Housing Matters - September 2021
Corporate news
‘Top 10’ housing association
We are delighted to be named in the top 10 Best Housing Associations to work for. Best Companies also awarded us a 2-star ‘Outstanding’ accreditation for our employee engagement.
Michael Newey, Chief Executive, said:
“This is fantastic news. We are now a 2-star organisation, which is our highest ever Best Companies accreditation.
“I’m really pleased that this is how our staff have assessed us. The Best Companies survey is 100% confidential, which means the leadership group and our Board members can believe that this result is accurate. Looking ahead, the top of the scale is 3 stars (‘world class’), so there is always room for us to improve.”
To achieve the 2021 accreditation, Broadland invited all staff to complete the Best Companies confidential b-Heard Survey. Employees scored a series of statements about their wellbeing, pay and benefits, personal growth, their team, the leadership and much more.
Best Companies defines employee engagement as follows:
“When people are engaged they feel connected to each other and to the aims of the organisation they work for. They believe in a shared purpose and feel they play an important part in fulfilling it.
“An engaged workforce is more motivated and productive because people take pride in what they are doing and have faith in those around them. This leads to better working relationships, greater collaboration and ultimately a more successful organisation.”
National award for planning
Our affordable housing strategy in north Norfolk has won a Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) 2021 Award for Planning Excellence.
The strategy was the winner in the ‘Excellence in Planning to Deliver Homes – small schemes’ category. It is also a finalist in the 2021 Inside Housing development awards.
Broadland’s North Norfolk District-Wide Affordable Homes Strategy used changes in national planning policy to link five mixed-tenure schemes (Binham, Trunch, Erpingham, Edgefield and Great Ryburgh) in one Section 106 Agreement. Market homes sales subsidised the delivery of 61 affordable homes in an area with a chronic affordable housing shortage.
The Broadland scheme designs complement the local rural landscape and use authentic building materials. The quality of the planning has helped to build inclusive, sustainable communities, with no visible difference between the social rent and open market homes, reducing the stigma often associated with affordable housing.
Andrew Savage, Executive Development Director, said:
“We are delighted to have been part of this RTPI award. Our development team and external partners work tirelessly to continue the supply of affordable housing in Norfolk and north Suffolk. It’s fantastic to get national recognition for delivering a very local solution.”
Broadland worked closely with partners North Norfolk District Council, Bidwell’s, Ingleton Wood, Hudson’s, Rossi Long, RG Carter, Wellington Construction and H Smith Honingham. Previously the strategy was the RTPI Eastern region winner.
Iain Hill, partner at Bidwell’s, said:
“It’s great that a scheme in north Norfolk has gained recognition nationwide – particularly one which highlights the benefits that can delivered for rural communities when all parties have a shared vision and adopt a collaborative approach.”
Paul Pitcher, Managing Director at Wellington Construction, said:
“As a locally-based firm, we take great pride in building top quality affordable homes in the region. Not only does it provide much-needed homes for local people, but it creates local employment as well."
Jonathan Smith, director at H Smith Honingham, said:
“Our experience of Broadband tells us they always look at the bigger picture and work with partners to establish long-term relationships and we are pleased that this approach has been recognised at the National RTPI Awards with well-deserved recognition of their can-do attitude.”
Chris Stammers, architect and director at Ingleton Wood, said:
“We worked together with local communities and the wider project team as part of a positive design and consultation process to maximise the provision of affordable homes in areas that desperately need them.”
The RTPI Awards are the most established and respected awards in the UK planning industry. Running for over 40 years, they celebrate exceptional examples of planning and the contribution planners make to society.
RTPI president Wei Yang FRTPI said:
“I would like to congratulate all of the winners at this year’s RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence who have demonstrated how planning is an essential public service for our community. The winners have acted beyond boundaries to make positive and impactful changes – a perfect way of showing the world the positive role planners play in our society.
“The fact the even during the pandemic we received so many entries is a testament to how the planning profession across the UK and around the world has stepped up to deliver innovative, place-based solutions to the challenges of health and wellbeing, climate change and the biodiversity decline, as well as housing and economic growth.”
Working with tenants to improve services
We have started work on an exciting restructure of the way we engage with our tenants. In response to the charter for social housing residents, and valuable feedback from our own tenants, we created a Residential Involvement Consultation Policy. This was recently approved by our Board.
The new structure will make our tenants’ lived experience more visible at the decision-making level, such as the Board. It will give tenants new ways to give us feedback on our services and their community, and new opportunities to influence positive change within Broadland. Our aim is to maximise opportunities to really listen to our tenants and make lasting improvements, not only to our services but across all areas of our business
“We are inviting tenants to have their say on any issues affecting their local area - from repairs and replacement of windows to community issues, such as anti-social behaviour or fly tipping,” said Catherine Little, Executive Housing Director.
“We want tenants to share their ideas and work with us, so we can put in place permanent solutions to issues where they live, wherever we can. We are also developing ways for tenants to influence and provide assurance at Board level through a new Assurance Panel."
Tenants will get the chance to join a number of new panels and workshops, and access digital training if they need it to become more involved.
It is an ambitious plan that we will be working on over the next 14 months, but we are already seeing results. We recently made changes to our Complaints Policy and Procedure as a result of feedback from one group of tenants about issues at their scheme in Norwich. Watch this space for updates!
