Beyond delivering new homes and developments, we shape spaces that encourage real communities to grow and prosper. From investing in the communities we create, building homes that are affordable and taking care of nature, we constantly look for ways to promote local pride.
How we do it
In 2022, our developments provided over £26 million of investment to support local services in and around the communities we have created. From libraries, to healthcare, education, play spaces and sports facilities, we help develop the infrastructure needed for healthy communities. This provides opportunities for people to stay healthy whilst reducing air pollution at the same time.
Community Fund
We set up a Community Fund in 2022, this is a Group-wide initiative with annual funding allocated across the regional teams, allowing us to get closer to the communities in which we live and work, providing support where it is most needed.
The fund is employee-led with decisions being made locally by our staff, who are encouraged to find out more about the local communities and projects taking place. Awards are linked to education, promoting wellbeing and the environment, or encouraging participation in sport.
Affordable housing
A lack of affordable housing is one of the biggest challenges facing people across the UK. We help address this issue by increasing the supply of new housing and by making our homes affordable to a wider range of people.
How we do it
We build a variety of homes to suit local needs and demand. Typically, 25% of all the homes we build constitute much-needed affordable homes. In addition, we partner with other sectors to provide different tenures of housing beyond traditional affordable homes. We are committed to increasing year-on-year the number of homes which are affordable to the customers in their markets.
25%
In 2021, we completed 3,849 homes, of which 952 were affordable.
26%
In 2022, we participated in the Government’s affordable housing programmes and delivered 1,034 homes.
Partnering with Housing Associations
Flexible specification
We want to ensure that our customers can afford a home in the area they want to live. This has been made possible by considering from the outset who our customers are, what kind of home they want to live in, and designing our homes accordingly. We also recognise that some customers want the opportunity to enhance the specification of their homes, which we have facilitated to meet their needs.Options visualiser
The options visualiser is available digitally and has been designed with our customers in mind, it allows them to explore the different ways they could personalise their new home before reservation. It gives customers the opportunity to see fixtures and finishes in advance enabling them to make informed choices.
Local nature
We are committed to creating open spaces for nature to thrive alongside people. We aim to deliver a net gain in biodiversity on all our developments.
How we do it
From November 2023, we will be required to deliver a biodiversity net gain of 10% across all developments in England. Many of our sites already feature significant measures to support biodiversity. For example, our Cleve Wood development will provide over 2.5 hectares of woodland area planting and over 2km of tree belts to link and buffer habitats on site.
At Earls Grange, Priorslee our site will incorporate tree and hedgerow planting and 200 nest boxes for bird species identified through an ecological appraisal for the site.
Measures for birds, bats and hedgehogs permeate our developments at Springwood Park, Bridgewood Green and Langley Gate in Yorkshire, along with wildflower seeding, native hedge and tree planting, and sustainable drainage schemes – all of which contribute to creating healthy communities where people and planet can thrive together.