ventures. Other investors in this round include the Nationwide Building Society, Edinburgh University and Esmée Fairbairn, whilst prior funding rounds have attracted investors including Comic Relief and Big Society Capital. Jean de Fougerolles, CEO of Ascension Ventures, concluded: “Ascension has been managing the Fair by Design Fund for the past three years, investing in tech-for-good businesses that reduce key aspects of the poverty premium. “The support of our new investors allows us to scale our work with a leading mission-led organisation to tackle the challenges faced by people impacted by the poverty premium across the UK. Together, we can change lives and back formidable entrepreneurs to scale market-led solutions to correct incredibly unjust market failures”
Working collaboratively has become an increasingly preferred method in order to deliver projects at pace. This approach was proactively adopted by partnership housing specialist Lovell Partnerships, and regional managing director Lee Sale identifies this approach as the reason the North West has smashed its 2020 target. “There is no doubt that last year was tough for all businesses but the house building sector rose to the challenge, very much supported by the government’s ‘Build, Build, Build’ investment. “This week marks my second anniversary at Lovell and our collaborative approach with housing associations and local authorities – supported by some ambitious targets for growth and affordable housing delivery – is the reason the region is on track to smash its five-year goals. “We have actively prioritised joint ventures and frameworks to meet the government’s ambitious targets and we’ve found a real enthusiasm from our partners to drive the need for affordable housing through collaborative working. During the pandemic, we remained focused on our long-term, trusted partnerships with clients to deliver much needed housing across the North West. “As a result, we started or delivered many more important developments last year while successfully bidding on nearly 1,500 units of land and securing seven new projects, totalling more than 700 units. We also delivered 338 new homes, only 14 homes short of our original forecast despite Covid-19. “This was boosted by the four bold commitments I made when I joined the North West team two years ago this week: to see the region achieve more than £100m turnover, become a 5* builder, deliver double digits profit and enable three new strategic partnerships or joint ventures. I’m therefore incredibly proud to say that we are on track to achieve, all four. “These results are down to the fantastic people at Lovell – everyone really rallied together. This ambition and winning attitude has enabled us to succeed throughout the pandemic and deliver top quality housing.” “We are currently working on many key partnership projects including Weston Woods, a strategic joint venture with Latimer – Clarion Housing Group’s development arm – to deliver a 99-home scheme near Nantwich as well as a development in Pendleton, Salford with Lovell Together – a joint venture with Together Housing Group – that is set to be one of the largest strategic residential regeneration projects in Greater Manchester. Work has also recently started at The Strand, a development in Rochdale, which is in partnership with RBH. “We have also just secured a place on the Your Housing and Torus frameworks to help address the housing shortage across the region. “These are still challenging times so as we move further into 2021, we’re looking towards a significant year of sustainable growth in the North West following two years of solid performance. As a company we will also be developing our roadmap to carbon neutrality as we secure our business pipeline for 2023 onwards and building on our social value and CSR programme. “The house building sector has some really high targets to meet and working collaboratively enables us to work at pace and deliver the much-needed homes that are required across the North West. By building homes but also investing in the local communities, these joint ventures can make a real, tangible difference.” For more information, please visit: corporate.lovell.co.uk.
SCAPE, the UK’s leading public sector procurement authority, has become a member of the Good Homes Alliance (GHA), making it the UK’s first framework provider to join the Alliance. The GHA aims to promote the building of quality sustainable homes that enhance the communities they are part of through a range of social, economic and environmental benefits. As a member of the Alliance, SCAPE will collaborate with more than 80 organisations – ranging from industry contractors and suppliers to local authorities and universities – to support the aim of net-zero emissions homes along with higher standards in comfort and health for occupants. The GHA has an ever-growing Vanguard Network of forward-thinking local authorities and has recently launched a new Pathfinder Network for housing associations. Members of the GHA – such as Pollard Thomas Edwards, Hoare Lea and Bioregional – are driving innovation and improving standards across the housing sector, including actively supporting progress towards the government’s 2050 Net Zero carbon target. To aid that, the GHA is supporting the Building for 2050 research project, funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which aims to inform UK policy on delivering low carbon homes in England and Wales. SCAPE champions the development of sustainable low carbon homes through its procurement frameworks for public sector projects and has recently published its own comprehensive environmental policy – alongside recommended environmental standards for projects – approved by the UK Green Building Council. The policy sets out a range of objectives that will match the environmental objectives of our most ambitious clients. Featuring in its recently published Social Value: More Than Metricsresearch report, SCAPE has also outlined a series of recommendations to encourage sustainable development across the UK. Mark Robinson, group chief executive of SCAPE, said: “If the past year has taught us anything, it’s that collaboration is essential to driving meaningful and impactful change. As a collective of the private and public sector’s most forward-thinking organisations, the GHA is spearheading the effort to create exemplary homes that set a benchmark for sustainability – not just in the UK, but across the world. The Alliance’s work is vital to developing the homes that we need to live in a greener world. “We currently work very closely with our delivery partners to improve project standards and ensure that benchmarks are not only met but surpassed, so we know that outstanding things happen when we pool knowledge, resources and commitment to the same cause. By joining the GHA, I’m confident that we can achieve more together as we actively contribute to its work for championing change and best practice and generating the sustainable outcomes that local communities deserve.” The GHA is led by a board that includes council representatives, sustainable design experts and architects. The Alliance operates within four key themes to embed sustainability into the mainstream: exploring alternative housing models that address the housing crisis; introducing measures that improve people’s health & wellbeing in homes; identifying techniques to support carbon neutral and carbon positive homes; and encouraging the adoption of robust standards that yield high-performance housing. Julian Brooks, Programmes Director at Good Homes Alliance, said: “We’re delighted that SCAPE has joined our Alliance. Developing the supply chain to enable the delivery of net zero new homes is a critical part of the journey and experience from client groups is suggesting that a greater focus is needed around verifiable and real net zero outcomes. Working with organisations such as SCAPE opens up this much needed discussion directly across the supply chain and we are optimistic that we can accelerate the delivery of net zero homes as a result.”