Smart tech success
By the end of 2021, we will have installed the Switchee smart thermostat in 9% (450) of our 5,000+ homes. The full rollout will make Broadland the first housing provider to have a fully connected housing stock.
Louise Archer, Executive Asset Director, said:
"Switchee has proven great outcomes on an operational level during the pilot. We now aim to bring its benefits to all Broadland tenants and staff by expanding the rollout and integrating its data and features with our internal business system.”
Using data from the trial, Broadland was able to identify mould as a potential issue and send damp prevention advice to 17% of homes with a Switchee. We are now looking into integrating Switchee’s data with our own Broadland Business Systems (BBS), to bring benefits and savings to tenants and landlord going forward.
Justin O’Connor, Head of Asset Management, said:
“Switchee helps our Asset team to take a more proactive approach to tackling issues like damp and mould. It also acts a great tool for engaging our tenants and driving efficiency through its boiler testing and appointment scheduling features. And of course, Switchee helps us to reduce our carbon footprint by lowering energy bills, in line with our corporate strategy.”
Switchee is also highly effective for communicating with tenants. The trial showed a 92% response rate to messages sent through the smart home tech. Following a Switchee survey in November 2020, we identified an older male tenant, living on his own with physical and mental health disabilities, who was at high risk of fuel poverty.
Kevin Gee, Tenancy Support Manager, explained:
“As well as helping the tenant access the support he needed, our Tenancy Support team were able to use the data from Switchee to stay in regular contact with him. We encouraged him to review how he heats his home, and change the times when the heating was on. Using the Switchee data, our Repairs team were also able to identify and repair a faulty radiator valve in the property.”
“Switchee is also highly effective for communicating with tenants. The trial showed a 92% response rate to messages sent through the smart home tech. Following a Switchee survey in November 2020, we identified an older male tenant, living on his own with physical and mental health disabilities, who was at high risk of fuel poverty."
Our communications team used a Switchee survey to encourage tenants to sign up for the Tenants Online portal and Door to Door magazine. Following the survey, 51% of tenants who had not signed up to receive the magazine did so.
Tom Robins, Switchee’s CEO, said
“Broadland has been a great partner and they share our vision that connecting homes with IoT technology can unlock significant value for landlords and residents alike. We are delighted to support Broadland in their ambition to be the first UK housing provider with a fully connected stock and excited to see the positive impact for residents.”
Developing new affordable homes
Tenants have now moved into all 73 of our new 1- and 2-bedroom affordable rent apartments in the latest phase of our Canary Quay development in Norwich.
Instead of face-to-face viewings, during lockdown we offered prospective tenants 360 degree virtual tours of the properties at Olive, White Moth and Norada, which are named after traditional Norfolk wherries.
Canary Quay will eventually include 323 (1- and 2-bedroom) properties, a mix of affordable rent apartments, shared ownership and open market homes
Elsewhere, Broadland has been appointed as a development agent for Great Yarmouth Borough Council and will be delivering 36 new council homes towards the end of 2021/early 2022. We also have developments planned or underway in Norwich, Breckland and throughout rural north Norfolk. Our virtual consultation meetings, launched during lockdown, provide valuable feedback from a wider range of local residents that helps to shape the eventual planning applications.
Pictured: Canary Quay, Norwich (left and bottom left) and recently completed schemes at Great Ryburgh, Trunch and Edgefield, Norfolk
Preparing for the new GR&T site at Swanton Road, Norwich
Gypsy Roma and Traveller site upgrade
Broadland has now taken over the management of Swanton Road Gypsy Roma and Traveller (GR&T) site from Norwich City Council.
Andrew Savage, Executive Development Director, said:
"We are really pleased to get started on expanding the existing site, which has 21 caravan pitches, to provide 13 new pitches. New pitches will contain dayrooms for the tenants, each with an entrance lobby, living/kitchen/dining room, shower, toilet and store. There is no 'one size fits all' GR&T accommodation and it is really important to talk to tenants early in the process about what they want to make sure it meets their community's needs."
Broadland is a member of the National Policy Advisory Panel on Gypsy and Traveller Housing. The panel focuses on increasing the provision and raising the standards of this type of accommodation. Our Brooks Green GR&T site near Norwich has been cited as a model of effective site delivery and management. We have recently appointed a dedicated manager and caretaker for our Brooks Green and Swanton Road sites.
Changing the way we work
In June Broadland consulted staff on proposals to introduce hybrid working. The aim was to offer greater flexibility, reduce commuting to our offices, and improve the work/life balance for many employees.
Since August, wherever possible, Broadland staff who were predominantly office-based before March 2020 have become agile homeworkers. They spend an average of 60% of their time working from home, and 40% in the office.
Reducing the size of our head office at Carrow Road in Norwich, together with better use of The Elms over the past 18 months, has significantly cut our overhead costs. The new proposals will also reduce our carbon footprint as an organisation.
Chief Executive Michael Newey said:
“The aim is to provide an approach that works for us both as employees and for Broadland as a social landlord providing services to our tenants. The pandemic has caused a revolution in the way we work. It has proved that we can work in different ways and still deliver to our tenants and stakeholders, away from a desk in an office. We can’t compromise on the quality of our services, but we can adapt how we work as an organisation. Now we need to build on what we have achieved under very difficult circumstances and incorporate the benefits of being back together regularly. Hybrid working will help us deliver an even better service.”