Building Norfolk’s future
Exciting times! Our ambitious new building programme has been powering ahead.
As Chief Executive Michael Newey told our Annual General Meeting, in 2019-20 we delivered 291 new homes. Until the Coronavirus outbreak, we were on target to build a further 172 in 2020-21, and 147 in 2021-22. We started construction again on a limited scale in late April 2020 as restrictions relaxed, and hope to get fully back on track as soon as is safely possible.
New developments at Binham, Bodham, Erpingham, Edgefield, Great Ryburgh, Trunch and Watton are helping to meet the desperate need for affordable housing in rural Norfolk. These schemes are a mix of affordable rent, shared ownership and open market properties, sensitively designed to harmonise with local village architecture.
In March 2020 we completed Phase 2 of our Canary Quay development in central Norwich. This former industrial site on the riverside will eventually include a total of 323 stylish 1 and 2-bedroom apartments.
Patricia Hollis House, Phase 1 of Canary Quay, is 100% social rent and provides 60 new homes. In February 2020, the building was shortlisted for a RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) Positive Social Impact Award.
The RICS awards recognise the positive and transformational contribution of the built environment to society. As well as providing much-needed social housing, the Patricia Hollis House project was a major source of employment in the Norwich area, with an average of approximately 100 people on site per week.
Photo is of Gillian and her mum, who live at Trunch. Gillian watched her bungalow being built from her Mum’s window and was lucky enough to get the bungalow. We put the gate in so she can keep an eye on her Mum every day.
New corporate strategy
We launched our 2019-2023 corporate strategy* at the Annual General Meeting in September 2019.
Providing high-quality affordable homes in Norfolk and North Suffolk remains our primary purpose. We will also continue to help people get the support they need to maintain their tenancy.
Our 2019-23 priorities are to:
- Provide good services that meet tenants’ expectations
- Manage and maintain our properties well
- Ensure the safety of our tenants in their homes
- Support our tenants and minimise the number of tenancies that fail
- Involve our tenants in checking our performance and shaping our priorities
- Build as many new homes as possible
- Help reduce levels of homelessness in Norfolk and North Suffolk
- Cut the carbon footprint of our operations and the properties we manage.
To do this we will:
- Recruit and develop staff who have a strong customer focus
- Provide the right digital tools for our tenants and staff to use
- Continue to review and improve the value for money of our activities
- Maintain good standards of governance.
Download a summary or the full corporate strategy here.
*We have issued an interim statement in light of the Coronavirus outbreak.
Welcome, Iain!
Iain Grieve joined Broadland as Executive Finance Director in October 2019, succeeding Julian Foster, who has retired. Iain was previously Director of Financial Services at Catalyst Housing, one of London’s largest housing associations. Before that he worked at Circle Housing as Head of Internal Audit, Group Financial Controller and Director of Business Support. Iain originally trained as an accountant with Grant Thornton in Norwich.
Coronavirus – keeping tenants and staff safe
Photo: Michael with Elaine Brown, cleaning supervisor
Michael Newey, our Chief Executive, has committed to a weekly shift to help with Broadland’s intensive sanitisation programme during the Coronavirus outbreak. He was trained by Elaine Browne, Cleaning Supervisor in our in-house cleaning team.
Touch points in communal areas of all our sheltered housing schemes are being sanitised daily to protect our most vulnerable tenants. Door handles, light switches, cupboards and banisters are disinfected every day, in addition to twice weekly deep-cleans at all sheltered schemes.
Other members of Broadland’s senior team, redeployed repairs operatives and staff from across the organisation are also pitching to carry out the vital daily sanitisation for the duration of the crisis.
Broadland staff are also stepping up to provide practical and emotional support for tenants. Tenants at most risk, including those aged over 70 and others who are particularly at risk if they contract Coronavirus, are being phoned regularly to ensure they have what they need, or simply to have a chat to relieve the isolation. Several tenants have been referred for Tenancy Support services as a result.
We have suspended routine repairs and closed our offices to minimise the spread of the virus. Staff, including Customer Services, are working from home wherever possible. Emergency repairs, essential safety checks and some outdoor maintenance are continuing. We are taking the necessary precautions in terms of social distancing and PPE to protect staff, tenants and the wider community.
Michael said:
“These are extraordinary times, and we are starting to find the ‘new normal’. Our number one priority has to be to protect our tenants, and especially the most vulnerable tenants, and that means we all have to lend a hand to do what needs to be done. There is a really strong ‘we’re all in this together’ feeling throughout Broadland, with a real desire to keep everybody safe and well.”